Orioles 5, Astros 4
BALTIMORE -- Chris Davis hit a tiebreaking solo homer with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, his second home run of the game, that gave the Baltimore Orioles a 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
Houston manager A.J. Hinch brought in left-hander Tony Sipp to face Davis, but the move backfired as the Baltimore first baseman homered on the first pitch to snap a 4-4 tie.
Davis came into the game mired in a 4-for-42 slump. His average had slid to .208, but he hit a two-run homer off Astros starter Collin McHugh in the fourth inning before the winning shot in the ninth.
Davis now has 10 homers and 26 RBIs this season.
Sipp (2-2) took the loss thanks to a home run for the second straight game. He gave up a walk-off shot at Detroit last Thursday.
Right-hander Brad Brach (3-0) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth. Left-hander Zach Britton came on in the ninth and posted his 12th save.
The Orioles (21-23) needed the late home run because the Astros (30-18) again rallied late. They lead the major leagues in runs in the final three innings and tied the score with a three-run seventh against Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez.
Baltimore had a 4-1 lead entering the inning, but left fielder Preston Tucker drove in one run on a forceout before designated hitter Evan Gattis followed with a two-run homer to left center, tying the score at 4.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the second. Gattis and center fielder Colby Rasmus started the inning with back-to-back singles against Jimenez. One out later, Carter doubled to left, scoring Gattis with the first run.
But the Orioles snapped out of their recent offensive funk with a four-run fourth, using some different tricks to take a 4-1 lead.
Designated hitter Jimmy Paredes led off with a double and went to third when center fielder Adam Jones reached on a bunt single. With Davis at the plate, the pair perfectly executed a double steal that let Paredes steal home and score the tying run.
That came on a 2-2 pitch to Davis, and the first baseman crushed the next pitch for a two-run homer to right.
Right fielder Steve Pearce followed with a solo shot to left that put the Orioles on top 4-1. It's the first time the Orioles have hit back-to-back homers this season.
NOTES: The Orioles reinstated INF Ryan Flaherty (groin) from the disabled list before Wednesday's game and, in a mildly surprising move, OF Alejandro De Aza was designated for assignment. De Aza has struggled at the plate all season, batting .214 with 34 strikeouts in just 103 at-bats. ... The Orioles announced that they signed Cuban LHP Ariel Miranda to a minor-league deal. He'll go to Florida to get in shape before the Orioles start his career at Class A Frederick or Double-A Bowie. ... Astros manager A.J. Hinch said CF Jake Marisnick, out of the lineup again for the Wednesday game, will be back on Friday. Hinch wants the struggling Marisnick to keep doing some batting work in the cage. ... The Astros became the first team in the American League to reach 30 wins when they beat the Orioles on Tuesday night. The 30-17 start is the best in team history after 47 games.