Tag: Yulieski Gurriel

Fortes’ go-ahead single leads 7th inning rally to lift Marlins over Cardinals, 5-4

MIAMI (AP) — After being swept in a three-game road series against the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker felt his team had to turn it around quickly.

“Good teams stop the bleeding,” Schumaker said after a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals Monday night. “They don’t continue the streak. And it felt like today was the day.”

Nick Fortes hit a go-ahead RBI single in a seventh inning rally to open a seven-game homestand for Miami that will include three more games against the Cardinals and a three-game series against Philadelphia.

Jesús Sánchez homered, singled twice and had four RBIs and the Miami Marlins beat St. Louis 15-2 in another short outing by Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright.

Ozzie Albies’ two-run homer in the fifth gave Atlanta the lead and the Braves overcame an early two-run deficit to beat the Miami Marlins 6-3 for their 16th win in 17 games.

The Miami Marlins have added a fresh arm to their bullpen for the final game of their series against Atlanta by recalling right-hander Jeff Lindgren from Triple-A Jacksonville.

Ronald Acuña and Ozzie Albies homered as part of a six-run first inning and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 7-0 as major league batting leader Luis Arraez saw his average dip to .388.

In front of a home crowd of 19,638, pinch hitter Yuli Gurriel tied it in the seventh with a two-run double against reliever Andre Pallante after two straight walks. The Marlins then inserted the speedy Jon Berti to pinch run for Gurriel, and Berti scored on Fortes’ ground-ball single.

“He’s a winner,” Miami starter Braxton Garrett said of Gurriel.

Marlins reliever Tanner Scott worked a scoreless eighth to preserve the lead despite giving up a single to Paul DeJong and hitting Dylan Carlson with a pitch. And A.J. Puk got the final three outs for his 14 save of the season.

“They are throwing in leverage situations against the meat of the order every single time I put them out there,” Schumaker said. “Puk had to go through the heart of a really good offense and got out of it.”

The victory gave Miami 11 wins in its last 14 home games and improved the Marlins to 12-1 in one-run games at loanDepot Park. Their 20-5 overall record in one-run games leads the majors.

DeJong had broken a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI double for the Cardinals, who are last place in the NL Central.

Willson Contreras led off the inning with a double against Garrett then scored on DeJong’s line drive off reliever Andrew Nardi. Huascar Brazoban (3-1) got the last two outs of the seventh for the win.

Garrett struck out six and allowed seven hits and two runs.

Contreras, who was 3 for 4, tied it in the second inning with his ninth home run of the season — a solo shot that went 383 feet to left. He also singled in the first and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas struck out two and gave up two runs and four hits in six innings. After giving up all four hits in the first two innings, he retired 14 straight batters and did not allow a runner until back-to-back walks of Garrett Cooper and Jean Segura in the seventh to start the Marlins’ rally.

Pallante (2-1) replaced Mikolas with the tying runs on base and took the loss.

Miami used a three-hit first to take a 2-0 lead. Luis Arraez led off with a single, Jorge Soler doubled, Bryan De La Cruz drove in Arraez with a grounder and Jesus Sanchez hit an RBI double.

Arraez was 1 for 4 bringing his batting average to .388.

Nolan Arenado’s sacrifice fly in the seventh drove in Lars Nootbaar to make it 4-2.

The Cardinals blew their 17th save opportunity of the season — the most in the NL and tied with the Chicago White Sox for most in the majors.

“You have to make everything right. Make a mistake and lose ballgame,” Mikolas said. “If the games are that tight, any little mistake can cost you.”

ROSTER MOVES

Cardinals: Designated OF Oscar Mercado for assignment and recalled first baseman Luken Baker from Triple-A Memphis. … Signed RHP Chen-Wei Lin, the franchise’s first player signed out of Taiwan.

Marlins: Placed OF Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. … Called up OF Dane Myers from Triple-A Jacksonville .. Designated RHP Eli Villalobos for assignment.

TRAINERS ROOM

Marlins: RHP Matt Barnes (left hip impingement) is scheduled to pitch back-to-back outings on a rehab assignment in Jupiter starting Monday night. … RHP Edward Cabrera (right shoulder impingement) threw a 25-pitch bullpen Monday … RHP Max Meyer (Tommy John surgery) will begin a bullpen progression this week. … RHP Johnny Cueto was scheduled to pitch seven innings with Triple A Jacksonville on Monday night.

