Astros center fielder Daulton Varsho spent quite a few childhood summers shagging fly balls in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park during Phillies batting practice. From the time Daulton was 6-10 years old, his dad, Gary, served as a coach for the Phillies. Daulton is even named after legendary Phillies catcher Darren Daulton, Gary's teammate during his lone season playing for the Phils in 1995. On Tuesday night, the now-30-year-old Varsho was back patrolling center field at that same ballpark -- but this time around, he did plenty of work from the batter's box, as well. Varsho tormented the team that his younger self spent so much time around, hitting what proved to be the decisive home run to lead the Astros to a pivotal 6-5 win over the Phillies. With the victory, the Astros are 2 games ahead of the Rangers, who defeated the Mariners on Tuesday. “I like hitting here,” Varsho said after going 3-for-5 and scoring a pair of runs. “It's a place that always brings back good memories. So yeah, it's always nice to have a good game here.” The Astros know their path back to the postseason isn't an easy one. They're in the midst of playing 13 consecutive games -- and 16 of 19 -- against teams that began the day in the postseason picture. Yet on a rare night in which Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve each went 0-for-5 -- the only two Astros players to not get a hit -- the offense still managed six runs off 11 hits. Nearly all of that damage came from the bottom half of the order. “You’ve got to pick each other up,” manager Joe Espada said. “That's how you do it. That's how you stay in the race. That’s how we roll, man. Yordan, he gets all the attention and rightfully so, but we need everyone to contribute. *Everyone*.” Along with Varsho’s three-hit game out of the No. 5 spot, No. 7 hitter Christian Walker got things started with a three-run homer in the second inning on his way to reaching base three times. No. 9 hitter Cam Smith added a solo homer in the fourth. Yainer Diaz, hitting sixth, also notched a pair of hits. Overall, the Astros' Nos. 5-9 hitters went a combined 9-for-20 (.450) with five RBIs. The top four hitters were just 2-for-18 (.111), including that 0-for-10 from Alvarez and Altuve.
