Jake Meyers clubbed a go-ahead, three-run home run in the fifth inning before Joey Loperfido recorded a pair of doubles in a nine-run sixth as the Houston Astros outlasted the visiting Baltimore Orioles 14-11 on Friday.
Loperfido became the first Astro to double twice in an inning since Yordan Alvarez did so in 2019.
Loperfido and Jose Altuve each recorded three hits and two RBIs for Houston, which won its third game in a row.
Gunnar Henderson homered twice for the Orioles, who also got long balls from Anthony Santander and Jorge Mateo while taking just their second loss in six games. Adley Rutschman went 5-for-5 for his second career five-hit game.
With a runner on first and no outs in the sixth, Loperfido’s first double glanced off the glove of first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and resulted in a run when right fielder Santander made an errant throw to second base in an attempt to nab Loperfido.
That started a forgettable defensive frame for Baltimore.
Orioles starter Grayson Rodriguez (8-3) departed after the Santander error, trailing 6-3.
Baltimore reliever Jacob Webb walked Trey Cabbage and then surrendered consecutive RBI doubles to Altuve and Alex Bregman, extending Houston’s lead to 8-3. Webb walked Alvarez before Dillon Tate was summoned from the bullpen, and Yainer Diaz followed with a grounder that shortstop Henderson mishandled as Altuve scored.
After Meyers struck out, Jon Singleton added an RBI single.
Dubon and Loperfido capped the barrage with back-to-back doubles, with Singleton and Dubon scoring on the latter for a 14-3 lead.
Houston had six hits in the inning, including five doubles, and three walks.
Meyers’ three-run homer with two outs in the fifth off Rodriguez erased a 3-2 deficit.
Rodriguez allowed seven runs on nine hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over five-plus innings.
The Orioles mounted a furious comeback down 11 runs.
Henderson (3-for-5, three RBIs) homered twice off Astros reliever Nick Hernandez, with his second blast of the game and 24th of the season slicing the deficit to 14-8 in the eighth.
Mateo homered off Hernandez earlier in the eighth. After Henderson’s blast, Rutschman doubled and scored on a Mountcastle double, pulling Baltimore within five runs.
Santander (3-for-5, three RBIs) chased Astros reliever Rafael Montero with his 20th homer, a two-run shot. Tayler Scott entered and recorded the final out of the eighth to stall the Orioles’ seven-run frame.
Reliever Shawn Dubin (1-1) picked up his first major league win by going 2 1/3 innings, and Bryan Abreu earned his first save by pitching around a two-out single in the ninth.
–Field Level Media
