To the victors! Astros win 3rd straight on Caratini's walk-off HR

HOUSTON – After blowing a five-run lead, Houston fought for its season-high third straight win Tuesday night and arguably, its biggest victory this season.

Victor Caratini hit a two-run homer to right in the 10th to send the Astros to a come-from-behind 10-9 win over Cleveland at Minute Maid Park.

“Us creating that big lead and having the bullpen available to close that lead, and the fact that we couldn’t get it done, but us staying in the fight and winning in extra innings, that’s a big win,” Houston manager Joe Espada said.

After the Guardians took the lead on a David Fry RBI double in the top of the 10th, Caratini sent a 1-0 pitch from Hunter Gaddis to right field for the win.

Caratini said through an interpreter he was just trying to have a good at-bat.

“I knew I hit it hard, and it was a line drive,” he said. “It got out.”

It was Houston’s first walk-off win of the season and Caratini’s third career walk-off homer.

“Gaddis is tough on righties, and again Caritini comes off the bench and I just feel like he’s going to get the barrel on the ball, and he did,” Espada said. “I was hoping to keep the inning alive, and he walked us off.”

Caratini, whom the Astros signed in the offseason, has played well so far this season. He has batted .314 with two home runs and eight RBIs as a backup catcher.

“Offensively, he’s just got a short, simple swing,” Espada said. “He’s got a good game plan. He always puts good swings on the ball from the left side. That’s aside from leadership and his ability to receive games, call games. He’s just been a nice addition to our club.”

Caratini was just happy to get the win.

“Very happy for the whole team,” he said. “We were having a great game. The most important thing was the victory, and we were able to get the victory today.”

Josh Hader threw two innings in relief to get his first win as an Astro. He hadn’t thrown more than an inning since Aug. 14, 2020, when he was with Milwaukee.

Espada said he hoped not to have to use Hader for more than an inning often.

“That’s something that I don’t really like doing,” Espada said. “When I went up to him, he said ‘Yes, I want it.’ That shows how important us getting on a hot streak is.”

For the third straight game, the Astros offense scored at least eight runs.

Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer in the third, his first of the season.

“I feel great,” Bregman said. “Just working on some things in the cage mechanically. I feel good. Just missed a homer the first at-bat. Hit one the second at-bat. Just missed a few right after that.”

Joey Loperfido, who was making his Major League debut, hit a two-run single and Jon Singleton had a three-run homer as part of a five-run fourth as the Astros took an 8-3 lead.

“I hit it and kind of saw the outfielder coming up on it and was like ‘Fall, fall, fall.’ After that, just such a good feeling,” Loperfido, who finished 1-for-5, said of his first hit and RBIs.

Loperfido said the nerves didn’t hit him too hard the first at bat.

“Walking up that first at-bat and hearing my walkup song, I tried to be locked in, but it was a special moment,” he said. “After that first at-bat, I locked in and was comfortable. After that first fly ball [he caught] in left, nerves went away after that.”

The Astros are 10-19, but with three straight wins, they are fighting back into the hunt.

“It’s no secret what we’re going through right now,” Caratini said. “We all have trust in each other. We all know we have a really good team. It’s still early in the season. Everyone is working to push the team forward.”

Espada and the Astros did all they needed to win Tuesday night and keep the momentum going.

“It’s just more of we wanted to continue the momentum we created in Mexico,” Espada said. “Not so much the record, but we’re playing well, and we see that we are turning the corner in many areas of our game. I felt like we needed to use all our bullets to win this game.”