Baltimore Orioles at Houston Astros

HOUSTON – Not a bad Orioles debut for Cam Sanders. While Taylor Ward’s go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning propelled Baltimore to a 3-2 victory over the Astros at Daikin Park on Friday night, it was Sanders who set the stage by getting the Orioles out of a huge seventh-inning jam. With the bases loaded and one out when he entered the game, Sanders struck out Isaac Paredes and retired Christian Walker on a popup to keep the Astros’ lead at 2-1. Could Sanders, a right-hander acquired from Pittsburgh on July 13 and called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, have envisioned coming into such a high-leverage situation after compiling an 8.68 ERA in nine appearances with the Pirates this year? “Baseball’s a crazy world,” said the 29-year-old right-hander. “You’ve got to be able to survive and adapt to whatever situation comes. I’m just grateful to have another opportunity to show the world what I can do.” Mixing his slider and four-seam fastball, Simmons saw Paredes foul off three consecutive 1-2 pitches before taking an 86 mph slider for a called third strike. Walker also fell behind 1-2 before working the count full. He then fouled off a fastball before popping up an 84 mph slider. Orioles manager Craig Albernaz was impressed. “That’s a really tough situation to come into, and Cam was great,” Albernaz said. “Slider had some really good shape and bite to it, and the fastball was real. And to come in and keep the game \[2-1\