“That foot, we’re going to have to get it looked at again. It’s probably not best for me to go out there and pitch right now”.
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Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker left a start early for the third time this season with the same foot problem in Tuesday night’s loss against the Houston Astros. “It felt really good”. We’ll find out more later this week. Walker had his spot in the rotation skipped after leaving consecutive starts against the Rays and Red Sox in mid-June but appeared to rebound against the Orioles last week.
Astros: Dallas Keuchel (5-9, 5.13 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday.
“Same thing”, he said. “I was able to drive”, Walker said.
“After the second inning, I had no legs”. LeBlanc has posted a 1.69 ERA in three career appearances (one start) against Houston and has served up a home run to Evan Gattis.Fiers has found his stride as he is 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA in his last four starts. “I just made a mistake pitch and he did what he’s supposed to do with it”.
The Mariners twice presented Walker with one-run leads but, each time, he quickly squandered the advantage.
Houston took an early lead in the first inning.
The Mariners lost to the Astros 5-2 on Tuesday. “I just happened to have good location on my fastball that day”. “My velo is down”. “My (velocity’s) down. My change-up isn’t as sharp”. Houston led 7-4.
“He’s sore. I expect that he will be in there (Wednesday)”, Servais said. “I don’t know what we’ll do yet”. They are two games behind second-place Houston. Last year’s AL Cy Young Award victor, who has struggled this season, has won two straight games for the first time this year and is looking for his first win at home since April 15. Each pitched one scoreless inning. Right-handed hitters in the game went 5-for-10 with two doubles, a triple and a homer, while lefties went just 1-for-7. “It’s frustrating because I don’t know what I can do to make it better yet”. He pitched four shutout innings after Walker departed. He was forced out of the game in the fourth inning because continued pain. It was long enough for Altuve to beat out an infield single. Following the dinger, Valbuena worked a walk and A.J. Reed clubbed a 2-run home run of his own to make it a 5-2 game. McCullers then struck out Robinson Cano, but the ball got away from catcher Jason Castro and Martin broke for home.
So, technically, the call was overturned. The three homers increased his season total to 18, seven shy of the 25 he allowed in 29 starts a year ago.
The Houston Astros look to keep rolling after winning 12 of their last 15 games. His average is up to.277… Monty sports a stingy 2.15 ERA on the season, and he has quickly become one of the most versatile arms in the M’s bullpen. Even Wade Miley turned in a good outing Monday, although the Mariners did end up losing to the Astros, 2-1.
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MINUS: Nelson Cruz fouled a ball off the top of his left foot in the sixth inning. He hobbled around for a moment but remained in the game. Manager Scott Servais said: “He’s sore”. But Luis Valbuena answered back in the eighth with a towering two-run blast, putting the Astros up 9-7.
