Mariners can't contain Astros in 8-3 loss, postseason hopes on the ropes
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - SEPTEMBER 27: Bryce Miller #50 of the Seattle Mariners reacts after a three run home run by Mauricio Dubon #14 of the Houston Astros during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on September 27, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo
SEATTLE - How much can one single game mean for the Seattle Mariners?
At least when it comes to Wednesday night's game against the Houston Astros, it meant a whole heck of a lot.
Houston exploded for 14 hits and scored four runs in the fourth inning and three more in the seventh in handing the Mariners an 8-3 loss that puts Seattle's playoff aspirations on life support.
Mauricio Dubón's three-run home run off Bryce Miller staked the Astros to a 4-1 lead in the fourth inning, and a three-run rally in the seventh quelled all hopes of a Seattle comeback.
With a win, the Mariners could have put themselves in strong shape to earn one of two playoff spots likely available between themselves, Houston and the Toronto Blue Jays over the final weekend of the regular season. Instead, the Mariners now need to win several games and likely get some significant help along the way.
The Mariners had their chances against the Astros on Wednesday night. The difference was Houston didn't miss on theirs.
J.P. Crawford drove the second pitch of the night from Framber Valdez just inside the right field foul pole for his 18th home run of the year for an early 1-0 Seattle lead.
Valdez struggled with command throughout the outing for Houston. Following the Crawford home run, Valdez walked Julio Rodríguez and Eugenio Suárez as the Mariners threatened to put a big number on the board early. Instead, Valdez struck out Teoscar Hernandez and Ty France and a Dylan Moore line drive was hit directly to third baseman Alex Bregman to keep the lead at just one.
Bryce Miller worked around a baserunner in each of the first three innings for Seattle but keep the Astros lineup in check. But that would change with Yordan Álvarez top pen the fourth. Álvarez hit a 116.2 mph missile to straightaway center field to tie the game at 1-1.
José Abreu and Michael Brantley each reached with soft hit singles before Mauricio Dubón crushed a sweeper left over the middle of the plate by Miller deep into the Seattle bullpen in left field as Houston took a 4-1 lead.
The four runs came on six hits and a walk for Miller along with four strikeouts as his day came to a close after four innings.
Seattle answered back in the bottom of the fourth inning as Cal Raleigh and Sam Haggerty each singled off Valdez and Crawford drew a one-out walk – the fifth of the game issued by Valdez – to load the bases. Suárez came through with a two-out single into left field that scored Raleigh and Jose Caballero to cut the lead to 4-3.
Valdez's day would also end after four innings as the game turned over to the bullpens. Valdez allowed three runs on five hits with five walks and seven strikeouts for Houston.
Gabe Speier and Justin Topa combined to work around a lead off double from José Altuve in the fifth inning to avoid deepening the hole for Seattle.
The animus between the two AL West rivals flared up in the sixth inning as both benches and bullpens cleared.
Hector Neris struck out Rodríguez to end the sixth inning and Neris let out a yell of celebration and began walking down Rodríguez as he tried to return to the bench. Rodríguez took offense and started to face Neris as the benches emptied. No punches were thrown and no one was ejected, but the emotion for both teams was evident.
Neris served a three-game suspension last season after throwing a ball behind Ty France and then having a pitch sail over the head of Suárez after Rodríguez homered off him. That incident led to both benches clearing in Houston with multiple ejections as well.
But after the situation calmed down, the Astros took control in the seventh inning.
Hernandez misplayed a soft liner to right field from Bregman that slipped by him all the way to the wall, turning a would-be single into a de facto triple on the error. After intentionally walking Álvarez, Kyle Tucker doubled on a liner that clipped France's glove at first base that scored Bregman.
Abreu and Brantley each singled to drive in two more runs and the Astros lead swelled to 7-3. Brantley had a four-hit night for Houston.
Martin Maldonado added a solo home run in the eighth inning to further extend the Houston advantage.
Rodríguez struck out for the fourth time in the game in the eighth inning with a pair of runners on base on a forgettable night for the Mariners young star. Three of the four strikeouts came with runners in scoring position.
In total, the Mariners struck out 16 times in 34 at-bats on the night.
The outlook is now fairly dire for Seattle. The Mariners had a chance to take a half game lead in the race for the final AL Wild Card spot over Houston and close to within a game of the Toronto Blue Jays for the second Wild Card spot with a victory on Wednesday night. The Blue Jays were shutout 6-0 by the New York Yankees earlier in the night.
Instead, Seattle now finds themselves 1.5 games back of Houston and 2.0 games back of Toronto with four games left to play. The Mariners can also no longer catch the Texas Rangers in the division race either as they beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-0 to move four games up on Seattle with four to play while owning the tiebreaker over the Mariners.
Seattle now faces a four-game final series with Texas likely needing to win at least three out of four games to have a chance to make the playoffs. However, the Mariners just 1-8 against Texas this season. Houston closes with a four-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are fighting for a Wild Card spot in the National League themselves.