Houston, TX – Brandon Barnes drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning and the Houston Astros defeated the Colorado Rockies, 3-2, in the opener of a two-game set at Minute Maid Park.
With Wilton Lopez (1-2) pitching for the Rockies, Matt Dominguez singled to start the inning. Ronny Cedeno pinch-ran for him and reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Marwin Gonzalez. After Jose Altuve was intentionally walked with two outs, Brandon Barnes hit a ground rule double to right to bring Cedeno home.
"I knew when I got it, I hit it well enough to get it down the line and I knew it was slicing a little bit," Barnes said. "It was a matter of staying fair."
Carlos Pena drove in two runs for the Astros, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Starter Bud Norris allowed two runs on two hits and three walks over seven frames. Paul Clemens (2-2) pitched a scoreless 12th to pick up the win.
Carlos Gonzalez and Jonathan Herrera drove in one run apiece for the Rockies, who saw starter Jhoulys Chacin give up two runs on five hits and a walk while fanning nine in a no-decision.
"We have to find a way to win a game like that, so it's frustrating," Rockies manager Walt Weiss remarked.
Eric Young, Jr. doubled to start the game and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Dexter Fowler. Gonzalez then smacked a double deep into right, scoring Young.
In the fourth, Nolan Arenado hit a leadoff double and reached home on consecutive sac bunts by Charlie Blackmon and Herrera.
However, the Astros responded in the home half. Altuve singled with one out and stole second. After Jason Castro drew a walk, Altuve stole third. Pena then doubled, plating Altuve and Castro to tie the game at 2-2.
Both teams managed to get on base often, but squandered a number of opportunities to take the lead, as they combined to go 6-for-28 with runners in scoring position and left a total of 25 players on base.
Game Notes
The Astros improved to 2-1 in extra-inning games this season, while Colorado fell to 3-5 ... Houston holds an 81-79 edge all-time against Colorado, including 54-29 at home ... Following the contest, the Astros optioned outfielder Robbie Grossman to Triple-A Oklahoma City and will announce a corresponding move on Tuesday ... Time of game was 4:21.
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