HOUSTON -- The fifth inning began Friday night with the Astros getting two groundouts, which gave no indication of the outburst to come. An Astros offense that had struggled for much of the season was set to erupt behind their up-and-coming catcher, their hotshot rookie and their new third baseman.
The Astros sent eight batters to the plate with two outs in the fifth and scored six times to take control of the game, capped by a grand slam from Yainer Diaz that was the first of his career and the first for Houston since 2023. Cam Smith, the Astros¡¯ top prospect, and Isaac Paredes joined the fun in the eighth with home runs to send the Astros to a 14-3 rout of the Angels at Daikin Park.
¡°That¡¯s Astros baseball right there,¡± Smith said.
The 14 runs and 16 hits were the most by the Astros this season and went a long way to erasing the club¡¯s woeful offensive start to the season. Houston was hitting .208 as a team, had seven home runs and was averaging 3.2 runs per game before it unleashed the bats against the Angels.
¡°We swung the bats really well,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°The grand slam by Diaz, that was a big swing. We drew eight walks and had traffic and were able to get some big two-out hits. It was a great offensive night."
Diaz clubbed the Astros¡¯ first grand slam since Jos¨¦ Abreu on Sept. 6, 2023 with his first extra-base hit of the season to cap a six-run onslaught in the fifth that put them ahead, 7-2. It was their most runs in an inning since scoring nine on June 21, 2014 against the Orioles.
¡°It¡¯s been a tough couple of weeks, but I¡¯m still trusting the process,¡± said Diaz, who was 2-for-33 with no extra-base hits entering Friday. ¡°I was also looking for something I could do some damage [with], something I could hit up through the middle.¡±
Houston went 194 consecutive regular-season games without a grand slam, marking the 10th-longest streak in team history, and the longest since 197 games between June 2005 and May 2006, according to Elias.
¡°He swung at better pitches,¡± Espada said of Diaz. ¡°He pulled the balls he needed to pull in the air. I thought his approach was just better, more calm. We need that consistency and be able to do that day in and day out.¡±
After sending 11 batters to the plate in the fifth, the Astros batted around again in the sixth. They sent nine men to the plate and scored four times to take an 11-3 lead, capped by Smith¡¯s RBI double. It was the first time the Astros had at least nine plate appearances in consecutive innings since Sept. 9, 2019.
¡°Our lineup, one through nine, we can do things like that if we just stay within ourselves and understand that it¡¯s just going to take more than one guy to put the runs on the board like we did tonight,¡± Espada said.
Smith¡¯s double came on a first-pitch fastball from Angels reliever Michael Darrell-Hicks into right-center to drive in a run. Smith pumped his fists and looked at the dugout when he got to second base, saying he was feeding off the atmosphere of the crowd.
¡°Honestly, it¡¯s electric,¡± he said. ¡°I get the chills every time the crowd roars and I love to hear it every time we have a big hit or a big inning.¡±
The Astros have been working with Smith to be more aggressive at the plate, which appears to be paying dividends. He¡¯s gone 5-for-11 since Espada held him out of the lineup two consecutive days earlier this week.
¡°I think that¡¯s part of the emotions I showed because I know what they¡¯ve been asking for and I finally delivered,¡± Smith said. ¡°I had to let that roar out.¡±
Paredes, who was acquired with Smith and starting pitcher Hayden Wesneski from the Cubs in exchange for Kyle Tucker in December, clanked a homer off the left-field foul pole in the eighth for his first homer with the Astros to cap a 3-for-4 night.
¡°Very happy,¡± Paredes said. ¡°That¡¯s going to give us a lot of will to keep on hitting.¡±