Bryce Miller threw seven innings of shutout baseball and the Seattle Mariners staved off elimination from the Houston Astros in the American League West Division title race. On Monday night, Miller was in total command of his pitches, giving up just two hits and leading Seattle to a 6-1 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Entering Monday’s opener of a three-game series, the Astros’ Magic Number was at two. It remains that way thanks to solid pitching and timely hitting from Seattle. Houston dealt with awful clutch hitting and more shaky bullpen action.
Houston Astros Not Helped By Bullpen
Astros starter Hunter Brown (11-9) pitched well, putting a solid outing down to finish up his regular season. Brown went six innings, allowing just one run and striking out eight Mariners. Brown left and, well, was on the hook for the loss. The only offense that the Houston Astros could muster on Monday night was a Jason Heyward solo home run in the eighth inning.
Miller goes to 12-8 overall with the victory for the Mariners.
The Astros bullpen could not keep Seattle hitters at bay, though. The Mariners went up 2-0 in the seventh inning as Justin Turner singled and, with one out, J.P. Crawford singled off Astros reliever Caleb Ferguson. Astros manager Joe Espada replaced Ferguson with Kaleb Ort, who loaded the bases by walking Dylan Moore. Julio Rodriguez, who had three hits and two RBIs in the game, scored Turner with a single for a 2-0 Mariners lead.
In the eighth inning, Turner’s sacrifice fly and Jorge Polanco’s double off Astros reliever Bryan King increased Seattle’s lead to 4-0. Heyward hit his homer to make it 4-1. But in the ninth inning, Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena smacked RBI doubles off Astros reliever Seth Martinez to wrap up the scoring, The Associated Press reported.
Seattle has won four of its last five games, finding itself in the hunt for an American League Wild Card spot. They are in a dog fight for it with the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins. Of course, the Astros know they have Tuesday and Wednesday games against the Mariners to clinch the AL West crown. Houston will need some better offensive efforts from second baseman Jose Altuve, who is mired in a hitting slump.
All Eyes Are On Yordan Alvarez’s Knee
But the Houston Astros, though, were without slugging outfielder-designated hitter Yordan Alvarez on Monday night. Alvarez suffered a right knee contusion when sliding into second base during Sunday’s 9-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
An Astros report indicated that Alvarez was getting an MRI done on his right knee. There were no updates offered during the Astros’ radio broadcast from play-by-play announcer Robert Ford or broadcaster Steve Sparks. According to MLB.com, Espada said an X-ray performed on Sunday showed some inflammation in the right knee area.
These MRI results will go a long way toward letting Espada, Alvarez’s teammates, and Astros fans know if Alvarez will be available for the rest of the regular season. Of course, if Alvarez is out, then there’s an outside chance he doesn’t see action during a potential postseason run. That would be a major setback for any Astros’ postseason hopes.
“We want to make sure we go in there and check all the boxes, so he’s getting some extra testing done,” Espada said. “I spoke with him this morning and he woke up pretty sore. I was expecting him, praying, that he felt better, but that wasn’t the case. So we’ll see once we get these results, once he walks in here.”
For the season, Alvarez is hitting .308 with 35 home runs, 34 doubles, and 53 multihit games. That number is the most for an Astros player, according to MLB.com reporter Brian McTaggart, since Michael Brantley’s 56 in 2019.
At this time of the season, with the Astros bearing down on potential postseason play, having Alvarez sidelined is not a good idea. The Houston Astros, though, have other things to deal with, namely a tricky bullpen situation. The Astros will send Framber Valdez out to the mound on Tuesday night. Seattle has not named its starting pitcher as of Monday night.
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