After dropping their first two games to the Seattle Mariners ahead of the All-Star break, the Houston Astros geared up to play game three of four on Saturday night. The game was tied at two for most of the game before Martin Maldonado stepped up in the eighth inning with a solo shot to give the Astros the 3-2 win over the Mariners.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Framber Valdez at the top of the first inning struck out the first two batters before the Astros put up the first two runs of the game.
At the bottom of the first, Jeremy Pena hit a single out left. Then, Kyle Tucker came up and doubled into right field as Pena scored on an error. Tucker advanced to third base on the throwing error and scored on an infield single to third by Alex Bregman. Houston was up 2-0.
After Chas McCormick and Cory Julks struck out at the bottom of the second. The Mariners scored at the top of the next frame when J.P. Crawford with an RBI single. Jose Caballero who scored on the play previously hit a single and then stole second and third base to make it a one-run game.
Seattle would tie the game at the top of the fourth when Caballero brought home Teoscar Hernandez, who hit a double and stole third to begin the inning.
Valdez would go six full innings, giving up five hits and two runs while retiring six. Bryan Abreu came to relieve Valdez in the seventh and struck out two himself with Hector Neris replacing him in the eighth.
Martin Maldonado at the bottom of the eighth gave the Astros the 3-2 lead with a solo home run 371 feet over the left-center field wall.
Ryan Pressly came in to close in the ninth as the Astros’ defense stood tall. Houston beats Seattle 3-2.
BIG NUMBER: 50
The Houston Astros got their 50th win of the 2023 season on Saturday night with just one game to go before the team gets some much-needed rest at the All-Star break.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Martin Maldonado
Maldonado was the hero the Astros needed on Saturday as he hit the tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning to elevate Houston to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.
UP NEXT: The Houston Astros will play game four versus Mariners on Sunday, July 9th. The first pitch for the final game before the All-Star break is set for 1:10 p.m.