“I believe it’s all down to pitching with care, to paint the corners”, Iwakuma said. “We’re now into the time of the season when we can’t drop these tight games and it’s huge that we won this one”.
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It took Hisashi Iwakuma’s best outing of the season Saturday, but the Mariners finally found a way to beat the Houston Astros by eking out a 1-0 victory at Safeco Field.
“We’re not depending on one or two players”, All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve said. “We just didn’t create enough offense”.
The Astros best chance for a comeback was spoiled in the ninth as Marwin Gonzalez opened the frame with a double to right against Mariners closer Steven Cishek.
Altuve then stole third, which prompted the Mariners to shorten their infield for a possible play at the plate. “I was thinking about hitting the ball, driving the ball”. Kyle Seager is playing well on 98 hits, 54 runs, 18 homer and 61 RBI. “I’m not much of a fist-pump guy, but I was just kind of taking out some aggression there”. His start came on a day when Houston’s Lance McCullers (4-4) was nearly as dominant.
In the sixth, Leonys Martin led off with a triple his second extra-base hit of the game and Cano followed with the single to left.
And Correa flashed his glove in the seventh inning reaching back across his body to snag Robinson Cano’s hot shot and throw him out at first.
“It was a long run for (center fielder Carlos) Gomez to get to that ball”, Servais said. “(Cano) just kind of muscled the ball to the left side. The dude’s getting paid $30 million a year to do that. “Sometimes you make a good pitch, and the hitter finds a way”. Seattle LF Seth Smith was in the leadoff spot for the first time this season on Sunday…. Iwakuma has gone 8-2 over his past 10 starts.
“You’ve got to finish the innings”, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “And it’s very fortunate we’ve got him”.
Angels 8, White Sox 1: Albert Pujols hit a pair of two-run homers, Jered Weaver pitched seven strong innings and Los Angeles completed an emphatic three-game sweep. Montgomery was outstanding at Kansas City in his first start of the season last Sunday, when he permitted one run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings to gain the win. The American League West rivals continue their three-game series Saturday with the host Mariners looking to slow down the surging Astros, who have moved a season-high eight games over.500. He allowed three runs on six hits and four walks in six innings.
While Correa and Springer had the big hits, the Astros’ rally in the fifth started with consecutive doubles by Evan Gattis and Jake Marisnick. In his first start, Montgomery allowed one run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings against the Royals. Robertson chased down the towering fly ball then made a jump at the wall, but the ball actually hit a few feet to his left, resulting in a stand-up double. Moments later, Correa flashed his speed by scoring from second base when James Paxton’s third wild pitch of the inning ricocheted off catcher Chris Iannetta and over to the third base dugout.
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The right-hander, who won 14 games in 2013 and 15 the year after, remains the only pitcher left untroubled from the starting rotation at the start of the season and also came to a timely rescue on Saturday for the team left without injured slugger Nelson Cruz. In Friday’s opener, the Astros managed a 7-3 win. Cruz played the entirety of yesterday’s game against the Astros in right field, a 7-3 Mariners loss where Cruz went 0-for-4. Houston SS Carlos Correa went into Saturday’s game with 35 career home runs as a shortstop. 344 with three homers in 16 games with Triple-A Las Vegas.
