Cam Smith goes 3-for-4, homers in Astros’ victory

This was an unbelievable baseball game that the Astros were fortunate to win. They blew a three-run lead in the middle innings and fell behind by two runs in the top of the 10th. Then, Andrés Muñoz imploded and let them tie the game before Walker came up with two on in a tie game in the bottom of that inning. He promptly launched a three-run, walk-off shot deep into the Crawford Boxes to send them home winners. That was his 23rd home run of the season in what’s been a solid bounce back campaign for the veteran first baseman.

Lambert keeps moving right along. He tightened up after allowing two runs in the top of the first inning and barely let the Mariners challenge him after that as no other runners reached scoring position. He showed off his deep repertoire too, forcing whiffs with five different pitches including four each with his fastball and changeup. This was his eighth consecutive start allowing two runs or fewer and he left it with a sparkling 3.11 ERA. He’s scheduled to face the Angels at home next time out.

This was a brutal blown save by Muñoz. After the Mariners put up two runs in the top of the 10th, Isaac Paredes hit an RBI single after an eight-pitch battle to cut the lead to one run quickly. Then, a two-out, game-tying single by Daulton Varsho set up a mammoth walk-off home run from Christian Walker. This was a game the Mariners absolutely had to have and Muñoz could not close it out. He now has a 4.47 ERA and seven blown saves in what’s become a catastrophic season.

Robles was a key contributor to the Mariners comeback before closer Andrés Muñoz imploded in the 10th inning. First, his sixth inning single cut the Astros’ lead to two runs. Then, his bunt single moved Cal Raleigh to second base before he scored the tying run on a ground rule double by Alan Roden in the eighth. Then, his RBI triple in the 10th pushed across the go-ahead run and his speed put him in position to score the all important insurance run on a sac fly just after. Those were each key hits in his final three at-bats to give the Mariners all the help they should’ve needed in an incredibly important series opener versus the division-leading Astros as they desperately try to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Kirby is simply not right. His lineup spotted him a two-run lead before he took the mound, and immediately gave one of those runs right back via a solo home run by Yordan Alvarez. It’s hard to fault anyone for that, Alvarez is on another level. Yet, the Astros jumped on Kirby for four more runs the following inning. He fell in love with his sweeper and it forced a few ugly swings, but he couldn’t command it very well. He battled all the way until the fifth inning with just those five runs which saved his line some in what was another rough outing. He now has a 3.89 ERA with 114 strikeouts and 31 walks through 136 2/3 innings as he heads into his next scheduled starts against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Pagán needed 11 pitches to get through the frame, with his last out coming on a fly-out by Otto Lopez. Pagán has now converted on nine straight save opportunities and hasn’t blown a save since May 4th.

Rays’ skipper Kevin Cash said after the game that while he’s considered day-to-day, it is a situation that the team will continue to monitor. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him sit out the remainder of the weekend as a precautionary measure.

Sanders took the mound in relief of Yennier Cano, who was in danger of blowing the 6-2 lead he entered the inning with. With the score sitting at 6-5 and runners on first and second, Sanders’ first pitch to Ryan Vilade found its way to left-center field and was secured by Leody Taveras for the fly-out and the win. We’ll go ahead and assume this will be the easiest save Sanders ever has in his career.

The Dodgers remain hopeful that he’ll be able to return to the mound in some capacity, either before the regular season ends or during the postseason. The Dodgers are blessed with a luxury of riches in their rotation at the moment, so it’s not going to hurt them all that much if he’s unable to get back on the mound in 2026.

Entering the ninth inning trailing 6-2, Aranda would single to drive home Taylor Walls and Richie Palacios to cut the O’s lead to 6-4. Aranda has enjoyed a hot start to August and is now slashing .306/.358/.388 with two extra-base hits and 10 RBI.