Astros falter behind disastrous fourth inning

After awakening the bats last night, the Astros were keen on keeping up the good fortune at the plate. With a now league-leading tally of six runs per game, the offense was finally seeming to click in the midst of the team's first road trip.

The bats would perform once again, but it would be the pitching that would let the team down tonight as the Astros dropped their second game against the Diamondbacks by a score of 14-7.

The Astros got off to another hot start in the desert. After a quiet first inning, Abraham Toro would strike first on the scoreboard with a single that would drive in the red-hot Carlos Correa. He'd get to come home on the very next at-bat on a two-run homer by Kyle Tucker.

Toro would notch his own homer in the top of the fourth inning, his first of the 2020 season that traveled deep to left field.

Though the Astros would build up a solid 4-0 lead, everything would unravel for starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and the Astros in the bottom of the fourth. A Kole Calhoun inside-the-park home run that also scored Ketel Marte would halve the lead with zero outs to begin the period.

The next three batters would all reach to load the bases with no outs for left fielder David Peralta, who would clear the bases with a timely triple that gave the Dbacks the lead. Two more doubles courtesy of Stephen Vogt and Ketel Marte would push Arizona's lead to 7-4, which was enough to pull McCullers Jr. from the game. It was an unfortunate development for the righty, who retired his first nine batters through three perfect innings, eight of which were retired via grounders. McCullers' ERA was pushed to an ugly 9.22. after he was pulled.

The Diamondbacks would go on to score twice more in the fourth before the third out was mercifully recorded, marking the first time the Astros gave up nine runs in an inning since 2013. George Springer would hit a two-run bomb to pull the Astros within three in the fifth, but Nick Ahmed's own two-run homer in the same inning would quickly quell any Houston comeback.

A few stray runs would score for both teams, but the score would remain lopsided as Yoan López recorded the final out of the night for the Diamondbacks, securing the win for Arizona. McCullers Jr. would be saddled with the loss, his first of the year, while Arizona starter Robbie Ray would take the win despite a shaky performance.

The loss drops the Astros to 6-5 on the year, second in the American League West. They'll aim to take the three-game series tomorrow with Brandon Bielak on the bump against Zac Gallen.