HOUSTON -- How are the Astros doing this? How do they keep stacking wins despite not having slugger Yordan Alvarez for the last month, six starting pitchers on the injured list and a lineup Sunday that didn’t include Christian Walker or Isaac Paredes, who leads the team in home runs and RBIs?
Even on a day they were held to four singles and entered the ninth inning trailing with Twins closer Jhoan Duran taking the mound, the Astros managed to scrap and claw before Mauricio Dubón delivered a walk-off hit off the left-field wall in the 10th inning for a 2-1 victory and a three-game sweep of Minnesota at Daikin Park.
“These guys don’t quit,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “They fight ‘til the end. I’m not surprised by their fight, but when you see it and you feel the energy in that dugout, it’s incredible.”
The Astros, with back-to-back walk-off wins for the first time since July 3-4, 2022, extended their winning streak to five games to improve to a season-high 11 games over .500 (41-30). Houston has won 15 of its last 20 and eight of its last 10 games. It was only the Astros’ second win when trailing after eight innings.
“That’s the mentality we have here now, and it’s a great group of guys,” Dubón said postgame while holding his 5 1/2-month old son, Luciano, on his first Father’s Day. “If the other guy doesn’t do it, the guy behind him is going to do it. The guy that comes in late, he’s going to do it. We try to pass the baton a little bit.”
That’s what they did in the ninth when they rallied against Duran. Jeremy Peña had a leadoff walk, stole second base, went to third on a Jose Altuve infield hit and scored on Victor Caratini’s sacrifice fly. In the 10th, Dubón broke an 0-for-14 slump with the game-winner on a fly ball to the wall in left that hit the glove of Willi Castro.
“I told Alvarez in the seventh inning, if we would tie in the ninth, I was going to come and win it,” said Dubón, a utility player who started at second base Sunday.
The Astros have outscored their opponents, 29-11, during the five-game winning streak, with three rookies starting those games. Each delivered the longest starts of their careers – Ryan Gusto on Wednesday, Colton Gordon on Friday and Brandon Walter on Sunday. Walter, making his third career start, struck out nine batters and allowed one run on a Brooks Lee homer in 6 2/3 innings.
“The next man up mentality,” Walter said. “Just hand the ball over to somebody and you just know they’re going to pitch good here. That’s how it is. It’s contagious. Seeing good starts from Hunter [Brown on Saturday], Gordon the other day, it’s easier for me to follow that up because you see the recipe there. It keeps the hitters on their heels. They know they’re not scoring a lot. You just pass the ball over and rinse and repeat.”
Walter’s previous experience in the Majors came during nine relief outings with the Red Sox two seasons ago. He recorded a 6.26 ERA in that stint and then missed all of 2024 while rehabbing a left shoulder injury. The Astros signed Walter as a free agent in August of last year, and he earned his opportunity to help Houston’s injury-riddled rotation after recording a 2.08 ERA over 47 2/3 innings at Triple-A Sugar Land this season.
Astros closer Josh Hader, who worked a 1-2-3 10th inning to keep the automatic runner at second base, said winning consistently with so many injuries is a testament to the entire organization, from the big leagues and down to the Minor Leagues.
“We all knew that we’re going to need every single guy we have,” Hader said. “When we started spring, Joe even mentioned that. It’s just a [testament] to the guys that are down there in Triple-A still putting in the work and still doing what they need to do to succeed. And then when they come up here, it’s turnkey, right?
“They don’t skip a beat and they keep moving, and I think ultimately that’s what makes this team great. You can have a core group, but it’s those other guys that are able to step up and make big plays, get big hits and do the right things when you need it.”