Jose Altuve, Astros Suffer 1st Defeat of Season as Mariners Rally for 7-6 Win

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

The Seattle Mariners are on the board.

After dropping the first two games of the season to the Houston Astros, the Mariners pulled one back Sunday, winning 7-6 in a game that saw multiple lead changes and late drama.

It was a tough day for the starting pitchers, as neither Houston's Zack Greinke nor Seattle's Yusei Kikuchi made it out of the fourth inning. The respective bullpens fared a bit better, slowing down the early slugfest after Yuli Gurriel's RBI single, Josh Reddick's RBI walk and Martin Maldonado's two-RBI single in the bottom of the fourth gave Houston a 5-4 lead.

Houston Astros @astros

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But the Mariners had an answer in the top of the eighth, as an RBI single by Shed Long Jr. and a two-RBI single by Kyle Lewis stole the lead back.

Seattle Mariners @Mariners

.@SLONG895 coming up CLUTCH. 👏 https://t.co/yBqNDYWlYw

Seattle Mariners @Mariners

Big time hit from @KLew_5.
Big time slide from @SLONG895.

We're back on 🔝! https://t.co/GgPXuSNzGy

Seattle's bullpen did its part, providing 5.1 innings of one-run pitching to close out the back-and-forth win. The Astros did have a chance to steal the win in the bottom of the ninth, with a runner on second and two outs, but Taylor Williams closed out the contest and earned the save.

The Mariners are now 1-3 on the season, while Houston sits at 2-1.

Key Stats

Zack Greinke, HOU: Four hits, two walks and three runs allowed in 3.1 innings, two strikeouts

Yusei Kikuchi, SEA: Five hits, four walks and five runs allowed in 3.2 innings, four strikeouts

Jose Altuve, HOU: Two walks, two runs

Tim Lopes, SEA: 3-for-4 with two runs

Martin Maldonado, HOU: 1-for-3, two RBI

Shed Long Jr., SEA: 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run

Alex Bregman, HOU: 1-for-4, one run, one RBI

Kyle Lewis, SEA: 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run

Seattle's Offense Finally Woke Up

After losing the first two games by a combined 15-4 score, Seattle finally got hot at the plate. The Mariners needed that influx of offense, as Kikuchi put them in a big hole early on.

Lopes in particular is off to a torrid start this season, making his case for an everyday role in the outfield. Long also broke out of a tough start to the season (1-for-8 in the opening two games), while Lewis has been the team's steadiest offensive weapon to this point.

Greg Johns @GregJohnsMLB

Mariners end their 15-game losing streak to Astros with a 7-6 win. Kyle Lewis comes through again with go-ahead two-run single. Tim Lopes 3 hits and Taylor Williams picks up his first career save. They needed this one.

Mike Salk, 710 ESPN @TheMikeSalk

A few Mariners observations so far:

-Kyle Lewis has a lot of talent (duh) and I like his approach. He shows off all of his skills because of it. Great energy too.

-Not sure how much approach Shed Long has, but he makes it work. Seems like he could improve as he learns.

The Mariners are probably going to struggle this year. Much of the 2020 season will come down to evaluating a number of younger players to judge their long-term viability as starters. Struggles are to be expected. But Seattle fans will be happy to see the offense show its first major signs of life Sunday.

Sunday Was a Horrible Day for Houston's Pitching Staff

Houston utilized six pitchers Sunday, and four of them—Joe Biagini, Bryan Abreu, Blake Taylor and Brandon Bailey—gave up just one run in 4.2 innings. But Greinke and Devenski had brutal outings, giving up a combined seven hits, three walks and six runs in 4.1 innings.

Chandler Rome @Chandler_Rome

Make of it what you will, but Zack Greinke averaged 87.7 mph with his fastball today. He averaged 89.9 mph in 2019.

John P. Lopez @LopezOnSports

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Greinke had a short outing, nor his usual velocity and labored. Had you told me his elbow was a mess, I would have bought it. But Verlander? Geezus.

That normally would be the sort of performance that would be brushed off as a bad day. Fair enough. But Houston's pitching staff was also dealt an enormous blow when Justin Verlander's season reportedly came to an end because of elbow issues, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale

So just like that, the #Astros rotation lost 41 victories, 235.1 innings and 626 strikeouts from last year with Gerrit Cole's free-agent departure and Verlander's season-ending injury.

Jay Jaffe @jay_jaffe

back in March, when Justin Verlander was dealing with a strained latissimus dorsi (https://t.co/DwMAFefqCn), I wrote about the depth concerns in the Astros' rotation. With JV out for the season due to an elbow injury, that depth will be tested.

Verlander later clarified that he had an elbow strain and wasn't planning to be shut down for the year:

Justin Verlander @JustinVerlander

The report that I’m currently missing the rest of the season is not accurate. There is a forearm strain… I’m hopeful that with some rest it will heal and I’ll be able to return soon. Thank you for all the well wishes. 🙏🏻

Still, Houston suddenly has legitimate concerns in its pitching staff, devoid its ace starter at least for the time being. It's hard to imagine Sunday ending on a much worse note for the Astros.

What's Next?

The two teams will finish their four-game series Monday at 7:10 p.m. ET.