FinalFinal lineupsAL West / AL East

Houston Astros 1, Tampa Bay Rays 3

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:10 PM ET · Tropicana FieldGame-day snapshot Sep 11, 9:40 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 8, 5:01 AM ET

T-Score52

1–3

FINAL · 9 innings

T-Score68

FINAL · 9 innings

Caminero’s ninth-inning homer lifts Rays past Astros 3-1

The pregame storyline held at Tropicana Field: this matchup turned on the mound, with Drew Rasmussen keeping Houston to one run over seven innings before the Rays finished a 3-1 win with late power on Friday night.

Houston opened with Miguel Ullola, who worked a scoreless first inning, and then followed the planned script with Ethan Pecko taking the bulk of the game. Pecko was excellent for 5.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out four.

The Astros broke through first in the fourth. Isaac Paredes scored Houston’s only run, and Yainer Diaz supplied the RBI as part of a two-hit night. But Rasmussen prevented that inning from growing into something bigger, scattering eight hits without a walk.

Tampa Bay answered in the fifth when Victor Mesa Jr. tied it with a solo homer. The game stayed even until the ninth, when Bryan Abreu allowed Junior Caminero’s two-run home run that decided it.

Tyler Wells handled the eighth for Tampa Bay, and Bryan Baker closed the door in the ninth. Houston finished with nine hits, but Tampa Bay’s four-hit night was enough because two swings accounted for all three runs.

Drew Rasmussen limited Houston to 1 run over 7 innings despite 8 hits and no walks.
Houston used Miguel Ullola as an opener for 1.0 inning before Ethan Pecko followed with 5.2 strong innings.
Tampa Bay got all 3 runs on home runs: Victor Mesa Jr. tied it in the fifth, and Junior Caminero won it with a 2-run shot in the ninth.

Pitching recap

Pitcher	Team	Role	IP	H	ER	BB	K	P
Miguel Ullola	HOU	Starter	1.0	0	0	0	0	13
Bryan Abreu	HOU	ReliefLoss	0.1	2	2	0	1	9
Drew Rasmussen	TB	Starter	7.0	8	1	0	4	92
Bryan Baker	TB	ReliefWin	1.0	0	0	1	1	15

Scoring by inning

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	0
Tampa Bay Rays	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	3	4	0

Top hitters

Junior Caminero1-for-4 · 1 HR · 2 RBI

Victor Mesa Jr.1-for-2 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB

Yainer Diaz2-for-3 · 1 RBI · 1 BB

Isaac Paredes1-for-4 · 1 R

Jose Altuve1-for-4

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation

CategoryComparisonWhy

Starting pitcherEvenBoth starters enter with comparable season profiles; neither holds a meaningful statistical advantage.

Offense vs handEvenThe handedness splits are nearly even, with less than a .013 difference in OPS.

LineupRaysTampa's official lineup includes 6 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.

BullpenRaysTampa has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.

PowerAstrosHouston has 193 home runs this season, 38 more than Tampa.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

Miguel Ullola RHP

Houston Astros

2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)

ERA

3.86

WHIP

0.86

K/9

12.86

BB/9

1.29

FIP

–

HR/9

2.57

OPS/R

–

7.0

Last 5 starts

QUALITY
START %

(0 of 5)

DAYS
REST

Drew Rasmussen RHP

Tampa Bay Rays

2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)

ERA

2.88

12th

WHIP

0.91

5th

K/9

9.16

64th

BB/9

1.58

4th

P-Score75i

FIP

–

HR/9

0.82

23rd

OPS/R

–

153.1

Last 5 starts

ERA

3.41

QUALITY
START %

60%

(3 of 5)

DAYS
REST

How the starters differ

·Ullola strikes out 3.7 more batters per nine innings.

·Rasmussen allows the lower home-run rate: 0.82 vs 2.57 per nine.

·Rasmussen enters with a 2.88 ERA compared with Ullola's 3.86.

·Rasmussen averages 4.7 more innings per start.

Friday’s game at Tropicana Field brings together two first-place clubs, but the clearest statistical separation in this matchup is on the mound

Friday’s game at Tropicana Field brings together two first-place clubs, but the clearest statistical separation in this matchup is on the mound.

Tampa Bay enters at 87-59, well ahead of Houston’s 75-72 record, and the Rays’ overall profile is a little cleaner almost everywhere. They have a slight edge in runs per game (4.53 to 4.50), a more noticeable advantage in batting average (.260 to .241) and on-base percentage (.329 to .315), and a small lead in OPS (.733 to .725). Houston has been the slightly better slugging team by a narrow .006 margin, so this is not a matchup defined by a huge offensive gap. Over a full season, though, Tampa Bay has been a bit more complete at the plate.

The bigger difference is the probable starting assignment. Drew Rasmussen has been one of the steadier starters in this game’s statistical picture, carrying a 2.88 ERA, 2.91 FIP and 0.91 WHIP across 153.1 innings. He has paired that with strong strike-throwing and home-run prevention, walking only 1.6 per nine and allowing 0.82 homers per nine, with a 59 percent quality-start rate.

Houston’s probable starter, Miguel Ullola, brings a very different profile. In 7.0 innings, he has posted a 3.86 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, a 12.9 K/9 and just 1.3 walks per nine. The raw bat-missing ability stands out immediately, and his WHIP is actually a touch lower than Rasmussen’s. But the sample is tiny, and the rest of the line is less forgiving: a 4.38 FIP, 2.57 HR/9 and no quality starts. Rasmussen’s edge is less about one flashy number than about the much fuller body of work.

That starting-pitching contrast lines up with a modest bullpen advantage for Tampa Bay. The Rays carry a 3.79 bullpen ERA and 1.17 WHIP, compared with Houston’s 4.17 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. The Astros’ relievers have the better strikeout rate, 8.9 K/9 to 8.2, but Tampa Bay has been more effective overall at limiting runs and baserunners.

Recent form adds one wrinkle. Houston is 6-4 over its last 10 games, while Tampa Bay is 5-5. The Rays have scored more in that stretch, 4.60 runs per game to Houston’s 3.80, so the Astros’ slightly better recent record has not come with a stronger recent scoring line.

With lineups still unconfirmed, the clearest read on this game comes from the broader season indicators: Tampa Bay looks a little better with the bats, a little better in relief, and considerably more established in the probable starter matchup.

Friday’s game at Tropicana Field brings together two first-place clubs, but the clearest statistical separation in this matchup is on the mound.
Tampa Bay enters at 87-59, well ahead of Houston’s 75-72 record, and the Rays’ overall profile is a little cleaner almost everywhere.
They have a slight edge in runs per game (4.53 to 4.50), a more noticeable advantage in batting average (.260 to .241) and on-base percentage (.329 to .315), and a small lead in OPS (.733 to .725).