Astros Shock Twins with 11-Run 8th Inning, Win 5th Straight Game

The Houston Astros overcame a six-run deficit by virtue of an 11-run eighth inning to defeat the Minnesota Twins 16-8 on Monday at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Monday's win marked Houston's fifth in a row, and it was the first time in franchise history that the Astros won a game after trailing by six runs entering the eighth inning, according to Elias Sports Bureau (h/t MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger and Brian McTaggart). Houston was 0-659 all-time in such scenarios before Monday.

Nearly everyone in Houston's lineup did damage in the eighth, as Carlos Correa started it off with an RBI single, Marwin Gonzalez had a two-run single, Evan Gattis registered an RBI groundout, and George Springer had an RBI single to cut the deficit to 8-7.

Josh Reddick then clubbed a two-run double to put the Astros on top, followed by an RBI single from Jose Altuve and a three-run home run by Carlos Beltran.

According to Bollinger and McTaggart, Monday's game was Houston's fifth comeback of five runs or more this season and their league-leading 19th come-from-behind victory.

Beltran discussed after the game how the Astros were able to battle back after struggling for much of the contest: "We have shown that no matter how far behind in the game we fall we're going to try to continue to push good at-bats, and I think that's what we did. We were able to put good at-bats out there. We got good results and with men in scoring position [11-for-17], we were able to get those in. I mean, it's a team effort for sure."

Houston improved to 36-16, which is the best record in Major League Baseball.

The Astros already hold an 11-game lead in the American League West over the Los Angeles Angels, and they are well on their way to reaching the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.