Houston's bats unload on Seattle
Yordan Alvarez returns as Astros romp Mariners in lopsided win
Aug 14, 2020, 11:20 pm
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Yordan Alvarez Astros
After taking two of three against the Giants earlier in the week, the Astros had a day off on Thursday before resuming play at home Friday night. The series opener of the three-game set against the Mariners had Framber Valdez on the mound, and Yordan Alvarez activated and back in the lineup. Here's a quick rundown of the game:
Final Score: Astros 11, Mariners 1.
Record: 9-10, third in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Framber Valdez (1-2, 1.90 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Nestor Cortes (0-1, 15.26 ERA).
Seattle scores first, then Alvarez homers as Houston's offense explodes
After successful command in his appearances so far in 2020, Framber Valdez had struggles in the top of the first inning Friday night, issuing two walks, hitting a batter, and allowing a sac fly to put Seattle up 1-0 right away. He would get through the inning; then, his offense went to work for a massive inning of their own.
After Yusei Kikuchi, the expected starter for Seattle, was a late scratch, Nestor Cortes would begin the game on the mound for the Mariners. The Astros jumped all over him, starting with an RBI-single by Alex Bregman to tie the game. With two runners on base, that brought up Yordan Alvarez for his first plate appearance of 2020. What he did with it should be of little surprise for those that watched the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year last season:
"I'm back." - Yordan pic.twitter.com/XKgswd8lXO
— MLB (@MLB) August 15, 2020
That gave Houston a 4-1 lead, but that was just the beginning. They'd go on to make it a nine-run inning, getting a solo home run by Yuli Gurriel to make it back-to-back homers after Alvarez, a two-RBI double by Martin Maldonado, an RBI-double by Josh Reddick, and then a final run on an error, making it 9-1. After his homer, Gurriel followed that with a triple in his next at-bat, leading off the bottom of the second with an immediate runner in scoring position. Carlos Correa drove him in with an RBI-groundout, getting the Astros to double digits at 10-1.
Valdez finishes six, bullpen wraps it up
After the erratic first where he allowed the run, Valdez was able to settle in for the following innings, battling back to keep Seattle off the board over the next five, pitching through six en route to the easy win. His final line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR.
Yordan Alvarez would record another RBI, going to the plate with bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth before being hit by a pitch to bring in another run and make it 11-1. With Valdez's night done, Brandon Bailey took over in the top of the seventh and was able to erase a walk and a single for a scoreless inning, then returned for another in the eighth. Cy Sneed would go to the mound in the ninth and finished off the ten-run victory.
Up Next: The middle game of this series will start Saturday at 6:10 PM Central. The Mariners have Nick Margevicius (0-0, 3.24 ERA) slated to make a start, while Cristian Javier (1-1, 4.02 ERA) will continue his rookie campaign for the Astros.
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Astros eye a bounce-back before momentum gets away
Jul 9, 2025, 2:46 pm
Angel Martínez hit a grand slam off closer Josh Hader with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio also homered to help the Guardians beat the Astros for a second straight night after entering the series on a 10-game skid.
Out for a second inning after throwing a scoreless ninth and with a runner on starting on second, Hader (5-2) intentionally walked Ramírez before walking Carlos Santana to load the bases. Hader struck out pinch-hitter Johnathan Rodríguez before Martínez sent a sinker 344 feet, into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Guardians on top.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out one in a scoreless 10th to end it after Jakob Junis (2-1) struck out two in the ninth to earn the win.
Houston scored two runs in the eighth inning, with an RBI single from Jose Altuve, to tie it.
Altuve had two hits and drove in four runs, and rookie Cam Smith added three hits.
Houston starter Hunter Brown, who entered with an MLB-leading 1.82 ERA, yielded six hits and a season-high six runs in six innings.
There was one on with one out in the first when Ramírez homered for a second consecutive game, giving the Guardians a 2-0 lead.
The Astros cut the lead to 2-1 when Isaac Paredes scored on a sacrifice fly by Altuve in the bottom of the inning.
Rocchio doubled to start the third before scoring on a one-out double by Nolan Jones, making it 3-1. A two-out single by Daniel Schneemann scored two more, extending the lead to 5-1.
Altuve’s two-run double cut the lead to 6-3 with no outs in the fifth. Houston got within 6-4 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Caratini.
Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo allowed five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in four-plus innings.
Key moment
The grand slam by Martínez into the Crawford Boxes.
Key stat
It’s the first time Cleveland has won back-to-back games since beating the Athletics June 21-22.
Up next
Houston LHP Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) opposes RHP Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56) when the series concludes Wednesday.