Mariners Leave Bats in Dugout, Lose to Astros 4-1

The Seattle Mariners dropped game 2 of the 4 game series with the Astros. It was Bat Appreciation Day on Tuesday. Apparently, the Mariners saw it fit to give thanks to their bats by giving them the night off.

It was an absolutely abysmal day for the Mariners hitters. They struck out a whopping 14 times, 11 at the hands of Astros starter Lance McCullers. Seattle also managed just 3 hits, and 4 baserunners total.

This makes for the 3rd straight game where the Mariners have scored 2 runs or less. It is their 2 second time in 3 games where they were held to just 1 run. Both times using a solo homer to get on the board.

Tonight, it was Robinson Cano who supplied the lone spark of offense, sending a low curveball into the stands in the first inning.

Not everything was negative for the Mariners this evening. Getting a spot start from AAA Tacoma was Ariel Miranda. Miranda was able to work out of several jams. He threw 5 innings of 1 run ball. He walked four and struck out 5.

A 1-1 game in the bottom of the 6th, Dan Altavilla surrendered a 2-run home run to Brian McCann, and the game was effectively over at that point. Fortunately, Chasen Bradford and Wade LeBlanc covered the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, leaving the bullpen fresh for the remainder of the series.

Seattle must get their offense back on track. This will be no easy task on Wednesday, as the Astros will send Gerrit Cole to the mound. In his first 3 starts with the Astros, Cole has posted a 1.29 ERA with a staggering 36 strikeouts in 21 innings of work.

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The Mariners will counter with Mike Leake who is off to a solid, but not spectacular season. Leake will need to improve his command over his first 3 starts if he wants to give the Mariners a chance to at least split this series with the Astros. First pitch is at 7:10.