Tucker makes heroic catch to end wild series, hits one of five Astros HRs

ANAHEIM — A wild 24 hours of baseball at Angel Stadium got here all the way down to a matter of  inches. A sequence during which the Astros and Angels mixed for 54 runs and 14 dwelling runs got here all the way down to a defensive play. A day after the Astros suffered a gut-punch loss to the Angels, they turned the tables Sunday evening.

“That was large,” mentioned McCormick, who was 7-for-11 with three homers within the sequence. “It felt like the identical actual sport as [Saturday] evening, simply the opposite means round. It was good to come back again and win that sport. It was large to get some momentum into the off-day tomorrow and convey that into Colorado.”

In the future after blowing a six-run lead within the seventh inning with ace pitcher Framber Valdez and coughing up a three-run lead within the ninth inning in a 10-inning loss, the Astros overcame a 7-3 deficit within the seventh inning to stun the Angels.

“They broke our hearts final evening, and we broke their hearts immediately,” Astros supervisor Dusty Baker mentioned. “Baseball is such a day by day sport. It’s laborious to foretell the result, however that was an enormous, large, large win for us.

“Getaway day and we have been working on fumes out of our bullpen and attempting to combine and match, and the fellows stored combating and combating. That was an enormous homer that Bregman hit. … That homer that Tuck hit and the play that he made that saved the sport. He had an enormous day, too.”

A bases-clearing, three-run double by Taylor Ward within the seventh off Rafael Montero put the Angels forward, 7-3. That spelled doom for an Astros crew that had stranded 11 runners on base within the first six innings, together with leaving the bases loaded within the first and third innings. Not so quick.

McCormick, who led off the seventh with a homer, slugged a two-run homer within the eighth off All-Star nearer Carlos Estévez to make it 7-5. The Angels have been one out from closing out the Astros within the ninth when Bregman hit a first-pitch slider from Jaime Barria 397 toes over the left-field wall to place Houston forward, 8-7. Tucker adopted with a homer — and a bat flip — to cap a 4-for-5 evening with an vital insurance coverage run.

“Simply to offer the crew the lead within the ninth inning after a loopy three video games of swings, it was good to get out in entrance, and Tucker adopted it up with an insurance coverage run and we ended up actually needing it,” mentioned Bregman, who additionally went 4-for-5. “Each groups competed all sequence lengthy, and you may inform with what number of runs have been scored within the seventh inning or later, what number of lead modifications there have been. Very pleased with immediately.”

In fact, Angels celebrity Shohei Ohtani was going to make an affect earlier than the evening was over. He homered off reliever Phil Maton within the ninth, sparking a rally and placing some dread into Baker.

“It was occurring the identical means it did [Saturday] evening — Ohtani will get them again within the sport with a homer,” Baker mentioned. “I am going, ‘Oh, no, please no.’”

The Angels stored going. They’d two batters on base within the ninth with two outs when Matt Thaiss hit a sinking line drive to proper heart. Tucker raced to the hole and made a diving catch to forestall the tying run — and perhaps the successful run — from crossing dwelling plate. Sport over.

“It was just a little powerful as a result of it obtained within the lights just a little bit again there, however I used to be simply attempting to make a play on it and felt I needed to dive to not less than have an opportunity on it,” mentioned Tucker, who lined 60 toes to make the catch.

With that, the Astros exhaled and smiled. They felt lucky to flee Anaheim with a sequence win and buckled their seatbelts just a little tighter for what’s shaping as much as be a wild second half.

“Up and down the lineup, we’ve got guys that know find out how to win, know find out how to compete, do the little issues proper,” Bregman mentioned. “After we do the little issues proper, we’re rattling laborious to beat.”