When the Minnesota Twins took the field with an 8-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning against the Houston Astros, they had a 99.2 percent win probability. The game was in the bag.
And then Twins reliever Ryan Pressly walked Josh Reddick.
After that free pass, slowly but surely, the Astros chipped away. Let's take a look at the sequence of events that followed:
| Batter | Outcome | Runs Scored on Play |
|---|---|---|
| Reddick | Walk | 0 |
| Altuve | HBP | 0 |
| Correa | Single | 1 |
| Beltran | Single | 0 |
| McCann | Fly Out | 0 |
| Gonzalez | Single | 2 |
| Bregman | Single | 0 |
| Gattis | Fielder's Choice | 1 |
| Springer | Single | 1 |
| Reddick | Double | 2 |
| Altuve | Single | 1 |
| Correa | Walk | 0 |
| Beltran | Home Run | 3 |
| McCann | Fly Out | 0 |
The Astros scored 11 runs on seven hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch, with a balk thrown in there for good measure. The Twins used three pitchers in the inning: Pressly, Craig Breslow, and Matt Belisle. Five Astros came to the plate twice, and only Brian McCann failed to reach base.
Even a brief rain delay in the middle of George Springer's at-bat couldn't stop the Astros' onslaught. Houston plated seven more runs once the inning resumed.
The Twins managed a seven-run fifth inning, chasing starter Brad Peacock from the game. And then the wheels came off. MLB.com's Brian McTaggart pointed out that it's the first 11-run inning allowed by the Twins since July 25, 2007 when the Toronto Blue Jays put 11 across in the sixth inning.
The Astros last put up an 11-spot all the way back on July 18, 1994 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Astros added three more runs in the top of the ninth - including two off the bat of Alex Bregman, who drilled a two-run shot - to cap off the comeback victory 16-8.
It's the first time in franchise history that the Astros have managed to stage a comeback when trailing by at least six runs entering the eighth inning, according to ESPN Stats & Info. They were previously 0-659 in such situations.
