PHOENIX (AP) — Kole Calhoun lined a two-run single in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Houston Astros 5-4 Thursday night to win their first series of the season.
Arizona trailed 4-3 after Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer off Stefan Crichton in the eighth inning. Junior Guerra (1-0) worked around an error in the ninth inning and the Diamondbacks loaded the bases against Ryan Pressly (0-1) in the bottom half.
Calhoun laid off a couple of pitches after falling into a hole and sent the Diamondbacks charging out of the dugout with a line drive to the corner in right.
Arizona starter Zac Gallen tied an NL record set by Montreal’s Steve Rogers (1973-74) by allowing three earned runs or less in his first 18 career starts. Gallen allowed two runs and six hits and struck out six in six innings.
Houston’s Jose Altuve, hitting .146 entering the game, hit a solo homer, doubled and scored three runs.
Astros starter Brandon Bielak was sharp in his first big league start after two relief appearances, allowing two hits in five innings.
In additional bad news for Houston, outfielder George Springer left the game in the 7th inning with an apparent wrist injury, and will likely be out for a few games.