This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs in support of Spencer Arrighetti, who flirted with a no-hitter in the Houston Astros’ 10-0 win over the host Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
Arrighetti (7-11) did not allow a hit until the eighth inning. The rookie right-hander finished having yielded two hits and four walks in 7 2/3 innings with 11 strikeouts – his third double-digit strikeout performance this month.
Alvarez went 4-for-4 to spark an 18-hit effort as Houston avoided a three-game sweep. He hit a two-run homer off Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-6) as part of a five-run third inning. He led off the seventh with a blast off Michael Mercado and completed his third career three-homer game with a liner over the center-field wall against Mercado in the eighth.
Five other Astros recorded multiple hits. That group included Ben Gamel, who went 3-for-5, and Jose Altuve, who had two hits and scored twice, highlighted by a first-inning steal of home. Chas McCormick hit his fifth homer for Houston, which had lost six of its previous eight games.
Austin Hays, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm had the only hits for Philadelphia, which saw its four-game winning streak come to an end. Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos combined to go 0-for-6 with five strikeouts.
Mauricio Dubon made a leaping catch at the left field wall to end the seventh inning, but Arrighetti’s good fortune didn’t last much longer.
Hays led off the eighth with a grounder to the left side that went under the glove of third baseman Shay Whitcomb, who had just entered the game. By the time shortstop Jeremy Pena got the ball over to first, Hays had beaten the throw to end the no-hit bid.
Altuve stole home to get the Astros on the board in the first inning. Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper was slow to react following a pickoff attempt, allowing Altuve to sprint home from third.
Jake Meyers’ two-run double made it 3-0 in the fourth before Alvarez’s power display took center stage. The slugger has 28 homers on the season.
Walker was torched for six runs and 13 hits in six innings. He struck out none of the 28 batters he faced and watched his ERA climb to 6.50.
–Field Level Media
