– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
HOUSTON — Because of the games coming thick and fast during the dog days of summer, Houston Astros outfielder Chas McCormick said he has limited the amount of swings that he takes in batting practice to preserve some energy. On Monday night, in an electric atmosphere to start the latest Lone Star Series, McCormack made all of his swings count in one of the most dramatic victories of the season for Houston to date.
McCormick drove in a career-best six runs, including a game-tying three-run home run off Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning, spurring the Astros to a rousing, come-from-behind 10-9 victory over the Texas Rangers in a battle of the top two teams in the American League West inside of Minute Maid Park. Yainer Díaz’s walk-off single to right in the bottom of the ninth scored Kyle Tucker from second base with the winning run as Houston moves to within two games of the first-place Rangers with the final two games of this year’s series between the teams taking place in the next two days.
Houston was down two runs before they came up to bat in the first inning, then down 6-4 and 9-6 in the later innings before mounting multiple comebacks that sent jolts through an already-electric Minute Maid Park, which was sold out for tonight’s contest.
“That was the win of the year, so far,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said after the game.
McCormick’s hot streak has continued for a couple of weeks, in which he is batting .348 with an 1.173 OPS in his last 14 games. His last swing that resulted in a ball in play was on the first pitch he saw from the newly-acquired Chapman in the seventh inning after the Rangers had scored three in the top of the frame to take a 9-6 lead. After Chapman had walked Tucker and José Abreu, McCormick turned on a 97 mile-per-hour fastball and lifted the ball deep to left-center, with the ball hutting the railing just over the high fence to tie the game.
“I just made sure I was on time. He obviously throws 100,” McCormick said. “I faced him in Dallas a month ago. That was my first time facing him. I was a little shaky with him. I didn’t know when to load, but I had a good feeling when to load [tonight] and when to shorten up, and I put a good swing on it tonight.”
McCormick faced another tough customer on the mound in his first at-bat, Rangers starter Jon Gray, and came up with the bases loaded and Houston facing a 2-1 deficit. He hit another fastball, this time deep to straightaway center field, that hit the very top of the wall before bounding back into the outfield, a near-grand slam that was a two-run double that gave the Astros their first lead.
Houston went on to score four in the first inning, but found itself down again before batting in the bottom of the second after Texas scored three runs to retake the lead. An Abreu fielding error at first allowed a runner to score to cut Houston’s lead to 4-3, before two-out RBI singles from Travis Jankowski and Nathaniel Lowe put the Rangers back in front.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Monday evening’s game, with all photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Arturo Holmes. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are seven pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
