HOUSTON -- Things couldn’t have worked out much better for the Astros through seven innings Saturday night against the Rangers. They had ridden the coattails of starting pitcher Framber Valdez for six innings, gotten three solo homers and were set to give the ball to their best two relievers -- Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader -- with a two-run lead.
What’s that they say about best-laid plans?
Abreu and Hader both surrendered solo homers -- with Hader’s ending his streak of saves in 25 consecutive opportunities -- forcing both managers to reach into every corner of the dugout to try to find a hero. For the Astros, it was Zack Short who came through in the biggest moment.
Short, who entered the game as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning, shot an RBI single to right field off reliever Hoby Milner to score Cam Smith from second base in the 11th inning and send the Astros to a dramatic 5-4 walk-off win over the Rangers at Daikin Park.
“Obviously, we’ve been grinding a little bit the last two games,” Short said. “Just to have another opportunity, especially after the other night, leaving a few guys on against [Cleveland], that was huge.”
The Rangers took a 4-3 lead in the 11th on an RBI single by Adolis García, but reliever Bennett Sousa finished off a clutch two-inning performance with three consecutive outs to give the Astros a shot. Smith and fellow rookie Kenedy Corona walked to start the bottom of the 11th and load the bases for Christian Walker, who hit a line-drive sac fly to center to tie the game.
“They’ve had our backs all year,” Walker said of Abreu and Hader. “They’ve been grinding for us, so to be able to come through and get that win but also pick your guy up and let him know that he’s not out there by himself and he knows, ‘We’ve got you.’ That’s what it’s all about.”
This would have been nothing short of a devastating loss for the Astros, considering they were riding a four-game losing streak and the second-place Mariners had already beaten the Tigers. Instead, it might be their biggest win of the season.
“Those are the ones that you sit back at the end of the season and you think about big ones that really show what this team is made of, and I think that’s definitely one of them,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “The resiliency, the at-bats, the pitching -- so many great things about that win.”
Short, signed to a Minor League contract in the offseason, was called up when Luis Guillorme went on the injured list with a hamstring strain. Most Astros fans couldn’t have told you who he was before he had three hits in Sunday’s win at the Dodgers to finish off a three-game sweep. His teammates knew.
“I love Zack Short,” Sousa said. “Just super excited for him. That hit, he worked so hard. He’s like a grinder. He kind of defines this team a lot, the type of players we have on this squad. It showed tonight. Just battling and doing a job. Super proud and happy for him.”
Valdez struck out 10 batters in six innings, allowing only one unearned run in the first, and was in line to win his 10th consecutive decision before Marcus Semien hit a two-out homer off Abreu in the eighth and Kyle Higashioka hit a two-out homer off Hader in the ninth to tie it.
The Rangers had a 73 percent win probability when Garcia put them ahead in the 11th, but it was nothing to worry about for this gritty Astros club.
“As good as [Abreu and Hader] are, there’s going to be games where things are not going to go perfect,” Espada said. “What I do know is there’s someone there who’s going to pick them up, and we’re going to find a way to win games.”
Walker says the Astros’ winning culture, which is set by Jose Altuve, makes nights like this possible. Valdez’s effort was expected, and the solo homers by Altuve, Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubón took no one by surprise.
But when you get clutch at-bats in the 11th from Corona and Short and two innings from Sousa, that’s teamwork at its finest.
“And I think in the dugout, on the field, you feel that,” Walker said. “We’re all rooting for each other. Anybody can come through and we all have confidence in each other.”