It was an inning Joe Espada, Ryan Weiss, and (most surprisingly) Jeremy Pena would like to forget.
All things considered, things were going about as well as could possibly be hoped for the Houston Astros through the first four innings of Monday’s game.
They built a 3-0 lead through the first four innings thanks to back to back doubles by Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, and then an RBI single by Christian Walker to account for a pair of first inning runs.
Cam Smith hit an absolute moonshot for a solo HR in the fourth, measuring a whopping 462 feet. It was the 9th longest home run in Astros history.
Spot starter Cody Bolton had put up four straight zeros in an emergency fill-in role, taking the place of the injured Hunter Brown.
Unfortunately, there was a fifth inning. It was one that the Astros would like to forget, especially the manager, the shortstop, and the pitcher who came on in relief who wants to start.
Bolton, who had allowed only 2 hits and 1 walk through 4 innings while striking out 5, had given the Astros more than they could have expected. Joe Espada chose to roll the dice and send him back out for the 5th instead of going to Ryan Weiss for a clean start of an inning. It would be a mistake.
A tiring Bolton surrendered a leadoff single, and then a questionable walk (the first pitch was a strike but called a ball by home plate umpire Nestor Ceja. The Astros did not challenge.) After a sacrifice bunt moved runners to 2nd and 3rd, Espada then summoned Weiss to come into a situation he isn’t used to – men on base mid-inning.
Weiss has primarily worked a s a starter, and as a reliever come in to clean innings. This was Espada’s second miscalculation of the inning. It would only get worse from here.
Weiss would walk Kyle Karros to load the bases. A 2-run single by Edouard Julien would draw the Rockies with a run at 3-2.
Weiss would then seem to settle in, getting Mickey Moniak to pop up with Correa making a terrific catch against the netting for out number two. He would then get Hunter Goodman to ground to short for what should have been the third out.
Should have been.
Unfortunately for Weiss and the Astros, Pena seemed to misread the ball off the bat. His initial step was the wrong direction. What should have been a routine ground out became an RBI single and now the game was tied. The Rockies still has runners on the corners with 2 out.
The next batter was Troy Johnston. Weiss induced a soft grounder up the middle that Pena waited for behind the bag instead of charging. The ball hit the second base bag and caromed over Pena’s head. It would wind up scored a double and an RBI, and the Rockies would take a 4-3 lead.
T.J Rumfield would clear the bases with a 2-run triple to left center field that Jake Meyers (who was shaded to right center) couldn’t run down, and then over ran the ball. Joey Loperfido, backing up the play from left, had to field the ball and throw it in. It was now 6-3 Rockies.
Willi Castro would follow with an RBI single and the nightmare inning continued, it was now 7-3 Colorado.
Brenton Doyle would then g round to short to seemingly end the inning, but Pena dropped the ball for an error, and everyone was safe.
Jake McCarthy would walk to load the bases before a single by Karros would drive in the Rockies 8th run of the inning. Julien would fly to left to finally end the nightmare, but not before the Rockies turned a 3-0 deficit into an 8-3 lead.
Here’s all the ugliness in one video.
The Astros would try to claw their way back into the game. In the top of the 6th, they had bases loaded and only one out. A sacrifice fly by Loperfido would make it an 8-4 game, but that’s all the Astros would get.
In the bottom of the inning, Johnston would take an inside sweeper off the plate from Weiss 407 feet to right for a solo homer, and a 9-4 Colorado lead.
In the top of the 7th, a one-out double by Pena and a two-out single by Altuve would generate a run, making it a 9-5 game.
In the 8th, Walker would lead off with a base hit, and Smith would follow with a double, giving the Astros two runners in scoring position with no out. An RBI groundout by Loperfido would make the score 9-6 and push Smith to 3rd. Yainer Diaz would follow with a single to drive in Cam to make it 9-7.
A Meyers double would give the Astros 2 runners in scoring position again, this time with one out, but they would fail to cash in. Pena would fly out to right. Yordan Alvarez was intentionally walked, and then Altuve would ground out to end the inning.
Juan Mejia would get the Astros 1-2-3 in the 9th to earn his first Save of the season and second save of his career.
Houston fell to 6-5 with the loss.
The Astros look to get back in the win column Tuesday with Mike Burrows on the mound, opposed by the Rockies’ Kyle Freeland.
