Correa's RBI double in 14th lifts Astros past Blue Jays
HOUSTON (AP) - Carlos Correa came through again with a clutch hit for the Houston Astros.
Correa's RBI double in the 14th inning gave the Houston Astros a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.
Houston got its ninth walk-off win this season - with Correa driving in the winning run for the fifth time - and 14th overall with its last at-bat.
"His demeanor, his approach, his swing decisions at the right pitches," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Correa. "I love the way he goes to the opposite field that's where a lot of these walk-off hits have come. He's not trying to yank into the Crawford Boxes. ... He's taking whatever they give him and doing it well."
Jose Altuve, who homered earlier in the game, opened the 14th inning with a single to shallow left field off former teammate Scott Feldman (5-4), and Correa followed with his hit off the fence in right-center field.
Feldman was traded from the Astros to the Blue Jays earlier in the day.
"I've been playing behind Feldman a lot and obviously in order to make plays for your pitchers you've got to know what they throw and how they throw it and what you as a hitter should do with it," Correa said. "I figured he was going to throw something to get ahead in the count so I wasn't trying to do too much. I was trying to drive it the other way and give us a chance to win the game."
Michael Feliz (7-1) pitched a perfect 14th inning, following Chris Devenski 4 1/3 perfect innings after entering the game in the ninth.
"I tried to stay focused on my game plan and making my game plan work for me and attacking those hitters," Devenski said.
Russell Martin tied the score with a leadoff homer in the ninth against Astros closer Will Harris, who has blown three of his last five save chances.
"We couldn't get any offense going other than that one home run by Russ," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "That was it."
Altuve gave the Astros a 1-0 lead with a two-out shot off Marcus Stroman into the first few rows of the Crawford Boxes for his 19th home run of the season.
Astros starter Doug Fister gave up four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings. Fister has now allowed three runs or fewer in 17 of his 21 starts this season.
He was coming off one of his worst starts of the season, giving up six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings on July 26 against the New York Yankees.
Stroman surrendered one run and three hits, while striking out a career high 13 and walking one.
"I felt really relaxed," Stroman said. "I felt strong. I felt me and Russell got into a pretty good groove early and carried that throughout the game."
TRADE DEADLINE
Blue Jays: Toronto acquired RHP Feldman from the Astros, LHP Francisco Liriano, C Reese McGuire and OF Harold Ramirez from the Pirates and RHP Mike Bolsinger from the Dodgers.
Astros: Houston made two acquisitions, getting RHP Lupe Chavez from the Blue Jays for Feldman and INF/OF Yordan Alvarez from the Dodgers for RHP Josh Fields.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: OF Ezequiel Carrera (left Achilles strain) was placed on the 15-day disabled list ... INF Ryan Goins (right forearm tightness) came back from a medical rehab assignment at Triple-A Buffalo and was removed from 15-day DL ... Josh Donaldson was held out of the lineup on Monday with left hamstring soreness but pinch hit in the 12th inning and stayed in to play third ... SS Troy Tulowitzki (thumb) was held out of the lineup
Astros: INF Marwin Gonzalez (right hand soreness) and CF Carlos Gomez (right hamstring strain) are day-to-day and were held out of the starting lineup.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: RHP R.A. Dickey (7-12, 4.66 ERA) gets the ball for the Blue Jays on Tuesday looking for his first win since July 10.
Astros: RHP Lance McCullers (6-4, 3.18 ERA) starts for the Astros on Tuesday coming off his second-straight double-digit strikeout performance and third in last five starts.