Houston is now 2-1
Greinke exits early, Mariners rally late as Astros pick up first loss
Jul 26, 2020, 4:52 pm
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Zack Greinke made an early exit in Sunday's game vs the Mariners
With two games behind them, the Astros brought their AL-best 2-0 record into Sunday's matchup with the Mariners in game three of the four-game series. Here is a quick recap of game three of four in this series:
Final Score: Mariners 7, Astros 6.
Record: 2-1, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Dan Altavilla (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Chris Devenski (0-1, 13.50 ERA).
Greinke makes an early exit as Mariners jump ahead
Zack Greinke did not have the first appearance of 2020 he would have hoped. In the top of the first, he allowed three-straight two-out hits, nearly four if not for a great catch by George Springer, including an RBI-double by Kyle Seager and an RBI-single by Evan White to put the Mariners ahead 2-0 before Houston could get to the plate.
Jose Altuve walked in the bottom of the first, then would score on a long double by Alex Bregman to get one of the runs back and make it 2-1. After a quick 1-2-3 second inning for Greinke, he would walk two in a scoreless third. A one-out double in the fourth would prompt a move to the bullpen after 58 pitches with Dusty Baker either already having a low pitch count in mind, or not liking the volatility with his command.
Joe Biagini took over on the mound in the fourth, but would not get through the inning before allowing Greinke's third run and one of his own to extend Seattle's lead to 4-1. Greinke's final line: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K.
Houston bails him out with four-run fourth
Houston went to work against Yusei Kikuchi to claw back into it in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases with no outs after two walks and a single, setting up an RBI-single by Yuli Gurriel to trim the deficit to 4-2. Kikuchi battled back to get the next two batters to strike out, but Josh Reddick would work a four-pitch walk to cut the lead to one run.
That brought Martin Maldonado to the plate, who already had big hits in each of the series's first two games. He would continue that streak, coming through with a two-RBI single to give Houston their first lead of the day at 5-4 and end Kikuchi's day.
Mariners rally to tie then go-ahead in eighth
Bryan Abreu was next out of the bullpen for the top of the fifth, and despite hitting two batters and walking another to load the bases, he was able to get through the inning with the one-run lead intact. He returned for the sixth, but after two quick outs would issue a two-out walk, prompting another call to the bullpen, this time for Blake Taylor, who would get a strikeout to end the frame.
After Josh Reddick would be left stranded on third after a leadoff triple in the bottom of the sixth, Taylor would return to the mound for a 1-2-3 seventh. Chris Devenski started the eighth but put a couple of Mariners on base to set up a tying RBI-single to tie the game up at 5-5, then later a two-RBI single to give Seattle a 7-5 lead. Michael Brantley would get Houston within a run with an RBI-double in the ninth, but the Mariners would hold on for the win.
Up Next: The finale of this four-game series between the Astros and Mariners will get underway at 6:10 PM on Monday. Josh James, who has primarily worked as a reliever out of the bullpen, will assume his role as the current fourth spot in Houston's rotation, while Seattle will send Kendall Graveman to the mound.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.