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 Five months later, having established himself as one of the best
rookie pitchers in the American League, McHugh was back in Seattle
and at it again.
The 27-year-old right-hander earned his fifth win in his past six
starts, allowing just two hits and one run over eight innings to
beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 Tuesday night.
McHugh got a lot of help from shortstop Jonathan Villar, who not
only made two hit-saving plays in the field but also delivered the
game-winning single in the top of the ninth.
"Villar played his tail off," McHugh said. "He got me off the hook.
A really great night."
Villar's tiebreaking his with two outs helped the Astros (64-81)
earn their third one-run victory in a span of five games.
"He has to feel good about himself," Houston interim manager Tom
Lawless said of Villar. "We need to talk to him and remind him how
good he was (Tuesday). He can be that player every day if his focus
and concentration are like that every night."
McHugh (9-9) issued no walks and struck out four. He improved to 2-0
with a 0.61 ERA in two starts at Safeco Field this season.
McHugh is 6-2 with a 1.69 ERA since the beginning of August.
Mariners first baseman Logan Morrison broke up McHugh's shutout bid
with a eighth-inning home run that tied the score 1-1. Morrison's
seventh home run of the season came with one out on a 1-0 pitch.
"Pretty frustrating," McHugh said of the solo homer. "You battle
through eight innings and make one mistake like that. You tip your
hat to (Morrison)."
Seattle's bullpen got the first two outs of the ninth inning before
reliever Yoervis Medina walked first baseman Jon Singleton and
allowed an infield single to third baseman Matt Dominguez to put
runners on the corners for Villar. The shortstop hit a 1-1 pitch on
a hop over the mitt of diving second baseman Robinson Cano for an
RBI single.
"We had the matchup we wanted," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon
said. "We had the ground ball we wanted. It just took a bad hop. It
was a tough break."
Medina (4-3) allowed two hits and a walk in one-third of an inning.
"Just one of those nights for him," McClendon said. "Just didn't
have his stuff."
Houston reliever Josh Fields pitched a scoreless ninth inning and
earned his third save of the season.
Seattle shortstop Brad Miller, who had two home runs in three career
at-bats against Fields heading into the game, opened the ninth with
a deep fly ball to center field, but Dexter Fowler caught it on the
warning track. Fields then got Mariners center fielder Austin
Jackson to strike out and left fielder Endy Chavez to ground out to
Villar to finish off the win.
The Mariners (79-65) dropped out of the second spot in the American
League wild-card standings. The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City
Royals, who are tied atop the AL Central, own a half-game lead over
Seattle. The Oakland A's, who hold the top wild-card spot, opened up
a two-game lead over the Mariners.
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Singleton, who finished 2-for-3, drove in the first run of the game
with a fourth-inning double.
He appeared to have another hit and RBI in the sixth inning, when he
initially was ruled to have beaten a throw to first base for an
infield single that scored Chris Carter from second base. However,
after a challenge from Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon, umpires
looked at the replay and overturned the ruling -- resulting in the
third out of the inning while wiping the run off the board.
Seattle starter Roenis Elias allowed one run on six hits in six
innings but left the game with the Mariners trailing 1-0.
Houston (64-81) improved to 5-2 under Lawless, with three of the
wins coming by a one-run margin.
Villar made diving stops to rob Jackson (in the sixth) and right
fielder Michael Saunders (in the eighth) of base hits.
"For him to be able to even get to those balls, much less throw them
out, is unbelievable," McHugh said.
Seattle used two big defensive plays to get out of the fifth inning.
With one out and a runner on first base, Jackson tracked down a long
fly ball hit by Jose Altuve for the second out of the inning,
earning a long ovation from the crowd and from Elias on the mound.
Elias then picked off Robbie Grossman leaning off first base for the
third out of the inning.
Despite the possible playoff implications, only 11,345 fans showed
up for Tuesday night's game.
NOTES: Astros GM Jeff Luhnow told the Houston Chronicle his
organization is leaning toward hiring a manager with previous major
league experience as either a manager or bench coach. Houston fired
manager Bo Porter last week. ... An MRI on Seattle LF Dustin
Ackley's injured ankle revealed bone spurs. The diagnosis means
Ackley probably won't need surgery, but he is expected to be out for
at least a few more days. Ackley was not in the lineup for the third
consecutive game. ... Houston RHP Nick Tropeano is scheduled to make
his major league debut Wednesday night in the series finale. ... The
Mariners and Astros get Thursday off -- the final off day for both
teams in the regular season. ... Seattle OF James Jones stole his
24th and 25th bases Monday, giving him a major-league-best 96.2
stolen-base percentage. ... Commissioner Bud Selig will be in
Seattle on Wednesday as part of his final tour before officially
retiring.
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reserved.]
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