UP NEXT

LHP Jesus Luzardo (6-5, 3.53) will start for the Marlins on Tuesday against Cardinals RHP Adam Wainwright (3-3, 7.45).

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July 4, 2023
Michael Harris hits 2 HRs, Braves beat Guardians 4-2 for ninth straight win

CLEVELAND (AP) — Michael Harris homered twice and Bryce Elder, one of Atlanta’s eight All-Stars, pitched 6 2/3 solid innings to lead the Braves to their season-high ninth straight win, 4-2 over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.

Harris connected for solo shots in the third and fifth innings off Guardians rookie Gavin Williams (0-1). Atlanta’s No. 9 hitter is batting .416 (37 of 89) with seven homers and 16 RBIs in his last 24 games.

Marcell Ozuna also homered for the Braves, who have won 17 of 18 and 24 of 27. Atlanta, which has had three winning streaks of at least eight games, improved MLB’s best record to 57-27.

Yainer Díaz had his first career two-homer game and Jeremy Peña added a two-run shot in his return from injury to lead the Houston Astros past the Colorado Rockies 6-4.

David Fry had a game-ending hit and the Cleveland Guardians stopped the Atlanta Braves’ nine-game winning streak with a 6-5 victory in 10 innings Tuesday night.

Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez and right-hander George Kirby, Tampa Bay shortstop Wander Franco and Houston outfielder Kyle Tucker were added to the American League All-Star roster as injury replacements and Pittsburgh closer David Bednar was picked for the National League team.

Logan Gilbert struck out seven pitching a five-hit gem for his first career complete game, Mike Ford homered during a four-hit performance, AJ Pollock added a late two-run shot, and the Seattle Mariners beat the San Francisco Giants 6-0 for their fourth straight win.After striking out Mike Yastrzems

Elder (7-1) didn’t give up a run until Amed Rosario’s two-run single in the seventh. A.J. Minter came on and got out of a two-on jam and Nick Anderson retired Myles Straw with two on in the eighth. Raisel Iglesias worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 15th save.

REDS 3, NATIONALS 2

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joey Votto hit a two-run home run to end an 0-for-21 slump, Ian Gibaut pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning and Cincinnati beat Washington for its fifth win in six games.

Votto homered in the fourth off Jake Irvin, depositing the ball just inside the visiting bullpen in left-center field and driving in Elly De La Cruz. It’s his fourth home run in 12 games this season since returning in June.

Luke Weaver (2-2) picked up the win by allowing two earned runs on six hits in five-plus innings. He was spared a 10th consecutive no-decision — or worse — when Gibaut got through the sixth, allowing just one hit, striking out Corey Dickerson and inducing a flyout from Derek Hill.

Catcher Tyler Stephenson drove in the Reds’ other run with an RBI single in the second. Fresh off being named an All-Star for the first time, closer Alexis Díaz picked up his 24th save.

Jeimer Candelario hit his 12th home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning for Washington. Irvin (1-4) struck out three and allowed six hits.

MARLINS 5, CARDINALS 4

MIAMI (AP) — Nick Fortes hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and Miami rallied to beat St. Louis.

Marlins pinch hitter Yuli Gurriel tied it in the seventh with a two-run double against reliever Andre Pallante (2-1) after two straight walks. The Marlins then inserted the speedy Jon Berti to pinch run for Gurriel, and Berti scored on Fortes’ ground-ball single.

Marlins reliever Tanner Scott worked a scoreless eighth to preserve the lead, and A.J. Puk got the final three outs for his 14 save of the season.

Paul DeJong had broken a 2-2 tie in the sixth with an RBI double for the Cardinals. Willson Contreras was 3 for 4, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

Huascar Brazoban (3-1) got the last two outs of the seventh for the win.

YANKEES 6, ORIOLES 3

NEW YORK (AP) — Harrison Bader hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the eighth inning and New York rallied to beat Baltimore.

Anthony Volpe scored the tying run in the seventh on a wild pitch by All-Star reliever Yennier Cano (1-1) before the Yankees completed the comeback ahead of a postgame fireworks show.

Giancarlo Stanton opened the eighth with a hard single off Cano before Anthony Rizzo followed with a single against Danny Coulombe. After showing bunt on the first pitch, Bader drove a 1-1 sweeper into the left-field seats for his seventh homer.

