A three-homer night and a shutout from the bullpen pulled the Astros even with the Rangers, with a rookie picking up his first career win along the way.
The Houston Astros opened their series against the Mariners in Seattle, and so far this season, T-Mobile Park has not been kind to the Astros. Entering this series, the Astros were 3-9 against the Mariners. So kicking off this series with confidence could have been a struggle, despite the fact that the Mariners are well below .500 and out of playoff contention.
Logan Gilbert on the mound only made it tougher, he's got better numbers against Peña than against any other hitter he's ever faced.
None of that mattered early on. Peña led off the game with a base hit, on his birthday, and immediately followed it up with a stolen base while Alvarez was at the plate. That stolen base paid off fast, Alvarez singled him home to put the Astros on the board, and the hit also gave Alvarez his 100th RBI of the season, just the second time in his career he's reached that mark.
Despite all of the challenges heading into this game, the Astros got the job done. On paper, they should have had this one in the bag, and they did. They were off to a great start and kept on cooking.
Paredes came up with a single, and Altuve dropped one down into center to load the bases. One run scored, bases loaded, nobody out in the first. Doesn't get much better than that for a start.
Diaz struck out, and Walker and Trammell both flied out to strand the bases loaded. Gilbert escaped with just one run allowed, but the Astros were far from done.
Cam Smith, who desperately needed a hit with a serious cold streak, got it. He sent a bullet into left-center field, snapping an 0-for-26 and hitting his 17th double of the season.
Brice Matthews made a killer sliding catch, covering an unbelievable amount of ground.
A hot start for the Astros, and after a little lull, Christian Walker crushed a three-run shot in the third, extending the lead to 4-0, which was also the 200th home run of his career.
Cristian Javier gave the Astros two scoreless innings, but came out due to groin tightness. Miguel Ullola came on to continue the scoreless game and ended up picking up his first career win. Bennett Sousa followed later in relief.
Isaac Paredes did his part by crushing a solo home run, further extending the lead to 5-0. Paredes is having a great month so far. Then Yordan Alvarez did his thing and clocked a two-run shot for his 41st home run on the season, capping off the 7-0 final.
Luke VanWey came in to close things out for a huge win that tied the Astros for first in the AL West, after the Rangers lost to the Mets earlier that night. They still need to regain the lead, but that win got them one game closer. They'll wrap up this two-game series in Seattle Wednesday, and if their bats can show up again like they did Tuesday, and the pitching can limit those runs, the Astros are heading for the division lead once again.
