Astros take sole possession of 1st place for 1st time this season with 4-2 win over Mariners

AP Sports Writer

SEATTLE (AP) — Jake Meyers hit a go-ahead two-run homer off former Houston reliever Ryne Stanek in the seventh inning, and the Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Saturday night to take sole possession of the AL West lead for the first time this year.

Stuck playing catchup through the first 3½ months of the season, Houston has won six of eight to climb into first place all alone.

“It’s awesome to hear but I think it’s the same thing as month one or month two being down 10, 12 games. I think we’ve adopted the same mindset of, we’ve just got to keep winning the game at hand and playing together, and we’re a great team when we do that,” Meyers said.

Seattle lost its fifth straight — its longest losing streak since dropping six in a row in May 2022 — and fell out of first place for the first time since May 11.

“This club is going through a lot of things. It happens through the course of a season,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “We’ve got guys who are struggling right now to get some traction and get it going, and they know it. They feel it. And the team in the other dugout across the way is playing very good baseball right now.”

Meyers drove a 1-2 pitch from Stanek (6-3) to right-center field for his 11th homer. Stanek opened the inning by walking Jeremy Peña, and the homer by Meyers cost George Kirby the chance at a victory after he allowed one run in six innings.

Yainer Diaz added a solo homer in the eighth off reliever Trent Thornton that bounced off the top of the wall.

Julio Rodríguez snapped Seattle’s 14-inning scoreless drought when his two-run homer off Framber Valdez gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead in the sixth. It was his 11th of the season and Rodríguez nearly hit a second longball in the eighth off Ryan Pressly only to watch Trey Cabbage make a leaping catch at the wall in right field.

Cabbage even made the same “no fly” gesture that Rodríguez makes after one of his defensive gems.

“He got me at home (in Houston) so I had to give a subtle one back to him,” Cabbage said.

It was one of two terrific defensive plays by the Astros in the eighth as Joey Loperfido ended the inning with a diving grab of Mitch Garver’s drive into the left-field corner and saved one run from scoring.

“For Joey to run that ball down, that ball is moving away from him and he stayed with it the whole way, got a great jump and dove and caught it. I mean, just two huge plays,” Meyers said.

Valdez pitched 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three hits, four walks and struck out six. Tayler Scott (7-3) got the final out of the sixth before Bryan Abreu, Pressly and Josh Hader closed out the final three innings. Hader earned his 20th save.

“I was throwing to good locations. I think the only bad one I threw was the one Julio was able to get to,” Valdez said through an interpreter.

Kirby allowed four hits and struck out six. Houston’s only run off him came on Peña’s infield single that scored Alex Bregman in the fourth.

UNUSUAL STRIKEOUT

Houston slugger Yordan Alvarez struck out to end the first inning when he was called for a pitch-clock violation for not being ready in the box prior to a 3-2 delivery from Kirby.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHPs Justin Verlander (neck discomfort) and Luis Garcia (Tommy John surgery) threw bullpens. Verlander threw about 40 pitches with increased intensity, while Garcia threw 15 pitches. Both are expected to throw again sometime early next week. … C Victor Caratini (hip) was expected to catch for a second straight day at Double-A Corpus Christi.

UP NEXT

Astros: RHP Ronel Blanco (9-4, 2.56 ERA) has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven straight starts, but lost to Texas in his last outing before the All-Star break.

Mariners: RHP Bryan Woo (3-1, 2.45) will make just his second start since June 24. Woo allowed four runs in 3 1/3 innings on July 12.

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