A series victory over the second-place Seattle Mariners was exactly what the Houston Astros needed after struggling to end the month of July. They clinched that on Wednesday, as Marwin Gonzalez went deep twice in an 8-3 win at Safeco Field. Gonzalez's long balls were two of the four that Houston hit on the day, as they also knocked Seattle out of the final American League playoff spot. Jake Marisnick and Max Stassi also went deep to support Dallas Keuchel, who lasted seven innings and allowed just three runs in his ninth win.
The loss for the Mariners officially puts them behind the Oakland Athletics, who completed the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. The M's held an 11-game lead on the A's as late as June 16th, when they were a season-high 21 games over .500 at 46-25. That came after a 1-0 shutout of the Athletics, who were, at the time, a game under .500 at 35-36. Since then, the Mariners are 17-20, while the Athletics have gone 29-10.
Gonzalez went deep in the second and fourth innings against Wade LeBlanc, who dropped to 6-2 on the season. Reliever Nick Vincent allowed the homer to Stassi, and Marisnick returned from the minor leagues the day before. Gonzalez hadn't gone deep since June 27th, but recorded his third-career multi-home run game.
Meanwhile, Keuchel struck out two and retired 11 batters in a row at one point, as he improved to 6-1 in his past nine starts. He got a lot of the batters to roll over his pitches, as he got 11 of his 21 outs via the groundball.
Andrew Romine and Zach Vincej had RBIs in the loss for the Mariners, while Nelson Cruz added a sixth-inning blast for his 26th big fly of the season. Seattle will hope to get back on track and in to a playoff spot when they play host to the Toronto Blue Jays beginning on Thursday. The Astros move on to a World Series rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.
The loss for the Mariners officially puts them behind the Oakland Athletics, who completed the sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon. The M's held an 11-game lead on the A's as late as June 16th, when they were a season-high 21 games over .500 at 46-25. That came after a 1-0 shutout of the Athletics, who were, at the time, a game under .500 at 35-36. Since then, the Mariners are 17-20, while the Athletics have gone 29-10.
Gonzalez went deep in the second and fourth innings against Wade LeBlanc, who dropped to 6-2 on the season. Reliever Nick Vincent allowed the homer to Stassi, and Marisnick returned from the minor leagues the day before. Gonzalez hadn't gone deep since June 27th, but recorded his third-career multi-home run game.
Meanwhile, Keuchel struck out two and retired 11 batters in a row at one point, as he improved to 6-1 in his past nine starts. He got a lot of the batters to roll over his pitches, as he got 11 of his 21 outs via the groundball.
Andrew Romine and Zach Vincej had RBIs in the loss for the Mariners, while Nelson Cruz added a sixth-inning blast for his 26th big fly of the season. Seattle will hope to get back on track and in to a playoff spot when they play host to the Toronto Blue Jays beginning on Thursday. The Astros move on to a World Series rematch against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend.
