Astros 9, Mariners 2: Al(2)ve’s Return

Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years.

I mean, it’s still Jose Altuve, after all.

With a home crowd of 29,512 on hand at Daikin Park, Lance McCullers Jr. took the hill for his turn in the rotation. The interloping Seattle Mariners, led by the return of George Kirby, would try to touch LMJ early.

And LMJ was touched, early and often. Even though he allowed eight baserunners in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings, only two of them scored, and he collected eight strikeouts in the interim. Rowdy Tellez singled in a first-inning run, and Dylan Moore (8) homered in the second. Following that, LMJ bent but didn’t break. Kirby (0-1, 12.27) may not quite yet be “himself,” something that Astros fans can identify with in the form of LMJ’s return. He didn’t last long enough to qualify for a win, but he left with a lead after an emergency Astros runs committee meeting was called to order.

Isaac Paredes opened Houston’s scoring with a third-inning RBI-groundout, then Jose Altuve drove Mauricio Dubón home with a sacrifice fly to tie the score. In the fourth, Dubón singled Jake Meyers home, then Jeremy Peña followed with a two-run triple. Jose Altuve added two homers over the next two innings for the 12th multi-homer game of his career. Victor Caratini got in on the act with an RBI-single to close the outburst at nine runs.

Box Score

Outside of Altuve’s two homers and four RBI (his first of the month for each), Caratini finished with a three-hit game, while Dubón & Yainer Díaz had two each. Steven Okert pitched a perfect sixth inning, striking out the side. Shawn Dubin (1-0, 0.00) got the win by finishing the fifth inning for LMJ.

Houston and Seattle return for round five (of 13) tomorrow, same time.