Houston Astros stun New York Mets with biggest comeback of the season

For much of Saturday, it looked like the Houston Astros were headed for another loss. They quickly fell behind the New York Mets after a five-run second inning, with Framber Valdez (six runs and 10 hits allowed in 4 2/3 innings) clearly not in the best of shape.

Despite trailing 6-1 after three innings, the Astros went to work. They scored three runs in the top of the fourth, cutting the deficit to two. Valdez stopped the bleeding, and Houston’s bullpen was brilliant, allowing just one hit in four and a third scoreless innings.

The Astros were still down by two runs in the bottom of the inning and were starting to run out of time. Their bats finally broke through against the Mets’ bullpen, scoring three runs in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead and adding two insurance runs in the ninth. Alex Bregman hit the big game with his two-run single in the eighth inning, while Mauricio Dubon’s two-run double in the ninth inning gave Houston some breathing room.

Josh Hader made the save with a 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, completing the Astros’ biggest comeback of the season. They overcame a five-run deficit by scoring eight unanswered runs, surprising their opponents and much of the crowd at Citi Field.

The game moved both teams’ records to .500, with Houston at 41-41 and New York at 40-40. The second-ranked Astros continued their late-June surge and have now won eight of their last nine games.

Houston will try to win the series decider and close out the month with another victory Sunday afternoon. The Astros will play a bullpen game with Shawn Dubin (1-1, 5.64 ERA) starting, while the Mets will counter with Luis Severino (5-2, 3.29 ERA).