Tommy Kahnle (1-0) stranded former Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks in the eighth to keep it tied. Clay Holmes struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 10th save.

The second-place Orioles lost for the fifth time in six games and are three games ahead of third-place New York in the division standings.

BREWERS 8, CUBS 6

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Newly signed Jahmai Jones hit a pinch-hit, three-run double in his first big league appearance since 2021, helping Milwaukee rally past Chicago.

With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning, Jones hit a line drive on the first pitch from reliever Anthony Kay that one-hopped off the center field wall and scored Raimel Tapia, Christian Yelich and Owen Miller, tying the game at 6.

The Brewers completed their comeback from a six-run deficit in the eighth inning with an RBI single by Willy Adames and a sacrifice fly by Miller — both off Mark Leiter Jr. (1-2) — to take an 8-6 lead.

Brewers All-Star reliever Devin Williams allowed a double by Nico Hoerner and a walk to Ian Happ in the ninth, and then struck out All-Star Dansby Swanson to earn his 18th save.

Joel Payamps (3-1) pitched a perfect eighth inning for Milwaukee.

The Brewers won their third straight game and remained tied for first place in the NL Central with Cincinnati. The Cubs have lost three straight and seven of their last eight.

ASTROS 12, RANGERS 11

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — José Abreu and Chas McCormick had back-to-back RBI doubles in the ninth inning and second-place Houston Astros recovered after giving up an eight-run lead.

Abreu and McCormick also homered earlier for Houston, which took three of four against its instate rival to move within three games of the division lead. It is the closest the Astros have been in a month after trailing by as many as 6 1/2 games.

Kyle Tucker, who hit Houston’s majors-best eighth grand slam in the second for a 6-0 lead, led off the ninth with a single against Rangers closer Will Smith (1-3), who had only his second blown save in 16 chances. Abreu and McCormick then followed Alex Bregman’s deep flyout with their doubles.

The Rangers had their only lead on Corey Seager’s sacrifice fly that made it 11-10 in the eighth.

Bryan Abreu (3-2), the fifth Houston pitcher, allowed that run in the eighth before Ryan Pressly worked the ninth for his 18th save in 21 tries.

TWINS 8, ROYALS 4

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Edouard Julien hit a pinch-hit, solo homer to start a five-run eighth inning and Minnesota went on to beat Kansas City for the seventh time in eight games this season.

Carlos Correa had four hits from the leadoff spot and Byron Buxton drove in two runs with sacrifice flies for the Twins.

The Royals had tied the score in the top of the inning on a solo homer by Nick Pratto off Brent Headrick (2-0), the first batter he faced.

Kansas City reliever Taylor Clarke (1-3) surrendered five runs and five hits and retired just one of the seven batters he faced.

The Royals have lost 11 of their last 12 games in Minnesota.

MARINERS 6, GIANTS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Julio Rodríguez hit a two-run double in a four-run ninth inning against All-Star closer Camilo Doval, and Seattle held on to beat San Francisco.

J.P. Crawford broke a 2-all tie with a sacrifice fly against Doval. Rodríguez’s double made it 5-2, and Teoscar Hernández added an RBI single with two outs as the Mariners handed Doval his worst outing in the majors.

Andrés Muñoz (2-1) pitched eighth to get the win. Doval (2-3) had his third blown save in 27 chances this season.

Rookie catcher Blake Sabol homered twice and drove in all five runs for the Giants. He launched a three-run shot with two outs in the ninth to bring San Francisco within one. Pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores singled before Paul Sewald struck out Brandon Crawford to end it.

PADRES 10, ANGELS 3

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Blake Snell helped keep All-Star sluggers Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout in the ballpark, and Xander Bogaerts hit a three-run homer that sent disappointing San Diego to a big win.

Trout left with an apparent left hand or wrist injury after fouling off a pitch while leading off the eighth inning. He immediately shook his arm. Angels manager Phil Nevin and a trainer came out to check on the superstar and he left the field.

Ohtani wasn’t able to add to his major league league-leading 31 home runs. He walked twice. Trout, who has 18 homers, walked, had two singles and drove in a run.

In perhaps the biggest at-bat of the night, rookie reliever Tom Cosgrove struck out Ohtani on three straight pitches with two runners on in the sixth, one batter after Trout hit an RBI single to pull the Angels to 4-2.

