Top 10 Astros stories of 2013 (numbers 6 through 10)

Matt Dominguez (Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)

#10. Dominguez blasts two homers off Yu Darvish

On May 11, Yu Darvish stepped atop the pitcher’s mound at Minute Maid Park thinking about what might have been. In his most recent visit to Houston, Darvish was one out away from perfection. That’s when Marwin Gonzalez hit a liner that barely eluded the pitcher’s glove and went through his legs en route to a safe passage to the outfield.

On this day, Darvish looked to be on his game again, retiring the first seven Houston hitters that he faced. But Matt Dominguez would bring Yu’s dominance to an abrupt end. A towering homerun deep into the Crawford Boxes would tie the score. Surprisingly, it was Matt’s first longball of the year. But he was just getting started.

In his next trip to the plate, with the score still tied and a runner on first base, Dominguez would flex his muscles again. Another deep blast down the leftfield line would find the seats and put the Astros on top.

Unfortunately, in what was becoming an all too familiar occurrence, the bullpen would blow the lead and the Astros would eventually lose the game. Butt Matt Dominguez did a couple of things on that day. Not only did he prove to the rest of the team that Yu Darvish was indeed human, he also gained some confidence in his own ability. Dominguez would go on to hit 21 homers on the year. Not bad for a guy who went six weeks deep into the season before hitting his first… and second.