Jose Altuve hit a bunt single to bring in the run that put Houston ahead and marked his 300th stolen base during the Astros’ four-run seventh inning, leading them to a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.
The 2017 AL MVP is now the fifth player in MLB history to achieve at least 300 steals, 2,000 hits, 400 doubles, 200 homers, and a career batting average of .300 or higher. This group includes Derek Jeter, Paul Molitor, Willie Mays, and Roberto Alomar.
“It’s always nice to reach milestones like that, but right now, we’re focused on winning games and making up for lost ground from the beginning,” Altuve said. “But yeah, I’m really happy and grateful for this accomplishment.”
With the win, the Astros moved into a tie with the Angels for last place in the AL West at 12-20, while the first-place Mariners fell to 17-15.
In the eighth inning, the Mariners had a chance to score, with Josh Rojas on second and Julio Rodríguez on third with no outs. However, Ryan Pressly struck out Jorge Polanco, and a high fly ball to right field from Mitch Haniger was caught by Kyle Tucker.
Rojas initially tried to score but quickly returned to third base. Meanwhile, Rodríguez headed towards third, causing Rojas to get stuck in a rundown and tagged out at home plate, ending the inning.
“We didn’t play well,” said Seattle manager Scott Servais. “Giving away free bases and making mistakes on the bases, especially on the road against a good team, is not acceptable.”
Josh Hader pitched a scoreless ninth inning, walking one batter, to earn his third save. “We need to remember how good we are when we play our style of baseball, focusing on doing the little things right,” said manager Joe Espada. “When we do that, we’re a really strong team.”
Jeremy Peña started the momentum in the seventh inning with a walk, followed by a single from Yainer Diaz. With one out, Gabe Speier walked pinch-hitter Jake Meyers, loading the bases.
The Astros closed the gap to one run when Peña scored on an error by catcher Cal Raleigh during a pickoff attempt. A sacrifice fly from Mauricio Dubón brought Diaz home to tie the game, setting the stage for Altuve’s heroics.
Altuve’s bunt toward third base allowed Meyers to score just before Altuve reached first base, putting the Astros ahead 4-3.
“I felt like we needed to win this game, so I took the chance,” Altuve said. After stealing second base, Altuve was followed by consecutive walks to Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez, loading the bases again. Cody Bolton replaced Speier and walked Alex Bregman, extending the lead to 5-3.
Polanco hit a solo home run for Seattle in the third inning, and Dylan Moore’s two-run homer in the fifth inning gave them a 3-1 lead.
Despite a strong start by George Kirby, the bullpen struggled. Kirby allowed only one run on four hits in six innings, marking Seattle’s 20th quality start of the season, which leads the league. Manager Servais mentioned that he took Kirby out after six innings due to a minor issue with his right knee.
Houston’s starting pitcher, Ronel Blanco, who threw a no-hitter in his first start of the season, gave up five hits and a season-high three runs in six innings. Seth Martinez (2-2) pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win.
In the fourth inning with one out, Alvarez broke an 0-for-18 streak with a double to center field. Bregman’s single advanced him to third base, and Peña’s groundout scored Alvarez, tying the game for the Astros.