Snell (5-7) held the Angels to seven hits while striking out seven and walking four in five innings.

Jaime Barria (2-4) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings, struck out five and walked none.

DODGERS 5, PIRATES 2

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Max Muncy hit his 18th homer of the season, and Los Angeles got Dave Roberts his 700th win as the Dodgers’ manager.

Jason Heyward and Miguel Rojas had RBI doubles to help the Dodgers bounce back after dropping the last two games in a weekend series at Kansas City.

Caleb Ferguson (5-3), the second of six Los Angeles pitchers, got the win. Evan Phillips worked the ninth for his 12th save

Mitch Keller (9-4) gave up five runs (four earned) in five innings and struck out seven. The Pirates have dropped three straight as they left nine on base and were 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.

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July 4, 2023
Realmuto, Phils rally past Astros in 10 to open World Series

HOUSTON — A timely swing by J.T. Realmuto propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to an unlikely win in the World Series opener.

A terrific stab by right fielder Nick Castellanos gave him that shot.

Realmuto hit a solo home run in the 10th inning and the Phillies, saved by Castellanos’ sliding catch, rallied past the Houston Astros 6-5 Friday night.

Down 5-0 early against Astros ace Justin Verlander, the Phillies became the first team in 20 years to overcome a five-run deficit to win a World Series game.

They can thank Castellanos for getting the chance. Known much more for his bat than glove, he rushed in to make a game-saving grab on Jeremy Peña’s blooper with two outs in the ninth inning and a runner on second.

“All in all, it was a great game, a great come from behind victory, and it just showed the resilience of the club again and how tough they are and they just never quit,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

Realmuto, who hit a tying, two-run double in the fifth off Verlander, completed the comeback when he led off the 10th by sending a fastball from Luis García into the seats.

Realmuto hoped for the best as he saw right fielder Kyle Tucker pursuing the ball.

“Once I saw him running back to the wall, I was thinking in my head, ‘Oh, please just don’t catch it, just don’t catch it.’”

He didn’t, the ball sailing just beyond his reach.

Realmuto circled the bases in a scene he dreamed about as a kid.

“Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I mean Wiffle Ball games in the backyard, the whole 3-2, bases-loaded, two-out situation. I probably had 7,000 at-bats in that situation growing up,” he said.

And did he usually deliver?

“Every time, yes,” Realmuto said, laughing.

Realmuto became the first catcher to hit an extra-inning home run in the World Series since Carlton Fisk waved his walk-off fair in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 Series against Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

Big-hitting Bryce Harper added two singles for the Phillies in his World Series debut. The two-time NL MVP is batting .426 (20 for 47) with five homers this postseason.

Tucker homered twice for the Astros, who had been 7-0 in this postseason.

“Disappointing, yeah, for sure,” Verlander said. “I need to do better. No excuses.”

Houston had a chance in the 10th when Alex Bregman doubled with one out. After Yuli Gurriel drew a two-out walk, David Robertson bounced a wild pitch that put runners on second and third.

Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz was then hit by a 2-0 pitch from David Robertson — but plate umpire James Hoye ruled that Díaz leaned into the pitch and didn’t permit him to go to first to load the bases.

Díaz grounded out on a 3-1 pitch to end it.

The last team to blow a 5-0 lead in the World Series was the 2002 San Francisco Giants, who squandered their chance in Game 6 to close out the Angels and win the title under manager Dusty Baker.

Baker saw it happen again this time as manager of the Astros, by the same 6-5 final score.

The 106-win Astros hadn’t lost to anyone since Philadelphia beat them on Oct. 3 behind Aaron Nola to clinch a wild-card spot as a third-place team and earn its first playoff trip in 11 years.

Houston raced out to a big lead thanks in large part to Tucker’s two homers. But the Phillies stormed back as Verlander again struggled in the World Series.

Perfect as he took a 5-0 lead into the fourth, he exited after the fifth with the score 5-all. That left him 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight career World Series starts — hardly the line for a pitcher who’s expected to soon pick up his third Cy Young Award.

The Astros fell to 0-5 in World Series openers and dropped their first game this postseason after sweeping in the AL Division Series and AL Championship Series.

Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless ninth to get the win when Castellanos made his stellar play.

