Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros

· Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

29-28, 11-9 Away

Final
1 - 2

Houston Astros

31-26, 21-11 Home

Yainer Diaz's walkoff home run backs Framber Valdez's three-hitter as Astros beat Rays 2-1

Framber Valdez fans 9 in complete game for Astros

The score was tied 1-1 entering the ninth. Garrett Cleavinger (0-1) struck out Jose Altuve and Christian Walker before Diaz sent a 98 mph sinker into the seats in right field to set off a wild celebration.

Valdez (5-4) gave up a homer to Jose Caballero in the first inning and tied a season high with nine strikeouts in his ninth career complete game and second this season.

Houston trailed 1-0 when Jake Meyers doubled to center field with no outs in the eighth inning and scored on Zach Dezenzo's single on a grounder. Dezenzo moved to second on a throwing error by second baseman Curtis Mead on the play.

Caballero homered on Valdez's second pitch to give the Rays an early lead. The homer was just his second this season and the first since April 9.

Rays starter Ryan Pepiot allowed two hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings in his second strong start after he threw seven scoreless innings in his last start.

Valdez retired 12 straight before Jonathan Aranda singled on a chopper to first base to start the fifth. Valdez got right back on track, striking out Danny Jansen before Mead grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Valdez sailed through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, sitting down nine straight batters with three strikeouts.

Taylor Walls singled with one out in the ninth before Caballero walked. Walls was caught stealing third and Valdez retired Yandy Díaz on a groundout to complete his night.

Walker singled with two outs in the seventh to chase Pepiot. Kevin Kelly took over and was greeted with a single by Diaz. The Astros came away empty when Kelly struck out Cam Smith.

Key moment The home run by Diaz allowed Houston to rally after losing the series opener 13-3.

Key stat Valdez needed just 83 pitches to complete the game.

Up next Rays RHP Zack Littell (4-5, 3.97 ERA) opposes Astros LHP Colton Gordon (0-0, 3.52) on Saturday.

How can I watch Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros?

TV Channel: Rays at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
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Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Diaz homered to right (370 feet).
	9th Inning	Walker struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Altuve struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Cleavinger relieved Kelly
	9th Inning	Díaz grounded out to shortstop.
	9th Inning	Caballero to second, Walls caught stealing third, catcher to third.

Statistics

TB		HOU
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
15	Ground Balls	7
9	Strikeouts	8
1	Runs Batted In	1
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
3	Hits	7
0	Stolen Bases	1
1	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	0
1	Runs	2
1	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
28	At Bats	31
1	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
3	Runners Left On Base	7
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
0	Doubles	1
4	Fly Balls	16
1	Caught Stealing	0
83	Pitches	123
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
6	Total Bases	11
29	Plate Appearances	32
162.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
1	Extra Base Hits	2
-0.6	Runs Created	2.5
.107	Batting Average	.226
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.214	Slugging Percentage	.355
.107	Secondary Average	.194
.138	On Base Percentage	.250
.352	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.605
3.8	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.4
-0.6	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	2.7
10.0	Batter Rating	19.0
28.0	At Bats Per Home Run	31.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	1.00
2.86	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.84
.107	Isolated Power	.129
0.11	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.13
.034	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.031
.000	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.032
2.0	Runs Produced	3.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	0.5
0.2	Patience Ratio	0.4
0.1	Balls In Play Average	0.3
61.5	MLB Rating	72.5
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0