Justin Verlander and the Astros shut down Mariners, 4-0, to even home-opening series
The Mariners scored a season-high 11 runs during their home opener Friday night in front of a packed T-Mobile Park.
They combined for 13 hits, eight walks and two batters were hit by pitches, giving the club 23 base runners during the contest. Every Mariners batter, up and down the lineup, reached base safely at least once. Eight of them ended the electric rout of the visiting Astros with at least one hit.
Saturday night’s second meeting with last season’s American League West champions, though, produced a much different result.
Facing Astros ace Justin Verlander — making his second start this spring after missing most of the shortened 2020 season, then the entirety of the 2021 season following Tommy John surgery — Seattle’s offense stalled.
Verlander tossed a gem in his eight innings, allowing only three hits for his second consecutive outing, and struck out eight on 87 pitches.
He allowed only four base runners — never in the same inning — didn’t walk any batters, and rarely needed more than 10 pitches to finish a frame.
Meanwhile, the Astros lineup provided the needed offense to assure Verlander ended the night with his first win of the season in the eventual 4-0 victory in front of an announced crowd of 38,504.
“That’s about as dominant a performance as you’re going to see,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said of Verlander’s outing postgame.
So ended a quiet night for the Mariners, who were shut out for the second time in their first nine games of the season, and drop to 4-5.
Adam Frazier — who is 5-for-9 in the series after collecting four hits in his home debut with the Mariners on Friday night — added his fifth hit in two days on an opposite-field single to right to open the game.
But, then Verlander retired the next nine.
“It looked like he had everything working,” France said. “He was putting the ball where he wanted when he wanted, and it’s tough to go up against guys like that.”
France — who finished 2-for-4 — was the only Mariners batter with multiple hits, and he twice broke up long stretches of consecutive batters retired by Verlander.
He opened the fourth with an opposite-field single for Seattle’s second hit of the evening.
But, then Verlander retired the next eight.
France broke that second lengthy streak in the sixth, when he knocked a two-out single to right.
The Mariners didn’t collect another hit after that.
“He was as sharp as he could be,” Servais said of Verlander. “The fastball had all kinds of life, he was locating the slider, mixing the curveball to the lefties and we really struggled to get anything going.”
The only base runner the rest of the way was J.P. Crawford in the seventh, who was hit by a pitch.
Verlander ended the inning on a double play moments later, and retired the side in order in the eighth for the final of his five 1-2-3 frames.
Seattle sent the top of the order to the plate in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Hector Neris, but couldn’t rally, and Neris completed the quick inning on 15 pitches.
The Astros managed enough offense against Mariners starter Chris Flexen, who completed six quality innings, allowing three runs on five hits and struck out three while walking one on 72 pitches.
Jeremy Pena’s sacrifice fly to center in the second that scored Niko Goodrum gave Houston the early one-run lead that was never tested.
Martin Maldonado then pushed that lead to three runs when he sent a two-run home run to the Astros’ bullpen in the fifth.
“I thought Flex tonight, stuff wasn’t maybe quite as crisp as it was last time out,” Servais said. “Really struggled to have a curveball going, so it was fastball with the changeup and the cutter. Did a decent job. Obviously made the one mistake to Maldonado for the two-run homer.
“But, he did his job. He hung in there. I thought he gave us a chance, but we just got nothing going against Verlander.”
The Astros added their final run in the seventh against Mariners reliever Matt Festa, when Pena reached on a one-out triple and Jose Altuve singled him in two batters later.
This story was originally published April 16, 2022 at 9:00 PM.