With Jose Altuve on second base after his two-out single and stolen base, Peña hit a ball that came off the bat at 68 mph and went only about 200 feet. Castellanos ran a long way, then with a lunge made the inning-ending catch while sliding to the ground.

Right before the pitch, Castellanos moved in a little closer.

“That was just what my instincts told me to do. I just thought he had a better chance of trying to bloop something in there than torching something over my head,” he said.

In the opener of the NL Division Series against Atlanta, Castellanos drove in three runs and helped preserve the lead with a somewhat similar catch in the ninth of that 7-6 win.

“I’ve had a couple people say that it seemed like a carbon copy of each other,” he said. “But I’m just happy that an out was made and we were able to go on and win both those games.”

In the World Series for the fourth time in six years — and after losing to Atlanta in six games last year — these Astros are looking to give Baker his first title as a manager and get their second championship after winning it in 2017, a title tainted by a sign-stealing scandal.

The surprising Phillies, who have two championships, are in the World Series for the first time since 2009. They bounced back from a 21-29 start that led to manager Joe Girardi’s firing.

Tucker had the orange-clad home crowd rocking early as he became the first player in franchise history with a multi-home run game in the World Series. One of the few players in the majors to hit without batting gloves and suddenly exuding attitude, he had four RBIs a year after finishing the Fall Classic without one.

The normally mild-mannered Tucker punctuated his first homer with a nifty bat flip and mixed in an expletive as he screamed toward the dugout while beginning his trot.

Nola took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last trip to Minute Maid Park, more than three weeks ago when Philadelphia secured its first playoff spot since 2011. Things didn’t go nearly as smooth in his return Friday.

Tucker sent an off-speed pitch from Nola soaring high and into the seats in right field to put Houston up 1-0 with no outs in the second. Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Martín Maldonado added singles for another run.

Peña, the ALCS MVP, doubled to open Houston’s third before Yordan Alvarez grounded out. He was initially ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged the call, and it was overturned.

Bregman, who was Nola’s roommate at LSU, walked before Tucker went deep again, knocking a ball into the stands behind the bullpen in right-center to extend it to 5-0.

Verlander, who had an MLB-best 1.75 ERA in the regular season, allowed six hits and five runs in five innings. He joined Roger Clemens as the only pitchers in major league history to make a World Series start in three different decades but still could not claim that elusive World Series win. Friday was his 12th career start in a postseason series opener, tying him with Jon Lester for most in MLB history.

Verlander, who started his third Series opener, retired the first 10 batters before Rhys Hoskins singled with one out in the fourth. Harper and Castellanos singled for a run and Alec Bohm hit a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3.

Brandon Marsh opened the fifth with a double before Kyle Schwarber walked. Realmuto sent them both home with a double off the wall in left-center to tie it at 5-all.

UP NEXT

Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler opposes Framber Valdez when the series continues Saturday night.

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October 28, 2022
Love ’em or hate ’em, Series-bound Astros keep on winning

They’re off to the World Series for a fourth time in six seasons, a remarkable feat of staying power for a franchise in any era of baseball history, let alone one that includes a 12-team playoff gauntlet filled with potential pitfalls.

Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. put it succiently on Sunday night: “This is not easy.”

Even so, the dichotomy that is this generation of Houston Astros will probably never go away.

They left no doubt that they’re the best team in the American League this season, sweeping aside slugger Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees in four games after Sunday’s 6-5 victory.

It should be a lovable group. There’s pint-sized star Jose Altuve, two-time All-Star Alex Bregman, ace right-hander Justin Verlander and a slew of up-and-coming players like ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. There’s also Dusty Baker, the 73-year-old manager who is still searching for his first World Series title and the oldest man to lead a team to the Fall Classic.

And yet…

The stench of the 2017 cheating scandal — when the Astros were found to have illicitly stolen signs that season — still lingers, even though 21 of the 26 players on this year’s ALCS roster were not on the 2017 team.

Only Altuve, Bregman, McCullers, Verlander and Yuli Gurriel remain. The quintet has endured a firehose of hate from fans and even fellow players since the scandal was brought to light before the 2020 season. The catcalls were still heard at Yankee Stadium over the past few days, but as the Astros piled up the runs and wins, there was a hint of another emotion.

Grudging respect.

“They got better treatment here this time than in previous times here,” Baker said. “So maybe it was a different crowd or maybe the crowd has finally forgiven things of the past.”

