Astros Erase Five-Run Hole, Walk Off Rays on Fourth of July
HOU def. TB · July 4, 2026 · Final: Astros 10, Rays 8
Houston trailed 7-2 after three and a half innings on Saturday, a hole that left the Astros with a 6.1% chance of winning. By the end of the ninth, they had a walk-off and a 10-8 final.
Tampa Bay built the lead quickly. Rays third baseman Junior Caminero homered in the top of the first, but Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez answered immediately in the bottom half, putting Houston ahead 2-1 with a two-run shot to left center. The Rays reclaimed the lead in the top of the second on a two-run homer from Tampa Bay's Richie Palacios, then extended it through the third — a sacrifice fly from Victor Mesa Jr. and an RBI single from Jonny DeLuca pushed it to 6-2. A Caminero fielder's choice in the top of the fourth made it 7-2, and that was the depth of the hole.
Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz started the climb in the bottom of the fourth, connecting on a two-run homer to right center that made it 7-4. Alvarez trimmed it to 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single that scored Nick Allen.
DeLuca added a solo shot in the top of the seventh to push Tampa Bay back to 8-5, but the Astros answered in the bottom half. Alvarez's sacrifice fly scored Taylor Trammell to make it 8-6. Then Houston's Isaac Paredes singled home Allen to cut it to one, and Astros left fielder Zach Dezenzo followed with an RBI single that scored Jose Altuve and tied it at 8.
The game stayed level into the ninth. Alvarez stepped in with Altuve aboard and drove a fly ball to center field for his second home run of the night — his 29th of the season — and the Astros won it, 10-8.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 5 runs — in the top of the 4th
- Win-probability nadir
- 6.1% (down 5 in the top of the 4th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 9th
- Lead changes
- 3
- Final
- HOU 10, TB 8 — won by 2, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T1 | Junior Caminero homers (26) on a fly ball to left center field. | 1-0 |
| B1 | Yordan Alvarez homers (28) on a fly ball to left center field. Jose Altuve scores. | 1-2 |
| T2 | Richie Palacios homers (2) on a fly ball to right center field. Victor Mesa Jr. scores. | 3-2 |
| T3 | Victor Mesa Jr. out on a sacrifice fly to center fielder Taylor Trammell. Jonathan Aranda scores. | 4-2 |
| T3 | Jonny DeLuca singles on a line drive to right fielder Cam Smith. Junior Caminero scores. Cedric Mullins to 3rd. | 5-2 |
| T3 | Richie Palacios lines out to left fielder LaMonte Wade Jr. | 6-2 |
| T4 | Junior Caminero reaches on a fielder's choice. Taylor Walls scores. Hunter Feduccia to 3rd. Throwing error by shortstop Nick Allen. | 7-2 |
| B4 | Yainer Diaz homers (4) on a fly ball to right center field. Christian Walker scores. | 7-4 |
| B5 | Yordan Alvarez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. Nick Allen scores. Jose Altuve to 3rd. | 7-5 |
| T7 | Jonny DeLuca homers (5) on a line drive to left field. | 8-5 |
| B7 | Yordan Alvarez out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Jonny DeLuca. Taylor Trammell scores. Nick Allen to 3rd. | 8-6 |
| B7 | Isaac Paredes singles on a line drive to left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. Nick Allen scores. Jose Altuve to 2nd. | 8-7 |
| B7 | Zach Dezenzo singles on a line drive to right fielder Jonny DeLuca. Jose Altuve scores. Isaac Paredes to 3rd. | 8-8 |
| B9 | Yordan Alvarez homers (29) on a fly ball to center field. Jose Altuve scores. | 8-10 |
Box score
▸
Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
| HOU | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 1 |
HOUWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Altuve2B | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .234 |
| Yordan AlvarezDH | 4 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | .324 |
| Isaac Paredes3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .251 |
| Christian Walker1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .238 |
| Zach DezenzoLF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .208 |
| Cam SmithRF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .220 |
| Yainer DiazC | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .235 |
| Taylor TrammellCF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .257 |
| Nick AllenSS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .244 |
| LaMonte Wade Jr.LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .267 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter Brown | 4.0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 82 |
| Nate Pearson | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Cristian Javier | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 39 |
| Bryan King | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| Josh Hader | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
TBLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan ArandaDH | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .287 |
| Junior Caminero3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .291 |
| Cedric MullinsCF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .215 |
| Ryan Vilade1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .267 |
| Victor Mesa Jr.LF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | .176 |
| Jonny DeLucaRF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .265 |
| Richie Palacios2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .233 |
| Taylor WallsSS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .229 |
| Hunter FeducciaC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .231 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drew Rasmussen | 5.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 77 |
| Cole Sulser | 1.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 20 |
| Garrett Cleavinger | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 |
| Craig Kimbrel | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 |
| Casey Legumina | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 |