Christian Walker’s second home run of the game broke a tie in the eighth inning and gave the host Houston Astros a 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday.
The Astros, who took the two of three in the series, also got a homer from Jose Altuve.
Ezequiel Tovar and Yanquiel Fernandez homered for the Rockies, who lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Walker, leading off the bottom of the eighth, drove reliever Luis Peralta’s first pitch — a four-seam fastball — far over the wall in left center an estimated 404 feet. It was Walker’s 21st home run.
Bryan King (4-3) got the win in relief and Bryan Abreu worked the ninth for his fourth save. Peralta (1-2) took the loss.
Astros’ reliever Kaleb Ort got out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the seventh by striking out Brenton Doyle swinging.
Houston starter Jason Alexander allowed three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings with a walk and eight strikeouts. He fanned five of the first six batters.
Colorado starter Kyle Freeland surrendered three runs on eight hits in six innings, didn’t walk a batter and struck out six. Freeland retired the final seven hitters he faced.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the first on back-to-back, two-out home runs by Altuve and Walker.
Altuve lined a pitch just over the wall in left center for his team-leading 23rd homer and Walker followed by slicing a drive down the right-field line that barely cleared the fence, just inside the foul pole.
Houston made it 3-0 in the second on a bunt RBI single by Cesar Salazar.
Mickey Moniak’s run-scoring fielder’s choice, bases-loaded grounder put the Rockies on the board to make it 3-1 in the third.
Tovar’s two-out homer in the fourth brought Colorado to within 3-2.
Fernandez’s home run in the fifth tied the game at 3-all. The rookie’s liner just cleared the right-field wall for his second homer.
–Field Level Media
