Yainer Diaz's walk-off nuke redeems Astros after Achilles' heel emerges vs. Red Sox

The Houston Astros had one of their most dramatic wins of the 2024 season with a walk-off homer off the bat of Yainer Diaz in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox. The Astros catcher, who got the start at first base on Monday night, sent the home crowd home happy with a 401-foot blast to break the 4-4 tie and extend the Astros winning streak to three games.

The game could have been a lot different, though. Houston overcame an early 2-0 deficit thanks to a two-RBI double in the fourth off the bat of Victor Caratini. The Astros had to rally from two runs down once again with a sacrifice fly in the sixth courtesy of pinch hitter Jon Singleton, and Mauricio Dubón added an RBI single in the eighth to set the stage for Diaz in the ninth.

Yainer Diaz's walk-off nuke redeems Astros after Achilles' heel emerges vs. Red Sox

But the Astros' heroics can't overshadow the fact that Houston committed four errors in the game. Of the four runs that Boston scored, only one was earned. The Astros have been one of the better defensive teams all season in terms of errors. Among American League teams, only the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers have made fewer miscues in the field. Houston's .986 fielding percentage is among the top-3 in the AL this season.

But on Monday night, Shay Whitcomb booted a routine grounder to third base in the bottom of the third inning that would've allowed Yusei Kikuchi to escape having allowed just the home run to Jarren Duran. Instead, the error resulted in another run for the Red Sox.

Another miscue, this one from All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, allowed Romy Gonzalez to reach first base in the top of the sixth. Kikuchi then struck out back-to-back batters before being lifted in favor of Tayler Scott. The Red Sox countered with pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida, whose home run put the Astros' in a 4-2 hole.

Diaz saved the day for the Astros, but those are the types of mistakes that could cost Houston dearly in the postseason. Manager Joe Espada needs to get those errors cleaned up, especially as the Astros continue to promote young players and alter their defensive alignment midstream. Houston would hate to be on the opposite side of the scoreboard because of defensive lapses.

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