The Astros broke their four-game losing streak Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners at Daikin Park, beating them 4-3 in 10 innings for their first walk-off win of the season, and they have the young guys to thank.
The star of the night was Zach Cole, 25-year-old left fielder. Cole came up clutch in the 10th and hit a single off Alex Hoppe past Josh Naylor, with Brice Matthews coming home from third as the automatic runner to win the game.
Cole's 3-for-4 performance, capped by the walk-off single, was the difference on Wednesday night. The Astros' ninth-ranked prospect made headlines last September when he homered on the first pitch of his MLB debut, becoming just the fifth player in franchise history to do so. His path to Wednesday night was not without obstacles though, as a broken pinkie toe suffered early in the Triple-A season cost him about a month. He has been with the big league club for less than two weeks, but is already making his presence felt.
Cole wasn't the only one stepping up, as Braden Shewmake and Brice Matthews also had big nights at the bottom of the order.
Shewmake went 2-for-5 and has been one of Houston's pleasant surprises, hitting .364 with a 1.000 OPS in just 13 games since being acquired from the Yankees, per MLB. The former first-round pick has been filling in at shortstop since Carlos Correa suffered a season-ending ankle injury and looks to be finding his footing again at the big league level.
Matthews also had a big night, ending a 0-for-12 slump with two singles and scoring the tying run in the eighth inning on a Jose Altuve sacrifice fly. The Astros' 2023 first-round pick has been seeing regular time in center field with several outfielders sidelined, and Wednesday was a reminder of what he is capable of when things are clicking.
For a team that has struggled to find consistency in 2026, Wednesday was a step in the right direction. The young players delivered when it mattered, and that is exactly the kind of contribution this Astros team needs more of. The talent is there, but the Astros have shown they can unravel quickly, and nights like this need to become the norm if they want to turn their season around.