The Mariners Swept the Astros in Houston!

The Mariners did not just win the series against the Astros; they swept the series! Julio Rodríguez, Teoscar Hernández, and the whole lineup hit very well. Our starting pitchers and relieving pitchers were brilliant, especially in the final game when an injury to starting pitcher Emerson Hancock meant that so many of them contributed to the win!

8/18 Game 1: SEA 2, HOU 0

Both teams looked tired to me, possibly from their prior series. The summary of this game is short. Julio Rodríguez and Mike Ford homered for the Mariners in the third and sixth inning respectively. The Astros did not score.

Bryce Miller pitched 6.1 no-run innings, allowing only two hits. Miller struck out two batters; nine batters ground out to Seattle’s infield players; and six batters flew out to the outfielders. Justin Topa and Ấndres Muñoz also allowed no runs.

Rodríguez had four hits, one of them being a home run. Teo Hernández hit three pitches. Eugenio Suárez and Mike Ford each had one hit, the latter being a homerun.

8/19 Game 2: SEA 10, HOU 3

The action increased in the second game of the series. In the first inning, Julio Rodríguez singled and then stole second base. When Eugenio Suárez singled, Rodríguez scored: SEA 1, HOU 0. In the second inning, José Caballero singled and then scored when Cade Marlowe tripled. SEA 2, HOU 0.

In the third inning, Ty France singled. Hernández doubled, sending France home. When Cal Raleigh singled, Hernández scored. SEA 4, HOU 0. Houston struck back in the bottom of the third when Alex Bregman hit a home run. SEA 4, HOU 1. In the bottom of the fourth, Yainer Diaz homered: SEA 4, HOU 2.

In the fifth inning, France singled. When Moore hit a home run, both scored: SEA 6, HOU 2.

Scoring paused for a few innings and then resumed in the eighth. Haggerty and then Rodríguez singled. Hernández doubled, allowing Haggerty and Rodríguez to score: SEA 8: HOU 2.

In the top of the ninth, Moore homered: SEA 9: HOU 2. Then Haggerty also hit a home run: SEA 10, HOU 2. In the bottom of the ninth, Houston’s Mauricio Dubón hit a home run for the final score: SEA 10, HOU 3.

While most of the scoring was straightforward, there were several notable events.

• In the top of the fifth, Houston pitcher Framber Valdez hit José Caballero with a pitch, and the dugouts emptied. Both Valdez and Caballero were upset. Rodríguez held Valdez back and talked him down. Was this event connected to the issue between Maldonado and Caballero from a previous game or a different issue altogether? It was hard to tell as a television viewer.

• In the bottom of the fifth, José Altuve made his 2000th hit. I did not think that this line drive counted as a hit, however, because he was out at second. Whether it was this hit or the next, this was quite an achievement! Congratulations to Altuve!

• The umpire called France out on batter interference because Maldonado could not throw threw him from home base to get one of the Mariners out. Observing subsequent batters, France did not do anything different than other batters.

• Julio Rodríguez shattered an MLB record with 17 hits in four games! The Mariners could not have swept without you! Congratulations, Julio!

• Cade Marlowe was a fantastic defender in left field. He caught two impossible balls, another hard-to-catch hit, and several other balls batted his way.

8/20 Game 3: SEA 7, HOU 6

The Mariners wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the third game.

In the first inning, Rodríguez doubled. When Astro pitcher Hunter Brown made a wild pitch, Rodríguez went to third. When Brown pitched another wild one, Rodríguez scored: SEA 1, HOU 0. Then Brown walked Hernández and Ford. When Canzone doubled, Hernández scored: SEA 2, HOU 0.

In the second, Rojas singled and then stole second base. Suárez homered, bringing in two runs: SEA 4, HOU 0. In the third inning, Canzone doubled; Moore reached first due to an error but was out at second. Rojas singled and then stole 2nd base. Brian O’Keefe doubled and sent Canzone and Rojas home: SEA 6, HOU 0.

Due to a shoulder injury, Tayler Saucedo started the bottom of the third rather than Emerson Hancock. The Astros came to life. Alvarez was at bat with the bases loaded. He singled, sending Jeremy Peña and José Altuve home. Diaz doubled and sent Bregman home: SEA 6, HOU 3.  Scott Servais replaced Saucedo with Trent Thornton. Mauricio Dubón doubled, enabling Alvarez and Diaz to score: SEA 6, HOU 5.

No scoring occurred in the fourth. Trent Thornton and Matt Brash were responsible for the shutout in the bottom of the fourth. In the fifth, Mike Ford, Dominic Canzone, and Dylan Moore singled. Mike Ford scored on the last single: SEA 7, HOU 5. In the bottom of the sixth, Peña doubled and Bregman tripled, sending Peña home: SEA 7, HOU 6.

In the top of the seventh, Canzone and Moore made it to base but neither Raleigh nor Rodríguez could capitalize on the opportunity to score. In the bottom of the seventh, Raleigh stopped a steal by McCormick at 2nd base. Topa walked Singleton. Topa and Canzone felled pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker.

In the top of the ninth, with Ryan Pressly on the mound for Houston, Ford and Canzone ground out. Then, Moore and Rojas had a base hit each, but Raleigh struck out. In the bottom of the ninth, Gabe Speier faced the Houston lineup with Alvarez up first. Speier struck Alvarez and Diaz out, and Rodríguez caught a fly ball from Singleton. I would say that Gabe is "inspeiering!"

So . . .

I experienced increasing anxiety and corresponding enthusiasm as the Astros increased their participation in the series game after game. These victories put the Mariners in a great position going forward. This season, the Mariners have eight wins and Houston has two from their encounters. Go, Seattle!