Hader, Dubon Help Houston Astros Sweep Rays

Relief pitcher Josh Hader signed a five-year, $95 million contract in the offseason with the Houston Astros. He’s been earning every dollar of that deal this season.

Rarely has Hader not come through for the Astros. On Wednesday night, he pitched two clutch innings in relief in helping his team beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in 10 innings. It marked the Astros’ eighth straight victory, closing out an 8-1 road trip that saw the team visit Texas, Boston, and Tampa Bay. Hader, now 5-6 overall, picked up the win in relief.

It was a timely victory for the Houston Astros, too. Seattle lost to Detroit 3-2 in extra innings, allowing the Astros to extend their American League West Division lead to 2 1/2 games.

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Mauricio Dubon Clutch for Houston Astros

While Hader was handling his pitching duties, Mauricio Dubón picked a fine time to break out of a slump. Dubon, mired in a 0-for-14 skid, smacked a two-out single to center field in the 10th inning. He scored Pedro Leon, who was the designated runner at second base. Jeremy Pena’s solo home run in the fifth inning was Houston’s lone hit until Dubon connected.

“We got the sweep,” Dubón told The Associated Press after the game. “It was a battle, though. But it felt pretty good.”

Houston Astros starter Ronel Blanco went six innings, keeping the Rays at bay on 63 pitches. But a Brandon Lowe comebacker smacked into Blanco’s right hand. He was removed from the game. Afterward, a team spokesman said that Blanco wasn’t taken out because of injury.

“He came in sore, lost some feel to it,” Astros manager Joe Espada said after the game. “He did get some X-rays; came out negative. He’s good to go.”

Kaleb Ort, Travis Scott, and Bryan Abreu followed Blanco on the mound for the Astros. Scott stranded runners at second and third in the seventh inning, getting two key outs. Tampa Bay scored its run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Abreu walked Taylor Walls, a .171 hitter, to open the inning. Walls then stole second and third base off of Abreu. He scored on a grounder that Astros second baseman Jose Altuve threw home. But Walls slid in ahead of Houston catcher Yanier Diaz’s tag.

Garrett Cleavinger (7-3) took the loss in relief for Tampa Bay. The Rays are now 59-61 overall after losing seven of their last nine games.

Wednesday night’s game also saw hot Astros hitters Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez cool off at the plate. Bregman went o-for-4 and his four-game home run streak ended, too. Alvarez was 0-for-2 with two walks.

“A heck of a road trip,” Espada said. “We took care of business.” Indeed they did. The Houston Astros are now 65-55 for the season, 10 games above .500. They take Thursday off before opening a three-game series at Minute Maid Park against the woeful Chicago White Sox on Friday night.

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This article was written by Joe Rutland