Sandy Alcantara had the Astros exactly where he wanted them. The former Cy Young Award winner had worked through seven innings, prevented Houston from building another serious rally after the third and carried a 2-2 tie into the eighth Wednesday night at Daikin Park.
Then Jeremy Peña reached on an infield single.
Yordan Alvarez followed by driving a 1-1 fastball over the wall in left-center field. Isaac Paredes stepped in next and launched another home run to nearly the same part of the ballpark. In three batters, the Astros turned a tense game into a 5-2 victory and completed a three-game sweep of the Miami Marlins.
That sudden power surge delivered the response Houston needed after Baltimore swept the club at home. Alvarez finished the series with three home runs, while Peña homered in all three games. Paredes supplied major damage on consecutive nights as the Astros climbed to 50-54 and moved within two games of first place in the American League West.
Lambert escapes early trouble
Peter Lambert’s start nearly unraveled before Houston came to bat.
Miami loaded the bases in the first inning with two singles and a two-out walk. Griffin Conine then drove a ball 391 feet toward right-center field, but Lucas Spence tracked it down near the warning track to end the threat.
Lambert settled immediately. He retired the next nine hitters and needed only 17 pitches to complete the second and third innings. His recovery gave the Astros time to build an early lead.
Nick Allen opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second. Peña made it 2-0 an inning later, driving an Alcantara pitch over the left-field wall for his ninth home run of the season.
Miami finally cracked Lambert with two outs in the fourth. A walk to Conine set up Javier Sanoja’s RBI double before Joe Mack followed with a run-scoring single that tied the game at 2-2.
Neither team scored again before the eighth. Lambert completed six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks. Enyel De Los Santos and Steven Okert followed with scoreless relief appearances, keeping the game level until the top of Houston’s order returned.
Three batters break Alcantara’s grip
Alcantara entered the eighth at 97 pitches and had not allowed another Astros runner to reach scoring position since Peña’s third-inning homer.
Peña changed that with a leadoff infield single. Alvarez received a 97.4 mph fastball on a 1-1 count and drove it a projected 394 feet to left-center. His Major League-leading 34th home run gave Houston a 4-2 advantage.
Paredes did not give Alcantara a chance to recover. The right-handed slugger sent another pitch 398 feet to left-center for his 14th homer, putting the game out of reach and ending Alcantara’s night at 108 pitches.
Those consecutive shots mattered beyond the final score. Alvarez is the hitter opponents build their plans around, but Paredes offers genuine protection behind him. Pitchers cannot simply work around Houston’s most dangerous bat when another proven power hitter waits in the on-deck circle.
Peña’s role is just as important. His contact skills and speed create traffic in front of Alvarez, who has punished pitchers throughout the season when given opportunities with runners aboard.
Astros manager Joe Espada summed up the value of Houston’s quick response after the difficult Baltimore series: “You get swept, you sweep somebody back, right? That’s a good bounce-back win.”
More than the reversal itself, the way Houston won offered encouragement. Peña created the opportunity, Alvarez delivered the lead and Paredes supplied the separation.
Alvarez keeps building his MVP case
Alvarez left Wednesday leading Major League Baseball with 34 home runs and 77 RBIs. His .328 batting average also ranked first in the American League, keeping him firmly in the Triple Crown race.
Recent results have strengthened his case. During a nine-game hitting streak, Alvarez went 17-for-33 with five homers and 10 RBIs. His blast against Alcantara was his third of the Miami series and moved him within three of his career high of 37, set in 2022.
Support from the rest of the order also shaped the sweep. Peña went 3-for-4 in the finale and extended his career-best home run streak to three games. Paredes had already delivered a pivotal swing Tuesday, when his three-run homer helped Houston secure a 5-3 victory.
Together, the trio changed the appearance of Houston’s lineup. Alvarez remains its central threat, but Peña and Paredes forced Miami to navigate the entire top third instead of pitching around one elite hitter.
Paredes also provides the right-handed power Houston needs behind Alvarez. When both hitters are locked in, opposing pitchers have little margin for error.
Houston finds the response it needed
Baltimore exposed Houston’s biggest offensive problem over the weekend. The Astros went 4-for-27 with runners in scoring position, stranded 28 runners and scored only six runs across three losses.
Against Miami, the lineup responded with 18 runs and moved back within striking distance in the division race.
A road series against the Chicago White Sox now provides a tougher test. Chicago enters the matchup at 54-47 with a one-game lead in the AL Central. Houston will then visit the Los Angeles Angels for another series with direct implications in the AL West.
Sweeping a struggling Marlins club does not erase the Astros’ uneven season. Still, it keeps them close enough to matter.
After a weekend filled with missed opportunities, Houston finally produced the kind of inning its lineup was built to deliver. Peña started the rally. Alvarez broke the tie. Paredes made sure Miami could not answer.
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FAQS
Q1. Who hit back-to-back home runs for the Astros against the Marlins?
Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes hit consecutive home runs in the eighth inning.
Q2. What was the final score of the Astros and Marlins game?
Houston beat Miami 5-2 to complete the three-game sweep.
Q3. How many home runs did Yordan Alvarez have after the game?
Alvarez had 34 home runs, which led Major League Baseball at the end of the game.
Q4. How did Peter Lambert pitch against the Marlins?
Lambert allowed two runs on six hits and two walks across six innings.
Q5. How many games did the Astros sweep from the Marlins?
Houston won all three games of the series at Daikin Park.
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