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 The Astros piled up 10 hits, including homers from center fielder
Colby Rasmus and right fielder George Springer, to snap their
two-game losing streak with a 6-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.
"Huge," Rasmus said of the win, which improved the Astros' record to
7-3 over their past 10 games. "It was definitely a big win for us
with the way the game was going early on."
Houston starter Vincent Velasquez, making just his third major
league start, had early control problems and couldn't get past the
fourth inning. He allowed only one run but needed 93 pitches to get
through 3 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and four walks.
The Astros (41-30) used five relievers, who combined to allow only
two hits and one run over the final 5 2/3 innings. Reliever Will
Harris (4-0) threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
"That was a good win for us," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "We
had to use a lot of bullpen."
Rasmus broke open a close game with a two-out, two-run shot off
Seattle reliever Tom Wilhelmsen in the seventh inning, giving the
Astros a 5-2 lead. Springer added a solo shot to lead off the ninth.
Seven different Houston players had hits in the win, with Springer
going 3-for-5.
Seattle's J.A Happ (3-4) had control problems of his own but was
able to get through five innings with only two walks allowed. The
left-hander gave up seven hits and three runs (two earned) while
seeing his winless streak extend to eight games with the loss. The
last time Happ earned a win was May 9, when he beat the A's 7-2.
"He pitched well enough to win today," Mariners manager Lloyd
McClendon said Sunday. "He gave us a great opportunity to win a
ballgame."
The Mariners (32-38) had just four hits despite chasing Velasquez in
the fourth.
With the win and a Texas Rangers loss, Houston (41-30) padded its
lead atop the American League West to 3 1/2 games. Seattle fell 8
1/2 games behind the Astros.
"We're moving in the right direction," McClendon said. "We're
starting to play better baseball. If we continue to win series,
we'll be OK."
Leadoff hits in each of the first two innings came around to score
as the Astros took a 2-1 lead.
Houston designated hitter Evan Gattis and third baseman Luis
Valbuena each had an RBI single.
Springer led off the game with a single to extend his hitting streak
to 14 games, then he came around to score of Gattis' hit for a 1-0
lead. After the Mariners tied the score in the bottom of the first,
Rasmus led off the second inning with a double and scored on
Valbuena's one-out single.
Velasquez needed 43 pitches just to get through a wild bottom of the
first inning. He walked three batters and gave up an RBI single to
designated hitter Nelson Cruz, but Velasquez was able to escape with
the score tied 1-1.
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"That first inning was pretty huge," Velasquez said. "I did get out
of that. More damage could have been done, but it was not my best
inning."
The Astros added an unearned run in the fifth when Seattle shortstop
Brad Miller let a grounder go through his legs, allowing catcher
Jason Castro to score.
Mariners second baseman Robinson Cano cut the deficit to 3-2 with a
sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth before Rasmus broke the
game open.
Rasmus, who came off the bereavement list Friday, went 2-for-4 with
a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs in the win. Springer
went 5-for-12 in the series and is hitting .458 during his 14-game
hitting streak -- the second-longest current streak in the American
League. (Cleveland's Jason Kipnis has a 15-game streak).
"He sets the tempo for us very early in the game," Hinch said.
"Having him be our energy and be at the top of the order during this
stretch has been a big key."
NOTES: Houston 2B Jose Altuve (sore right hamstring) sat out for the
fourth day in a row. ... Seattle RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (strained lat
muscle) came out of his first rehab start in good shape, and he is
scheduled to take the mound for Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday. Manager
Lloyd McClendon said Iwakuma is likely to need at least one more
rehab start after that before the Mariners consider activating him
from the disabled list. ... The Mariners had a pretty thin bullpen
entering the game but had to use four relief pitchers Sunday. "We've
got our bullpen where we like it; we like our guys," McClendon said.
"But if we keep running them out there, they're not going to be
worth a darn." ... The Astros were scheduled to leave Seattle after
Sunday's game and fly to Southern California, where they begin a
three-game series Monday against the Los Angeles Angels. Seattle
hosts the Kansas City Royals in a three-game series beginning
Monday.
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