Kyle Tucker just gave the Houston Astros a huge win in the most incredible fashion imaginable: hitting a ninth-inning grand slam off of Baltimore Orioles superstar Felix Bautista.
Bautista is having one of the best seasons by a relief pitcher in recent memory but faltered in a home matchup with the Astros. A walk from Jon Singleton and singles from Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez loaded the bases for Tucker. The Astros' star outfielder found himself down 0-2 in the count but fought back to bring it even and kept himself alive with some foul balls. Then, he smacked a 403-foot grand slam, putting Houston up by one in the top of the ninth inning. A 1-2-3 inning from Ryan Pressly sealed the deal.
Kyle Tucker came out on top in an epic 9-pitch duel with Félix Bautista in the 9th. pic.twitter.com/citBNPmP2v
— MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2023
Not in over 100 years has someone hit a grand slam that late in a game off of someone who had an ERA below 1.00. Astros manager Dusty Baker sounded off on the unreal at-bat, praising Tucker for sticking with it and coming up huge for the team, according to Joe Trezza of MLB.com.
“That was some battle — two big, big boys,” Baker said, via MLB.com. “That was a determination at-bat. That's what hitting is all about: it's about determination and want and desire and concentration, and Tuck had all of the above. He fouled off some real tough pitches, stayed off some tough pitches and got a pitch that he could hit and didn't miss it. A lot of times you get your pitch, you foul it back or something. He squared it up, and boy, that was a beautiful sight.”
The man himself said that the matchup was tough but that he got the timing right to send one over the fences for his 20th home run of the season.
“I was able to catch one out front and time it well,” Kyle Tucker said, via MLB.com. “That was a tough at-bat, but I found a way to come out of it on top.”
Tucker isn’t going to be the American League MVP — that's almost certain to be Shohei Ohtani's award — but he has been playing at such a level for the Astros this year. He is posting career-highs in batting average (.297) and on-base percentage (.377) while leading Houston in hits (121), doubles (28), RBI (82) and stolen bases (24).