HOUSTON (AP) - The Houston Astros lamented missed opportunities after an extra-inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.
“We had ample opportunity to beat them with a single,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We just couldn’t scratch one across in the end.”
Eugenio Suarez hit a tiebreaking RBI double in the 11th inning, and the Reds held on for a 4-2 victory.
Adam Duvall started the 11th with a single off Pat Neshek (2-1). He scored when the double by Suarez landed in the corner of left field, and the throw home rolled out of reach of catcher Jason Castro. The Reds added an insurance run on a sacrifice bunt by Ramon Cabrera with one out in the inning.
Houston left 14 players on base and went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.
The game went to extra innings after a solo homer by Houston’s Carlos Correa knotted it up at 2-2 in the eighth.
Zack Cozart put Cincinnati up 1-0 with an RBI double in the fifth inning. Carlos Gomez tied it at 1-all with a run-scoring single in the sixth inning.
The Reds regained the lead when Billy Hamilton scored on a groundout by Jose Peraza in the seventh inning.
J.J. Hoover (1-1) allowed one hit in two scoreless innings for the win and Tony Cingrani yielded one hit in the 11th for his eighth save.
Red starter John Lamb allowed three hits and one run while fanning a season-high eight in 5 1/3 innings.
Houston starter Lance McCullers yielded eight hits and two runs with six strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings.
“I felt good out there,” McCullers said. “My stuff felt better coming out of my hand. I’m happy with that. Disappointed that we didn’t get the win though.”
The Astros trailed 2-1 in the eighth when Correa sent Blake Wood’s first pitch to left-center field for a homer to tie it. It was the first home run Wood had allowed since Casey Kotchman connected off him on Aug. 8, 2011, snapping the longest active homerless streak in the majors. It had been 58 games and 63 2/3 innings since he had allowed a long ball.
A walk by Colby Rasmus loaded the bases and chased Lamb with one out in the sixth. He was replaced by JC Ramirez, who was greeted with the RBI single by Gomez that tied it at 1-all.
“You feel like you should come out of that inning with more than one run, even though we were happy to tie the score,” Hinch said. “All in all there were enough opportunities where one single could have made the difference.”
Peraza got on with a bunt single and scored on Cozart’s double to right field to make it 1-0 in the fifth. The throw home was close, but Peraza slid in behind Castro to evade the tag.
ROSE IN HOUSTON
Pete Rose, MLB’s all-time hits leader and longtime Reds’ star, watched the game from a seat in the second row right behind home plate. The 75-year-old Rose, who was clad in a crisp white Cincinnati cap, sat one row behind pitching great Nolan Ryan. Rose was 21 for 71 with a .296 average all-time against Ryan.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Houston activated RHP Luke Gregerson from the family medical emergency list on Friday and optioned 1B Tyler White to Triple-A Fresno to clear a spot for him on the roster.
Reds: Hamilton was activated from the seven-day concussion list before the game and OF Steve Selsky was optioned to Triple-A Louisville to make room for him on the roster. Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said Hamilton, who was hit in the head sliding into third base on June 8, has been symptom-free for several days.
UP NEXT
Reds: LHP Cody Reed will make his major league debut when the series continues Saturday. Reed will be Cincinnati’s 26th pitcher and 12th starter this season, which are both most in the majors. Reed, who is ranked as the franchise’s No. 2 prospect by Baseball America, is 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 11 starts for Louisville this season.
Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel is set to make his 15th start on Saturday. Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner has struggled this season, losing his last three decisions and eight of his last nine.
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