MARINERS DEFEAT ASTROS
Astros drop the finale as Mariners roll to easy 8-1 victory
Sep 25, 2024, 4:27 pm
Kikuchi pitched well despite the loss. Photo by Jack Gorman/Getty Images.
Mitch Garver and Julio Rodríguez homered, and the Seattle Mariners took advantage of five Houston errors during an 8-1 victory over the Astros on Wednesday.
Seattle (82-77) won for the fifth time in seven games as it tries to rally into an AL wild card. It is chasing Detroit and Kansas City for one of the last two spots.
The Mariners were down 1-0 before rallying in the sixth. Dylan Moore reached on the first of four errors by rookie third baseman Shay Whitcomb, who entered in the fourth. Victor Robles walked and Cal Raleigh hit a one-out single to load the bases.
Justin Turner then extended his on-base streak to 20 consecutive games with his single on a line drive to left field that scored two.
Garver opened the seventh with his 14th homer on a line drive into the seats in left field. The Mariners added two more runs in the inning thanks to three errors by the Astros, including two more by Whitcomb.
A fourth error by Whitcomb allowed Moore to reach with no outs in the ninth, and he scored on a double by Robles. Rodríguez then hit his 20th homer of the season.
Yusei Kikuchi (9-10) struck out eight in six innings in his first loss with Houston. He was charged with two unearned runs and four hits.
The Astros won Kikuchi's first nine starts after he was acquired in a July 29 trade with Toronto. He went 5-0 with a 3.00 ERA during that stretch.
George Kirby (14-11) pitched six innings of four-hit ball in his third consecutive win for Seattle. He struck out six and walked one.
Victor Caratini hit an RBI single in the third for the Astros, who played without many of their regulars a day after clinching their fourth straight AL West title.
There was a special moment for Alex Bregman in the fourth inning of what could be his final regular-season home game at Minute Maid Park. He is eligible for free agency after this season.
Bregman trotted out to third base, but manager Joe Espada lifted him for a defensive replacement before the inning started. Bregman slowly walked to the dugout as he received a standing ovation. He paused before entering the dugout and tipped his cap to the crowd.
Selected by Houston with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 amateur draft, Bregman has spent his entire career with the Astros.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: OF/DH Yordan Alvarez will not travel with the team on its upcoming road trip, instead staying in Houston to receive treatment on his sprained right knee. Espada said Alvarez had improved Wednesday and that some of the swelling had subsided since he was injured on a slide Sunday.
UP NEXT
Mariners: Open a three-game series against the Athletics on Friday night in Seattle.
Astros: Traveling to Cleveland for a three-game series starting Friday night.
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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.