Mariners outlast Astros 3-1 behind Bryce Miller’s home debut
By Bel Garcia
Seattle, WA - A Sunday rubber match between the Astros and the Mariners started quiet once again, but rather than exploding for an inning the Mariners found offense early from a familiar face. They also contributed throughout the game getting hits by more of their players and helping Bryce Miller, who had another phenomenal start.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller made his T-Mobile Park debut (Photos by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
It’s Miller Time
In case you missed it, Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller made his T-Mobile Park debut in today’s matinee matchup against the reigning champion Astros. He was selected by Seattle in the 4th round of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player draft and is a native of the state of Texas. The last two pitchers to get the start in their Major League debut, were Matt Brash and George Kirby. It is his second career start since his MLB debut on May 2nd against Oakland, in which he set a record with the most strikeouts (10) in a major league debut. He had another strong game holding the Houston Astros to six shutout innings, with only 2 hits, 1 walk, and a total of 5 strikeouts.
Seattle Mariners centerfielder Julio Rodriguez (Photos by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
A Familiar Face
Ty France had a strong start against his same last name competitor JP France in Game two, but he would once again start the Seattle offense in today’s series clinching win with the first hit of the game. For some time, last season, Ty France struggled offensively and the consistency that he’s provided at this point in the Mariners season is promising. Another player who faced offensive struggles, Julio Rodriguez. We’re used to his versatility on defense in the well-known ‘No Fly Zone’, but he’s also been an explosive offensive weapon for Seattle. A sight for sore eyes tonight, a JROD homerun to start the scoring for the game and help the Mariners gain the lead early, in the third inning.
Houston, we have a problem.
Aside from the offensive struggles that were presented by the Houston Astros, they tacked on some defensive struggles as well. The second scoring run for the Mariners in the third inning came from a fielding error committed by first baseman Abreau on a Raleigh hit. What looked like a quick pop out for Raleigh, turned into a scoring run for Eugenio Suarez and the Houston Astros couldn’t recover that scoring run. Instead, in what I have not seen much of, Astros’ pitcher Gage is called for a Balk in the fifth inning, giving the Mariners yet another scoring run. The errors and mistakes along with a quiet series by names like Peña and Alvarez contributed to the series loss for the Astros.
Regardless of the assistance provided to Seattle by Houston, the bats were a lot more consistent for them. Without a racked-up scoring run inning, the Mariners converted 11 hits. Runners left on base continues to haunt them, they had 10 runners LOB, almost as many as they had hits. Solid contribution from their lineup helped them runaway with this series. They’ll look to carry this momentum into their series against the Texas Rangers, who are coming off a 16-run win.