Houston’s pickup of reliever Enyel De Los Santos on Aug. 8 is already looking like a smart move.
The seven-year veteran earned his first win as an Astro last night, helping Houston outlast Baltimore 5-4 in 12 innings at Daikin Park. De Los Santos threw 2.0 scoreless frames to keep the game alive long enough for Ramon Urias to drive in the walk-off run.
Here’s what made his performance stand out: six outs on just 13 pitches, including a two-pitch 11th inning that dropped Baltimore’s win probability by 30.7%, according to MLB.com.
That 11th started with an 87 mph slider down in the zone, getting Ryan Mountcastle to fly out. With the automatic runner on third, De Los Santos threw a changeup that Carlos Correa turned into a double play at third base.
Inning over. Just like that.
He came back out for the 12th and needed 11 pitches for a clean frame, setting up Houston’s walk-off opportunity.
“We’re finding out a lot about a lot of these guys right now. We’re in that spot in the season where we’re going to need a lot of these guys to get big outs, and De Los Santos just did that.”
That’s manager Joe Espada, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.
The game nearly got even more interesting. Houston had emptied it’s bench, and the pitcher’s spot was due up next if Urias hadn’t delivered. De Los Santos would’ve gotten his first at-bat since 2019.
“Urias did a great job there, because I don’t know what might have happened afterward,” De Los Santos said.
It’s a hugely consequential time for Houston. They’re holding just a 1.5-game lead over Seattle in the AL West, and every win matters down the stretch.
Now the Astros have a chance to win their fourth straight series with a victory over Baltimore today. The way De Los Santos has settled into his role, he’ll likely be a big part of whatever Houston accomplishes in these final weeks.
