Verlander, Astros top Mariners, 3-1, hand Seattle second consecutive loss
Friday night at T-Mobile Park, the visiting Astros snapped the Mariners’ longest winning streak since the 2001 season at 14 games.
Saturday afternoon, the American League West leaders also assured Seattle’s recent stretch of eight consecutive series victories will also end this weekend.
Houston scored a pair of runs in the fourth, tacked on one more in the eighth and escaped a late Mariners rally to secure both a 3-1 win and a series victory, quieting the crowd of 43,197 by handing Seattle back-to-back losses for the first time since late June.
“We haven’t lost a series in a while,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We’ve played so well. We’ve been getting all of those big hits in those big moments. It just hasn’t happened the last couple nights.”
The Mariners (51-44) are now 12 games back of the Astros in the division standings, and looking to avoid being swept by Houston for the second time this season in the series finale Sunday.
“That’s a good team over there,” Servais said. “That’s why they have one of the best records in the American League. We had been going very well coming into this series, but they’ve shut us down the last couple days.”
Justin Verlander shut down the Mariners much of the afternoon on his way to collecting his 20th career win against the club in 36 appearances.
After J.P. Crawford led off the first inning with a base hit, and Adam Frazier singled with one out in the second, the 39-year-old right-hander retired 15 consecutive batters before the Mariners finally broke through.
Carlos Santana ended the shutout bid with one out in the seventh when he sent a curveball 384 feet to right to make it 2-1.
Eugenio Suarez then drew Seattle’s first walk of the game, Adam Frazier followed up with a single to center and after Verlander struck out Cal Raleigh on eight pitches, pinch hitter Kyle Lewis drew another walk to load the bases.
But, Verlander held the Mariners there, striking out Sam Haggerty on four pitches to end the inning.
Verlander allowed the one run on four hits in seven innings, striking out nine and walking two on 101 pitches. He now has 251 career strikeouts against the Mariners.
“It doesn’t get any more difficult in our league to hit than what he was throwing up there today,” Servais said. “The ability to locate the fastball at the top of the zone one after another. He did not miss. All day.”
Houston’s bullpen retired Seattle’s final six batters in order in the eighth and ninth to end the game.
The Mariners ended the contest with only four hits, and were without All-Star center fielder Julio Rodriguez (left wrist soreness) for a second consecutive game.
The 21-year-old rookie was scratched before first pitch in Friday night’s series opener and is considered day-to-day.
Rodriguez hit .275/.337/.477 in the first half with 53 runs scored, 18 doubles, two triples, 16 home runs, 52 RBI and 21 stolen bases before participating in the Home Run Derby — during which he hit 81 home runs — and All-Star Game earlier this week.
This is the first time Rodriguez has missed consecutive games after appearing in 91 of 93 before the break.
“I love playing out there, and just seeing all of these fans that show up for those games, I really wanted to be out there for them,” he said postgame Saturday. “But, I feel like we’ve always got to think (about) the long run, and maybe missing a few days right now definitely is better than missing days down the road.”
Despite delivering his eighth quality outing of the season Saturday, Mariners second-year starter Logan Gilbert was eventually tagged with his fourth loss.
Gilbert struck out the side in the first, sending Jose Altuve, Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez back to the dugout in order.
He retired the first six batters he faced before Chas McCormick dropped a single into right to lead off the third. Jake Meyers followed with a bunt base hit to give the Astros a pair of runners with no outs.
Gilbert was quick to respond, adding a fifth strikeout the first time through Houston’s lineup when he got Martin Maldonado to chase an outside fastball for the first out.
Altuve then lined out to J.P. Crawford at shortstop, and Crawford tossed over to second to double up McCormick and end the inning.
But, Houston regrouped the second time through the order, and broke through in the fourth.
Gilbert struck out Pena swinging for a second time to open the frame, but walked Alvarez, and back-to-back two-out doubles from Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel gave the Astros a 2-0 lead not long after.
Dylan Moore likely saved a third run the next at-bat, when he made a diving catch in center on a line drive from McCormick for the third out.
Gilbert worked around a leadoff double from Meyers the next inning, eventually striking out Altuve for a second time and getting Pena to line out to Jesse Winker in left with Meyers stranded at third.
He retired the final three batters he faced in order, including striking out Alex Bregman for a second time, completing six quality innings.
Gilbert allowed the two runs on five hits while walking one and striking out eight. This was his first loss to Houston this season, after earning wins in his first two appearances.
“I thought he looked refreshed, and probably the best outing he’s had, I felt — getting all of his pitches working — probably in the last four or five. The break certainly helped him,” Servais said. “I thought his curveball was excellent early in the game. He ran into a little trouble there in the fourth with the two-out doubles by Tucker and Gurriel. That happens.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to do much at all against Verlander. He was on top of his game. That’s why he’s having the season he’s having, and with all of the experience he’s got, he’s certainly run stretches like this before in his career.”
After the Mariners cut the lead to one run in the seventh, the Astros pushed it back to two in the eighth, when Altuve and Pena opening the inning with back-to-back singles against Matt Brash and Altuve eventually scored on a wild pitch from Ryan Borucki to make it 3-1.
This story was originally published July 23, 2022 at 4:02 PM.
