|
 Granted another opportunity to produce in the clutch in the ninth
inning, Cano came through again.
Cano drilled a bases-clearing double to straightaway center field in
the ninth to cap Seattle's second rally against Houston's bullpen in
a 6-3 victory on Thursday night at Minute Maid Park.
Cano finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs and landed the knockout blow
against Astros closer Luke Gregerson (0-1), who staggered in
allowing two singles and a walk before facing Cano. When Gregerson
grooved a cut fastball down the heart of the plate, Cano knew just
how to handle it.
"I was ready," Cano said. "That's a situation where I would say if I
was a pitcher, I don't want to face Nelson (Cruz) or myself. In that
situation as a hitter, you've got to get ready to see a pitch over
the plate because he's (got) one nasty cutter, slider and sinker.
Everything moves. So I was ready for the first pitch, something over
the plate, and (to) be able to hit the ball out of the infield."
Two innings before Cano closed the book on the comeback, right
fielder Seth Smith keyed the initial rally against the Houston
(10-19) bullpen.
 Smith laced a two-run single off Astros left-hander Tony Sipp to
lift the Mariners to a 3-2 lead. Houston rookie starter Chris
Devenski departed with a 2-1 advantage, but Ken Giles allowed the
two baserunners that scored in the seventh before Gregerson faltered
later.
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve again was a one-man wrecking crew,
finishing 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. He erased the 3-2
deficit with an RBI double in the seventh, but the Astros squandered
an opportunity to reclaim the lead when third base coach Gary Pettis
waved home slow-footed Jason Castro on the Altuve drive to center.
Castro was on first when Altuve delivered his hit off Nick Vincent
(2-1) and was easily erased at the plate for the second out of the
inning.
"Gary's right virtually all the time, so I certainly can't fault him
for a play that they had to make a 430-foot relay to (retire) him,"
Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "Castro ran hard. I'll have to look
at the video to see exactly how it broke down as to where he was
when they got the ball."
Devenski labored, retiring the Mariners in order only in the fourth
inning once while dodging significant threats in the second, fifth
and sixth.
In the third after he allowed the RBI single to Cano, Devenski
needed a fabulous defensive play from right fielder George Springer
to limit the damage. Springer made a sprawling grab of Nelson Cruz's
line drive to preserve the tie as Devenski stranded two base runners
to conclude that threat.
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"Starting to feel better," Devenski said. "Feel like myself. Got a
little hectic but things are working well."
Altuve belted his sixth leadoff home run this season just two off
the club record -- to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. He scored the
second run when Evan Gattis slapped a two-out RBI single off Wade
Miley in the sixth, a rally-salvaging hit after Altuve and Springer
reached with no outs before Carlos Correa rolled into a double play.
Miley was solid, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with
five strikeouts over six innings. He gave the Mariners precisely
what they required, his problems with the scorching Altuve
notwithstanding.
"He's really good - he's really hot right now," Miley said. "He's
good regardless but he's seeing the ball well. Other than that I
felt pretty good."
NOTES: Astros LF Jake Marisnick was recalled from Triple-A Fresno
and batted ninth in the order. With Colby Rasmus slumping and the
Astros in need of another right-handed bat to balance their roster,
Marisnick ended his short stint with the Grizzlies having compiled
only 28 plate appearances. ... Mariners RHP Tony Zych underwent an
examination of his right shoulder and the results revealed
inflammation but no structural damage. He was placed on the 15-day
disabled list May 3 with right rotator cuff tendinitis and will be
sidelined for at least four weeks. ... Astros 2B Jose Altuve was
leading the major leagues in steals (10) and doubles (13). The last
player to lead the majors in both categories for a full season was
Cardinals OF Lou Brock (62 steals, 46 doubles) in 1968.
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