That’s probably wishful thinking.

But it’s also probably time to admit that these Astros — trash cans or no trash cans — are simply really good at baseball.

“When everything happened a few years ago, we knew the one thing that we could do is we could win and we could win and win a lot,” McCullers said. “I understand people are still not going to like us. They’re going to boo us, but at some point you have to respect what we’re doing.”

It’s a franchise that’s kept rolling despite the upheaval the cheating scandal wrought. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were suspended for a year by MLB and eventually fired before being replaced by Baker and James Click. Many of the best players from that 2017 team have retired or moved on to other teams.

Star outfielder George Springer left for the Blue Jays. Two-time All-Star shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the Twins. Right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton left for the Rays and is now with the Braves.

Altuve is among those who have witnessed it all. Now his team is back in the World Series: The Astros host the Phillies in Game 1 on Friday.

Those who wanted the Astros to suffer a quick, embarrassing downfall in the aftermath of 2017 continue to be disappointed.

“When you talk about Springer, Charlie Morton, Carlos Correa, you’re talking about all superstars, and to get players to fill that spot it’s not easy,” Altuve said before Game 4 on Sunday. “The fact that we’re still playing really good and being in these situations, like I said, we just have to give a lot of credit to the front office group.”

In a way, the Astros saga is a fitting chapter for a sport that can never seem to completely enjoy its biggest moments.

Judge set the AL record for homers with 62 this season and the debate raged about whether he should be considered the all-time single-season record holder. Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa all hit more in the National League, but for many, their accomplishments are overshadowed by links to performance-enhancing drugs.

Now the debate will rage about the Astros.

Altuve has become a pro at deflecting vitriol. He knows some in baseball would love for them to go away.

That doesn’t appear to be happening any time soon.

“I do as best as I can to keep everything away and just focus on the game and just be ready to help my team,” Altuve said. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter where I play, I just got to be 100% focused on the game.”

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October 24, 2022
Cortes hurt, leaves after tying 3-run HR in ALCS Game 4

NEW YORK — Nestor Cortes’ fastball dropped 3 mph from the end of the second inning to the third in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series, and New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone walked to the mound with head athletic trainer Tim Lentych.

“He said he was fine,” Boone recalled. “I’m not going to just pull him out of the game because he isn’t perfect.”

Eight pitches later, Cortes allowed a tying three-run homer to Jeremy Peña and the Astros went on to a 6-5 victory Sunday night that completed a four-game AL Championship Series sweep.

“It’s kind of embarrassing that that happened, obviously, with the circumstances we were in,” Cortes said.

Cortes had reaggravated his strained left groin during workouts in the five days ahead of the Division Series opener against Cleveland on Oct. 11 but made a pair of starts against the Guardians and won Game 5.

He allowed a single and a walk in the first two innings against the Astros, then walked Martín Maldonado leading off the third and had a 2-1 count on Jose Altuve when Boone made the mound visit after his eighth pitch of the inning.

“He asked me how I felt and I told him, `I feel well enough to compete. I feel great,’” Cortes recalled. “He knows I’m a competitor. He knows that it’s going to be hard to take me off the mound. And I think I showed all year that I’ve gained respect from him to leave me out there and grind through it.”

Cortes threw 17 fastballs in the first two innings against Houston ranging from 89.4 to 92.4 mph. His seven in the second inning were from 87.7 mph to 89.1 mph.

His control was off. Cortes went to three-ball counts on seven of 11 batters and he threw just 28 of 55 pitches for strikes.

“It gradually got worse. It started locking up on me there in the third,” Cortes said.

Altuve’s walk marked the first time the 27-year-old All-Star left-hander walked consecutive batters this year. He fell behind 3-1 when Pena homered on a cutter, driving it into the left-field seats.

“I don’t think that homer was because I was hurt,” Cortes said. “It was just, he put a good swing to it. I thought I had located the pitch pretty well.”

Cortes did not pitch between Aug. 21 and Sept. 8 because of a strained left groin, then returned to make five regular-season starts and two in the Division Series, when he allowed three runs in 10 innings.

“It’s been lingering for a while,” he said.

Cortes thought he could pitch through it and Boone believed him.

“We’ve been dealing with this on different levels for a couple months,” Boone said. “He said he was fine and then obviously wasn’t quite fine enough.”

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October 23, 2022