HOUSTON -- With the winning run at third base and two outs in the ninth inning Saturday afternoon, the Twins had a strategy visit at the mound with closer Jhoan Duran. That allowed Astros rookie Cam Smith, who was due up next, to take some extra time to assess the moment and the opportunity at hand.
“I was kind of just telling myself, ‘Why not?’” he said. “I haven’t gotten a chance to do it before, so why not?”
Smith swung at Duran’s first pitch, a 99-mph fastball, and bounced a single up the middle to score Christian Walker from third base for his first career walk-off hit to send the Astros to their fourth win in a row, 3-2, over the Twins at Daikin Park.
“When Duran’s in the game, you better not be taking too many pitches, because he’s not going to give you a break,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “You better be ready to hit. … The longer the at-bat extends, the tougher he gets. Cam, credit to him for coming ready to hit.”
After Smith rounded first base, he turned to see a swarm of jubilant teammates charging his way. They were led by Mauricio Dubón, who had a bottle of water ready to pour on the rookie’s head. The celebration was on.
“It’s a crazy feeling,” Smith said. “It’s almost like my callup. It pretty much feels like that. If it weren’t for Walker and [Jake] Meyers getting on base, I couldn't do that.”
Smith’s emergence as the Astros’ everyday right fielder, taking over for a departed star in Kyle Tucker, has been one of the best developments for Houston this season. Smith was one of three players the Astros acquired for Tucker from the Cubs in December, along with third baseman Isaac Paredes (who leads the team in homers and RBIs) and injured pitcher Hayden Wesneski.
Smith’s bat was so impressive during the spring (1.130 OPS in 15 games) the Astros moved him from third base to right field in the middle of camp so they could find a way to carry him on the Opening Day roster. He’s rewarding Houston for its confidence in him.
“Obviously, we know he’s talented,” Espada said. “We know he’s going to be a polished hitter, but how he came up to the plate believing he could get that big hit for the team, that’s No. 1. No 2, he wanted to be the guy getting that hit for the team and he did.
“Watching him build that confidence and wanting to be in the moment so he could be the one being soaked by the bottle of water, that means a lot for the personal growth of a player. That's what he’s doing. We’ve given him the opportunity to play every day in the big leagues and he’s growing in front of our eyes. We, as the Astros, and our community need to be excited about our right fielder.”
Astros starter Hunter Brown wasn’t able to pick up his ninth win of the season for the second start in a row despite pitching well. He struck out a career-high 12 batters in seven innings, giving up three hits, including a game-tying two-run homer in the fifth by Brooks Lee that landed in the first row of the Crawford Boxes.
"He’s pitched as well as anybody in baseball this year,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s consistently done it. You can see why. He’s got excellent stuff, excellent execution with his two fastballs. And then when he has to go to his offspeed stuff, he can intertwine all that pretty well."
Brown’s case to make his first All-Star Game is a strong one. Through 14 starts, he’s 8-3 with a 1.88 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP, with 105 strikeouts in 86 innings. The Astros are 10-4 in games he’s started, including 9-2 in the last 11. He’s the ace of a team leading the American League West at 40-30.
“He really wanted to get this series win for us,” Espada said. “There’s an opportunity to sweep these guys tomorrow. It’s a really good team, but Hunter came determined and focused. He was making really good pitches -- changeup, the fastball up against some really good lefty hitters, executing everything.”
Twins starter Joe Ryan held the Astros to two runs and two hits in seven innings, also giving up a two-run homer. That came in the third inning when Astros catcher Yainer Diaz cleared the wall in right field to put Houston ahead, 2-0.