Astysts Blank Mariners 7-0, Move Into Tie For AL West Lead
The short version
- Astros beat Mariners 7-0, tying Texas for the AL West lead with five games to play; Houston holds the tiebreaker.
- Cristian Javier left after two innings with right groin tightness; five relievers completed the shutout.
- Yordan Alvarez hit his 41st homer and drove in three, leading the AL in batting average at .314.
- Christian Walker's three-run shot was his 200th career home run.
Houston pulled even with Texas atop the AL West at 78-79 and holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with five games remaining.
The Houston Astros shut out the Seattle Mariners 7-0 on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park, snapping a three-game skid and pulling back into a tie for first place in the American League West. Texas lost to the New York Mets the same night, and Houston owns the tiebreaker over the Rangers with five games left in the regular season.
Houston jumped on Seattle starter Logan Gilbert early, collecting 12 hits against him and the Mariners' pitching staff. Christian Walker hit a three-run homer in the third inning — the 200th of his career — to build a four-run lead. Yordan Alvarez added an RBI single and a two-run home run, his 41st of the season, and Isaac Paredes contributed a solo shot.
Starter Cristian Javier departed after two innings because of right groin tightness, forcing the bullpen to cover the final seven frames. Miguel Ullola and Bennett Sousa combined for four scoreless innings, AJ Blubaugh handled the seventh, and Logan VanWey finished the last two. Five Astros pitchers held Seattle to four hits, with the Mariners leaving nine runners on base.
Alvarez's home run tied him with Junior Caminero for the American League lead. He reached 102 RBIs, second in the AL behind Pete Alonso's 108, and his .314 average leads the league. Jeremy Peña was hit on the right arm by a pitch in the eighth, stayed in to run the bases, but was replaced on defense afterward.