*Photo from the Laredo Morning Times*
Houston leads series 2-0
One thing we've learned so far this postseason is that you cannot stop Yordan Alvarez, you can only hope to contain him. Kyle Tucker homered, Alvarez hit the go ahead homer, and the Houston Astros defeated the Seattle Mariners with a 4-2 victory on Thursday afternoon in Houston.
The Astros were entering game two with momentum after Alvarez stole game one of the series with a 3 run walk off homer. What he did on Thursday wasn't as big, but it did prove to be the difference maker in the win for the Astros, now one win away from clinching a spot in the ALCS for the 6th straight year.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said of Alvarez at the plate that "I call him Grande. He comes up big. We love having him at the plate. He likes to be in the big moment. His concentration and discipline is way ahead of his years."
The first inning went scoreless, before the Astros started the scoring in the second inning. Tucker made his presence known with a solo home run to right field, making it 1-0 Astros. In the 4th, Eugenio Suarez scored on a fielders choice plus error, and Dylan Moore singled home Mitch Haniger to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead.
It was all Astros after that. With Jeremy Pena on base in the 6th, Alvarez took over the game, hitting an opposite field two run home run to left field, giving the Astros a 3-2 lead after 2/3 of the game. In the 8th, after Alvarez was intentionally walked, Alex Bregman hit an RBI single to right field, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Astros.
Alvarez said of his matchup with Luis Castillo that "I think that he was having a great game. He's a great pitcher. But I faced him twice earlier in the game and went up there just trying to look for a good pitch to make good contact on, and that was the one that I got, and thankfully, I was able to connect there."
Starting for the Astros was Framber Valdez, who allowed two runs on 4 hits while striking out 6 hitters in 5 2/3 innings pitched. Hector Neris came on to finish the 6th, before Bryan Abreu got two outs in the 7th. Rafael Montero got the next 4 outs, and Ryan Pressly got the save in the 9th inning.
The aforementioned Castillo got the start for the Mariners, getting stuck with the loss. Castillo let up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking no one and striking out 7 hitters in 7 innings pitched. Andres Munoz was the only Seattle reliever used, allowing one run while working the 8th inning.
Mariners star outfielder Julio Rodriguez said of losing two straight that "We're right there against those guys. They got away with these two games, but it's not like we're that far off. I feel like we’re right there, and we’ve definitely got a team to compete with them."
Up next, the series shifts to Seattle for games 3 and 4, with game 3 taking place on Saturday afternoon. George Kirby gets the start for the Mariners as they try to stay alive, while Lance McCullers Jr starts for the Astros as they look for the sweep.
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