Bill Hall shines as Houston Astros defeat St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 – MLB Update
Houston Astros made a splendid come-back in the ninth inning to beat the seemingly complacent St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 at Minute Maid Park, Houston on Tuesday, April 26.
It was Bill Hall who struck an RBI single in the ninth inning when the score stood at 5-5 to clinch victory for his team. The probability of a win was obviously uncertain until then and the Astros could not have hoped for anything better than this feat by
Hall.
"It's huge, obviously, for us to battle back the way we did," said Hall, who recorded his seventh career walk-off hit. "Our record definitely doesn't dictate how well we've been playing. We've been battling for nine innings. Obviously, we've let some games
slip away, but today, we kept battling and gave ourselves a chance to win the bottom of the ninth."
The Astros have achieved this win after losing 14 out of 23 matches they have played so far. The win was a morale booster for the team and Hall seemed delighted.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning when Jaime Garcia and Bud Norris came out to pitch for their respective teams. The Cardinals were in as the favourite team for the game largely because a comparatively better record that they have maintained
throughout the season. St. Louis has lost 11 out of 23 matches they have played, unlike the Astros who have a 9-14 record.
Norris was taken to task in the fourth inning by Nick Punto, who doubled to right by a drive. Daniel Descalso made it 3-0 for St. Louis, as Norris gave up three hits in the inning which cost him and his team three valuable runs. However, Houston brought
the lead down to 3-1 in the same inning when Hunter Pence homered to left.
Houston broke into the game with more force in the sixth inning to not only end the lead the Cardinals had, but also increase their own. Brett Wallace was the first to single to left where Angel Sanchez and Hall scored followed by Chris Johnson. This took
the Astros up from 3-1 to 4-3. Descalso levelled the score for the Cardinals with his double to deep left. When the score stood level at 4-4, St. Louis scored another run in the 9th inning, taking a lead of 5-4 and in a position to win the game.
Just when the game took a twist and interesting turn, Angel Sanchez did the trick. He singled to shallow right centre to level the score followed by the winning hit of Hall who singled to left allowing Michael Bourn to score and achieve a 6-5 victory for
Houston Astros.
Tags: