David Hensley and Martin Maldonado snapped lengthy hitless streaks while Jose Urquidy overcame a pair of solo home runs as the Houston Astros salvaged the finale of a three-game series against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies with a 4-3 victory on Sunday.
Hensley and Maldonado entered the series finale mired in 0-for-24 skids before Hensley doubled leading off the second inning and scored when Maldonado added a ground-rule double off Phillies left-hander Bailey Falter to give Houston a 2-1 lead.
Falter (0-5) had escaped with minimal damage in the first inning after loading the bases with no outs. The only run scored when he induced a double-play grounder from Jose Abreu.
The Astros reached Falter for single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Jake Meyers launched a 407-foot home run with one out in the fourth that pushed the Astros’ lead to 3-1.
When Kyle Tucker added an RBI single in the fifth, the Phillies pulled Falter and Houston reclaimed its two-run lead at 4-2. Falter allowed four runs on eight hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings, marking his shortest outing of the season.
The Phillies remained in contention with their power. J.T. Realmuto erased the Astros’ 1-0 lead with his two-out solo homer off Urquidy (2-2) in the second inning, and Kody Clemens homered for the third time in four games with one out in the fifth, a solo shot to left that drew the Phillies to within 3-2.
Urquidy held the line there before departing with one out in the sixth inning with a shoulder injury. He surrendered two runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. Hector Neris inherited a baserunner and walked Brandon Marsh with two outs before retiring Realmuto to strand both runners.
Astros reliever Rafael Montero encountered a similar pinch in the seventh inning, allowing a pair of two-out singles before striking out Trea Turner on three consecutive four-seam fastballs.
The Phillies sliced the deficit in half against Bryan Abreu in the eighth courtesy of a fielding error on third baseman Alex Bregman that allowed Kyle Schwarber to score from second with two outs. Closer Ryan Pressly nailed down his third save with a perfect ninth.
Philadelphia stranded seven and finished 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
–Field Level Media
