SEATTLE – Justin Verlander excelled on the mound for eight innings, and the Houston Astros won 5-1 Monday the first game of a decisive series for the American League playoff picture.
At 40, Verlander wanted to add a tenth complete game shutout to his illustrious record in Major League Baseball, but he was ultimately removed from the game after allowing a double to leadoff hitter Josh Rojas in the bottom of the ninth inning.
In relief at “JV”, Bryan Abreu obtained the three missing outs in order, not without Rojas coming to end the shutout on a sacrifice fly.
The Astros (86-71) and Mariners (84-72) had both lost their most recent three games before entering this pivotal four-game series.
Houston suffered a home sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals, the second worst team in Major League Baseball.
For its part, Seattle had just suffered the same fate in the stadium of the Texas Rangers, the team that the Astros and the Mariners were chasing for the title of the West division of the National.
The Rangers (88-68) were also in action Monday night, and they took another step toward confirming their division title by defeating the Los Angeles Angels 4-1.
Solo homers from Adolis Garcia, Mitch Garver and Nathaniel Lowe in the top of the sixth inning led Texas to this victory allowing it to keep a two and a half game lead over the Astros.
Time is running out
After this failure in front of their fans, the Mariners are now a game and a half behind their rivals for the next two evenings.
Seattle also trails three games behind the Toronto Blue Jays (87-69), whose chances of reaching the playoffs were already around 98% with six games remaining.
While Mariners ace Luis Castillo allowed three earned runs in the second inning, Verlander (12-8) wandered around, allowing only two meager hits and a walk.
Mauricio Dubon gave Houston the lead with a single in the top of the second inning, sending Jose Abreu to the plate.
Martin Maldonado’s double to left field then scored Dubon, and Maldonado tripled the lead moments later when Jose Altuve dropped the ball to safety.
Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker then added to the party – also at the expense of Castillo (14-8) – by catapulting solo homers, their 30th and 29th of the campaign respectively.
The Seattle right-hander finally worked for six full innings, but the damage was already done.
D-backs squander three leads
Kevin Ginkel squandered the last of three Arizona Diamondbacks leads in a 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
This setback now leaves the Diamondbacks (82-74) tied with the Chicago Cubs, inactive on Monday, in second place in the ranking reserved for the three teams drafted in the National League.
Ginkel (9-1) allowed the Yankees to fill the cushions in the eighth inning by allowing them two singles and a walk. He gave another free pass, this one to Oswald Peraza, which allowed the Yankees to tie the score, before seeing Gleyber Torres cross the plate following a sacrifice fly from Estevan Florial.
It was the first time the Yankees took a lead in the game.
Everson Pereira added a single to make it 6-4.
“My throws just weren’t their best,” Ginkel said. I know that overall I’m having a good season. We are in a crucial part of the calendar and I am doing my best. There are days like that, that’s all. »
Ginkel’s laborious outing, which followed those where Merrill Kelly, in the fourth inning, and Ryan Thompson, in the seventh, also lost leads, led to the Diamondbacks’ second defeat in eight games.
The Diamondbacks are trying to be one of the three drafted teams in the National League, which would put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
“Every setback is hard to take,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. And at this point in the season, everything is amplified. »
With this game, the Yankees completed their home season with a 42-39 record, their worst in front of fans since 2014.
Elsewhere in the MLB :
Padres 1 – Giants 2
SD : One of the favorites to win the Cy-Young Trophy in the National, Blake Snell did not allow a single run in six innings.
SF : Logan Webb pitched a complete game to record his 11th victory of the season.
2023-09-26 04:05:54
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