Seattle 3, Houston 2
When: 10:10 PM ET, Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Where: Safeco Field, Seattle, Washington
Temperature:
56°
Umpires:
Home -
Lance Barrett, 1B -
Dan Iassogna, 2B -
Dale Scott, 3B -
CB Bucknor
Attendance:
14756
By The Sports Xchange
SEATTLE - Starting pitcher J.A. Happ and the Seattle Mariners ended what was the American League's longest current winning streak with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros at Safeco Field on Wednesday night.
Happ (1-1) earned his first win as a Mariner after allowing two earned runs on eight hits over 7 1/3 innings as the Astros (8-7) had their four-game winning streak stopped.
Reliever Yoervis Medina almost gave another Seattle lead away during a shaky eighth inning, but he struck out Houston first baseman Chris Carter after loading the bases with three walks.
Carter hit his first home run of the season an inning earlier -- a solo shot that led off the seventh and pulled the Astros to within 3-2.
Seattle closer Fernando Rodney earned his fourth save of the season despite giving up back-to-back, one-out singles in the ninth.
It marked the third time this season that Seattle's Happ has pitched into the seventh inning or beyond. He struck out five without issuing a walk.
Houston starter Roberto Hernandez (0-2) suffered the loss despite his most efficient start of the season. Hernandez allowed three earned runs on six hits in seven innings.
Catcher Mike Zunino homered for the Mariners (6-9), and designated hitter Nelson Cruz and shortstop Brad Miller also drove in runs to help end Seattle's two-game slide.
Houston shortstop Jed Lowrie had three hits, while Carter and left fielder Colby Rasmus each went 2-for-4.
Cruz drove in his American League-high 17th run with a first-inning single, which gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead.
Zunino took a full-count pitch from Hernandez into the left-field seats for a solo shot in the third inning. It was Zunino's second home run of the season and put Seattle ahead 2-0.
Miller added an RBI single in the fourth to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.
Houston finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth, when Rasmus hit a one-out double and scored on second baseman Jose Altuve's RBI single to pull the Astros to within 3-1.
Astros hitting coach Dave Hudgens got thrown out of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, as he continued to argue with home-plate umpire Lance Barrett from the visiting dugout. The top of that inning ended with a called third strike on third baseman Luis Valbuena that led to a short argument near home plate.
NOTES: The Mariners signed OF Carlos Quentin to a minor league deal. Quentin was dealt from the San Diego Padres to the Braves just before the season began, and Atlanta promptly designated him for assignment and then released him. The Braves are paying him $8 million this year -- a price they were willing to pay for unloading OF Melvin Upton Jr.'s remaining $45 million on San Diego in the Craig Kimbrel deal. Quentin, 32, played just 50 games last season because of knee problems. ... Houston's 8-6 start was the franchise's best since 2007. ... DH Seth Smith hit first Wednesday, giving Seattle three different leadoff hitters over the three-game series with Houston. Seattle used its 14th different lineup in its 15th game this season. ... Both the Astros and Mariners have Thursday off. Seattle hosts the Minnesota Twins on Friday, while Houston will be in Oakland to start a three-game series with the A's.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
| Houston |
|
Seattle |
|
Roberto Hernandez |
Player |
J.A. Happ |
|
Loss |
W/L |
Win |
|
7.0 |
IP |
7.1 |
|
2 |
Strikeouts |
5 |
|
6 |
Hits |
8 |
|
3.86 |
ERA |
2.45 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Houston
|
10 |
1 |
15 |
.278 |
16 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| Seattle
|
7 |
1 |
10 |
.233 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
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