What a huge win!
And how did they do it?
The Astros looked like they were destined to leave Seattle with their tails between their legs, having just frittered a seven-game AL West lead down to two games. They started the game with enough injuries to fill a small hospital, replaced by players who barely qualify as “replacement,” and to top it off, their ace stopper didn’t have his stopper stuff for his third straight game.
How could the Astros win with mediocre Hunter Brown pitching and a Quad-A lineup?
Well, by the same miracle and tenacity that helped them beat the NL’s best eight out of nine games just within three weeks ago.
So instead of limping out of Seattle with a mere two-game AL West lead and a long losing streak, the Astros keep a somewhat more cushy four-game lead and momentum heading into Arizona, beating the Mariners 11-3.
The Mariners looked like they would coast to an easy win early on.
In the second inning, the Mariners scored two after loading the bases with a single, a Julio Rodriguez infield hit, and a Cal Raleigh walk on eight pitches. Brown got Randy Arozarena to pop up, but with two outs and two strikes, Jorge Polanco knocked in two runs with a single to right field.
After the Astros went down 1-2-3 in the fourth to Mariner starter Bryan Woo on five pitches. The Mariners added another run in their fourth on an RBI single by Julio Rodriguez. At the end of four innings, Brown had already thrown 89 pitches, giving way to an already taxed bullpen to start the fifth.
Once again, as in his last two starts, Brown nearly surrendered as many runs as innings pitched. He finished with three runs on six hits with seven Ks.
From here on out, it would be 11 unanswered Astros runs.
But what a surprise. Given the current injured state of the Stros’ lineup, the situation looked bleak. However, fortune fell their way in the fifth, scoring their first run when J.P. Crawford flubbed a Shay Whitcomb pop-up to shallow left, scoring Taylor Trammell. Then Cam Smith, hitting leadoff for the first time in his MLB career, scored two more on a double to deep right-center field.
In the sixth inning, the Astros actually took their first lead of the series, finally getting their first long balls as well, first by Christian Walker, and then by Trammell, who came into the game hitting .143. He ended the game above the Mendoza line, having the best game of his life against his former team.
What shaped up as a pitching duel between two All-Star pitchers ended up anything but, with Woo and Brown surrendering a combined ten runs, Woo managing to survive six innings.
Caleb Ort succeeded Brown and pitched 1.2 perfect innings until he surrendered a two-out single. Manager Joe Espada brought in lefty Bryan King to face left-handed Crawford. Crawford smashed a line drive to left center field, which hit off the glove of left-fielder Cooper Hummell, and which was picked up by CF Trammell. Shortstop Mauricio Dubon took Trammell’s relay and threw a strike to home that just got Miles Mastrobuoni at home after review, preserving the Astros’ 5-3 lead.
The Astros added four runs in the seventh. After a single and a walk put a runner in scoring position, professional hitter Victor Caratini scored Shay Whitcomb with a line drive single to left. The bases were loaded when Christian Walker was hit by pitch, followed by a Yanier Diaz sacrifice fly. Trammell busted the game open with a double over the head of center fielder Rodriguez, scoring two more.
But wait, there’s more. The Astros piled on in the eighth when Chas McCormick singled on a swinging bunt, Altuve poked a weak grounder through the open right side of the infield for a double, and both scored on a Caratini double to left-center.
Inexplicably, after throwing 17 pitches the night before, high-leverage reliever Bryan Abreu came in to preserve the Astros’ 11-3 lead in the eighth, going unscathed. Ryan Gusto finished the bullpen shutout of the Mariners with a scoreless ninth.
The Astros significantly outscored the Mariners in the series, maintained a decent lead in the AL West, and go to Phoenix with a little confidence, despite a depleted lineup and starting pitching. The Astros had 13 hits today, and every Astros batter either had one or more hits, an RBI, or a run scored. Plus, Framber Valdez will be very fresh to start Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.
Here’s the probability chart.
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Is Victor Caratini or Taylor Trammell the player of the game? Both had three hits and three RBI. Discuss below.
Box Score Here.
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