PHILADELPHIA – In a game seeking separation, Cam Smith delivered.
Smith crushed a hanging splitter from Phillies closer Jhoan Duran for a tiebreaking home run in the ninth inning Thursday, lifting the Houston Astros to a 2-1 win and capping a positive series at Citizens Bank Park for both the second-year right fielder and his club.
The Astros took two of three from the Phillies, with Thursday’s win ensuring they will take at least a two-game American League West lead into a series against the AL-best Tampa Bay Rays. Cristian Javier and three relievers combined to hold Philadelphia to three hits in the finale.
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Smith homered in all three games of the series. The last was the most impactful. Duran left a first-pitch splitter over the plate with one out in the ninth. Smith hit it 421 feet for his 20th home run this season. Duran had not allowed a homer to a right-handed hitter on his splitter since 2024, per Statcast.
In a well-pitched game, the Astros had chances late. In the seventh, they loaded the bases with two outs on a single and two walks against Zack Wheeler. Phillies manager Don Mattingly left his starter in, at 105 pitches, to face pinch-hitter Yainer Diaz. On his 110th pitch, with a crowd of 37,100 standing, Wheeler got Diaz to whiff on a high sweeper, preserving a 1-1 tie.
An infield single and walk put two men on with no outs in the top of the eighth. Jeremy Peña broke from second on Isaac Paredes’ lineout to shortstop and was doubled off easily. It stung extra when Jose Altuve lined a two-out hit to the gap in left-center. Yordan Alvarez went first-to-third, appearing to turn his ankle as he arrived at third, but was stranded there.
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Both starters were effective. Javier, making his 100th career start in the majors, had arguably his best of a rough season. Holding a potent Phillies offense to one run across six innings pared his ERA to 5.50. Javier scattered three hits and struck out five. He worked efficiently, totaling 79 pitches.
Wheeler outlasted him, working seven innings of one-run ball. The Astros took one at-bat with a runner in scoring position before the seventh. None of five on the afternoon yielded a hit. As it turned out, the decisive swing did not require one.
Quality start for Cristian Javier
Javier had made one previous start in this ballpark, when he threw the first six innings of a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series. On Thursday, Javier worked with the same catcher, Christian Vázquez. He faced a Phillies lineup that featured five of the same hitters. He sported the same uniform combination – orange jersey, gray pants, dark blue long sleeves and socks.
He did not allow a hit for his first four innings. He faced the minimum in them. Kyle Schwarber worked a leadoff walk in the first. Javier retired his next 11 batters in a row, erasing Schwarber with a double-play grounder.
This is not the 2022 version of Javier. That pitcher threw 72% four-seamers in his World Series start. This one mixed in changeups and sweepers to a lineup with seven left-handed or switch-hitters. Few of those they put into play were hard-hit.
Luis Arraez led off the fifth and fell behind 0-2. Javier threw a four-seamer well above the zone. Arraez, a contact wizard, served it into left field for a single. Alec Bohm doubled to move him to third then made a mistake that quelled the inning. Bryson Stott’s grounder to shortstop scored Arraez, but Bohm broke on the ball in front of him and was thrown out. A double play ended the inning.
Javier returned for the sixth, for just the second time in 10 starts this season. An infield single and passed ball put the go-ahead run on second. The Astros let Javier face Schwarber, the majors’ home run leader, and Trea Turner each a third time. Schwarber struck out swinging at a full-count fastball, Turner on a full-count changeup.
Offense stymied by Zack Wheeler
Wheeler was predictably tough. The veteran right-hander changed angles and speeds with a half-dozen pitches the Astros rarely squared up. Sixteen balls put into play against him averaged an 81.1 mph exit velocity. Wheeler generated 18 whiffs, struck out nine batters and walked two. Four of five hits against him were singles.
Christian Walker has enjoyed some success against Wheeler. The first baseman entered 9-for-21 against him in regular-season matchups, then singled softly in the second inning on a sinker that jammed him. Two batters later, Wheeler hung a curveball to Taylor Trammell, who yanked it into the right-field corner. Walker scored from first on the double.
Wheeler retired 12 of his next 13 batters. Six struck out. Cam Smith singled to begin the fifth; Wheeler erased him on a double play. The top of the Astros’ lineup arrived for a third look in the sixth. Wheeler struck out Peña, Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, all swinging. Peña swung through a curveball and Alvarez and Paredes over splitters.
He escaped his seventh-inning jam on his 110th pitch, the second-most he has thrown in an outing this season. It punctuated his seventh start of at least seven innings with two or fewer runs allowed. Eight major-league pitchers entered Thursday with more this season, including his rotation-mate, Cristopher Sánchez. The Astros have totaled nine such starts.
Up next
The Astros will begin a three-game series Friday at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays, who own the best record in the American League. Houston did not announce a starter for the series opener. Peter Lambert and Hayden Wesneski will start the final two games.
Houston took two of three from the Rays in a series at Daikin Park over July 4 weekend. The Rays began play Thursday with a four-game lead in the American League East.
“Their offense is pretty dynamic,” said Astros manager Joe Espada. “They have guys in the middle of the lineup that can hit the ball out of the ballpark (and) that put the ball in play … It’s pretty well-rounded. They also can pitch, they throw a ton of strikes, it’s a well-coached team. They’ve been doing things right there for a long time.”
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This article originally published at Houston Astros beat Philadelphia Phillies behind Cristian Javier’s strong start and Cam Smith’s homer.
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