Rockies hang on, beat Astros behind Thairo Estrada’s big day

The Rockies flipped the script.

Thursday afternoon’s game was the kind they have lost so many times this year. And last year. And the year before that.

But they got the key hits in the key moments — especially from second baseman Thairo Estrada — and beat Houston, 7-6, at Coors Field.

“It’s about stacking these games on top of each other,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the Rockies avoided a three-game sweep and improved to 20-67. “We always have that fight, but today, they scored, we scored. … And there were some great individual performances. There was a lot of good stuff today.”

Of course, Houston, which had won seven consecutive games vs. Colorado entering the day, made the Rockies white-knuckle it in the ninth. With closer Seth Halvorsen on the mound, Jake Meyers led off with a triple to the right-field corner and scored on Jose Altuve’s groundout to short, cutting the lead to one run. Halvorsen struck out Cam Smith for out No. 2, but Christian Walker and catcher Victor Caratini hit back-to-back, two-out singles.

With the game in the balance, Cooper Hummel flew out to right fielder Tyler Freeman and Halvorsen breathed a sigh of relief and got his seventh save.

“Halvorsen (showed) some big guts there for a four-out save,” Schaeffer said.

The Rockies looked like they were going to follow a tired storyline in the seventh when they nearly wasted a prime scoring chance.

Freeman, who extended his career-high on-base streak to 18 games, reached on a single, and pinch-hitter Mickey Moniak roped a triple to left. But Freeman, running from first, was cut down at the plate for the second out. A video review showed that Caratini’s swipe tag got Freeman just before his hand touched the plate.

Schaeffer said it “burst our balloon a little bit,” but rather than fade away, left fielder Jordan Beck hit a two-out single to score Moniak, then Beck stole second. He was rewarded by Estrada’s RBI single to shallow left-center.

“That’s what this game is all about, getting the big hits,” Estrada said, using an interpreter. “As long as you compete and keep that energy going, good things are going to happen.”

Houston had tied the game, 5-5, in the top of the seventh against reliever Juan Mejia, though Mejia was hardly to blame. Issac Paredes scooted a one-out single past shortstop Ryan Ritter and Altuve looped a hit to Beck in left field, who dove for the ball and came up empty, giving Altuve a double.