Having experienced the late-season thrills of a tight pennant race in the series opener, the Houston Astros hope to discover an easier way to retain or increase their American League West lead when they continue a road series against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday.
Down to their last strike and staring at the possibility of dropping out of first place in the AL West, the Astros received a game-tying hit from Cam Smith in the ninth inning, then a two-run double from Isaac Paredes in the 10th inning to pull out a 6-3 win in Monday’s series opener.
The rally gained importance when the Astros returned to the clubhouse after the victory and watched the second-place Texas Rangers record an extra-inning win of their own against the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros and Rangers will once again take the field at their California road venues on Tuesday separated by just an hour in starting time and a half-game in the standings.
Smith’s ninth-inning heroics weren’t his only contribution to Monday’s win. He forged a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning with his 16th homer of the season and third in his past three games.
“He’s really locking it in. I think it’s just time; it comes with experience,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Smith earlier in the trip. “He’s worked really hard on some stuff, trying to get the barrel out in front, trying to pull the ball, and he’s getting results. We need some of that production down at the bottom (of the lineup).”
Smith will take his cracks in Tuesday’s rematch against struggling Giants left-hander Carson Whisenhunt (2-3, 7.25 ERA), who has lost three consecutive starts, roughed up for 14 runs in 11 2/3 innings.
Whisenhunt, 25, has never faced the Astros. He will be making his 11th career start.
The assignment is a tough one for Whisenhunt, who will be matched up with Astros ace Hunter Brown (3-1, 3.53), who is 2-0 in his past three starts.
The 27-year-old right-hander lost his only career start against the Giants in 2023, allowing two runs in 4 1/3 innings in a 2-0 home defeat. He has never pitched at San Francisco’s Oracle Park.
Brown also has never gone head-to-head with second-year Giants center fielder Drew Gilbert, who stood to get teammate Willy Adames’ ceremonial postgame Gatorade bath until Smith denied San Francisco a win. Gilbert hit a solo homer and also drove in a second run with a sacrifice fly, giving him a single, triple, homer and three RBIs in his last two games.
Giants manager Tony Vitello, who recruited Gilbert to the University of Tennessee and is quite familiar with the prospect, told reporters after the loss that he expects more from the 2022 first-round pick.
“He’s playing good ball overall, but there’s more in there that I think he can ignite in the dugout and the clubhouse,” Vitello said. “He’s playing intense but under control. It’s a delicate balance, but fun to watch when he’s doing it like he was (Monday).”
The series concludes with an afternoon game on Wednesday.
–Field Level Media
