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 Altuve went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and his seventh-inning single
was his 200th hit of the season -- making him the first player with
200 hits in a season since 2012 (Miguel Cabrera and Derek Jeter) and
the first Astro to do it since Craig Biggio had a franchise-record
210 in 1998.
"I feel pretty happy," Altuve said. "We won the game, I got my 200th
hit, so it was pretty special for me. I'm feeling great. I couldn't
ask for more."
Altuve was 0-for-9 in the series before delivering an RBI double to
give Houston a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Two innings later, he added a
single for his 200th hit of the season.
"I've got to admit: I was trying to get two hits before I got one,"
he said of his early struggles in the three-game series. "Today I
came in thinking about nothing but winning the game."
Tropeano pitched five-plus solid innings on a night when Mariners
starter Hisashi Iwakuma struggled.
Tropeano (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits, with five strikeouts
and no walks. He left the game with a 4-2 lead after issuing a
leadoff walk in the sixth.
"It's a little surreal," he said. "My major league debut, and it's
all happening so fast. I'm just glad I got it out of the way and
helped contribute to a win."
The Astros (65-81) jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never trailed while
taking the three-game series from Seattle by winning the final two
games. On Tuesday, Houston rookie right-hander Collin McHugh allowed
two hits and one run in eight innings during a 2-1 victory.
The Mariners (79-66) failed to make up ground in the AL wild-card
standings on a night when both the Oakland A's and Detroit Tigers
lost. Seattle trails Oakland by two games for the first wild card
and remains a half-game behind the Tigers for the final playoff
position.
The Mariners lost a series for the first time this month.
"(Iwakuma) was bad, our hitters were bad, the defense was bad.
Everything was bad," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "It was
just one of those games."
Houston improved to 12-7 at Safeco Field over the past two seasons.
The Astros are 44-89 in all other road ballparks during that span.
Houston catcher Max Stassi, who was making his first appearance of
the season after spending most of it with Tropeano at Triple-A
Oklahoma City, drove in two runs with a second-inning double.
Altuve, shortstop Jonathan Villar and right fielder Alex Presley
also added RBIs in the Astros' most productive offensive game since
they beat the Los Angeles Angels 8-3 on Sept. 2.
Tony Sipp threw a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fourth save of
the season.
Iwakuma (14-7) couldn't make it out of the fifth inning in his
third-shortest start of the season. He lasted 4 1/3 innings and gave
up six hits and four runs. He matched his season high with two
walks.
"Wasn't good," McClendon said. "A bad outing."
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The Astros jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a two-out rally in the second
inning. Stassi drove in a pair of runs in unconventional fashion,
with a single that brought in runners from first and second base.
Right fielder Alex Presley came all the way around from first,
culminating in a head-first slide that came up a few feet short of
home plate. He was able to crawl and touch the plate with his hand
because Mariners catcher Mike Zunino, who caught a throw from the
outfield, didn't look back to see whether Presley scored.
"It wasn't a slide. Let's make that clear," Presley said. "When I
was going around third base, I hit third weird and it pushed my
weight forward, and I was stumbling the entire way. I just finally
gave way; that wasn't me attempting to slide."
One batter later, Villar drove in Stassi with a double that bounced
off the glove arm of leaping Seattle left fielder James Jones.
Zunino's two-run double in the bottom of the second inning pulled
the Mariners within 3-2.
The Astros got to Iwakuma again in the fifth, when Altuve's first
hit of the series resulted in an RBI double and a 4-2 lead.
Altuve added another hit in the seventh to add his name to the
history books. Now he needs 10 more to match Biggio's club record of
210. But he's not necessarily setting his sights on that record.
"I've got to get 201 and '2 and '3 before the 10," Altuve said.
NOTES: The Mariners and Astros both have Thursday off, marking the
final off day for both teams this season. Seattle hosts Oakland in a
three-game series beginning Friday, with Mariners LHP James Paxton
(5-2, 1.87 ERA) scheduled to start against A's RHP Jason Hammel
(2-5, 4.70). Houston travels to Southern California, where LHP Brett
Oberholtzer (5-10, 4.38) is scheduled to start against Los Angeles
Angels LHP C.J. Wilson (11-9, 4.84) on Friday. ... Mariners LF
Dustin Ackley (ankle) sat out a fourth consecutive game, but manager
Lloyd McClendon believes there is a good chance he could be back
Friday. ... Among the people attending Wednesday's game was Major
League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who is on an informal
farewell tour of the 30 parks.
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reserved.]
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