Mariners pitching baffles Stros
I bet you want me to blame this one on the return of Jose Abreu.
Sorry, Charlie.
Abreu accounted for half the Astros’ RBI total; his one hit was as many as the entire one through five of the lineup. No, it was not Jose Abreu who struck out four times. It was Jeremy Pena.
At least the game was close. After the first inning, it looked like it could be a Mariners romp.
The Mariners jumped on Astros starter Framber Valdez right away, starting with a J.P. Crawford leadoff double. With the bases loaded, Cal Raleigh opened the scoring with a sac fly, followed by singles by Ty France and Mitch Haniger to bring the score to 3-0 Mariners.
Meanwhile, the Astros didn’t get a hit against Mariners starter Bryce Miller until Jake Meyers’ single in the fifth. Then, after a Jon Singleton single, Jose Abreu — yes that Jose Abreu — put the Astros on the board with an RBI single. Singleton then scored on a Victor Caratini sac fly.
Framber Valdez settled down after the first, holding the Mariners scoreless through the sixth inning. He ended up surrendering six hits and three walks while striking out four.
After the fifth inning, the Astros went down without a significant threat. They finished with only six hits, two by Jake Meyers. After Valdez lef the mound in the sixth, Rafael Montero and Tay Scott kept the Mariners off home plate.