Late Rallies Seal the Deal
The Baltimore Orioles defeated the Houston Astros 4-2 on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in an 11-inning contest at Daikin Park. The game remained deadlocked through nine innings before Baltimore’s offense erupted in the 11th frame to secure the win. Trevor Rogers provided a strong start for Baltimore, while Andrew Kittredge earned the win and Cam Sanders recorded the save.
Early Scoring and Pitching Duels
Baltimore took the lead in the fourth inning when Beavers doubled to right field, driving in Alonso who scored, while Basallo advanced to third. The Astros answered in the seventh inning as Allen hit a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher, allowing Dezenzo to score and Spence to reach second base.
Spencer Arrighetti pitched five innings for Houston, allowing one earned run on one hit with six strikeouts and four walks. He was followed by AJ Blubaugh, who threw two hitless innings with three strikeouts, and Bryan Abreu, who added one scoreless inning. Josh Hader struck out three batters in the eighth inning, and Steven Okert pitched the ninth without allowing a run.
In the 10th inning, Jackson hit a sacrifice bunt to first base, scoring Taveras with Encarnacion-Strand moving to second. Alvarez followed with a ground-rule double that drove in Spence, tying the game at 2-2. Enyel De Los Santos entered in the 11th and allowed two hits and an earned run, taking the loss with his record dropping to 0-3.