Mariners fall short of record win streak in 5-2 loss to Astros

Despite playing in front of a sell-out crowd, the Mariners put in an uninspired performance against the Astros and see their winning streak stopped at 14 games.

While the winning streak obviously couldn’t go on indefinitely, it didn’t make Friday’s 5-2 loss any less disappointing for the Mariners. The fact the defeat came at the hands of the Houston Astros, compounded this feeling.

Keeping with the theme of disappointing, the Mariners appeared to put in a surprisingly uninspired performance, despite playing in front of an energized sell-out T-Mobile Park crowd. Perhaps the All-Star break came at the wrong time for the ball club and ruined their momentum.

The fact Julio Rodriguez was scratched around 40 minutes before first pitch didn’t help. However, this wouldn’t impact the Mariners that much, no matter how special Rodriguez is.

One of the main takeaway from Friday night’s game was the missed opportunities, as the Mariners went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. You can’t do this against any opponent, but especially not one as good as the Astros.

Manager Scott Servais spoke to the media about the missed chances after the game. He said:

“I think even the nights earlier in the season when we were having trouble scoring runs, we were creating a ton of opportunities. And you saw that again tonight. It’s just getting that big hit at a key time.”

In this respect, the Mariners’ biggest missed opportunity came in the bottom of the eighth, when they loaded the bases. Eugenio Suarez then drew an RBI walk to bring the score to within 5-2.

This brought Kyle Lewis to the plate with the chance to make an impact, in his first game back after missing time with a concussion. However, a hit which nine times out of 10 would have scored at least one run, was caught in spectacular fashion by the Astros’ Jeremy Pena.

Aside from the missed opportunities, the other main reason for the Mariners’ loss was an average effort from Marco Gonzales. In just 5.2 innings, he allowed nine hits and five earned runs, while only striking out two batters.

Things started badly for Gonzales, who gave up a lead-off home run to Jose Altuve. He was never able to recover, resulting in his record versus the Astros dropping to 1-3 on the season.

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Along these lines, there had been some questioning beforehand about the decision to start Gonzales. The thinking was all of the rotation were rested as a result of the All-Star break and there were better options to consider.

However, the 30-year-old was going to start at some point during the three-game series versus Houston. In addition he had pitched well against them in his three previous starts this season, averaging just under 7.0 innings, two earned runs and one walk per contest.

At the end of the day Gonzales just had a bad day at the office, which he discussed with the media. He said:

“(Houston is) a team that you need to get ahead in the count against and stay ahead the entire game. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t execute early in the game.”

Gonzales was also asked about having to face a team as good as the Astros so many times every season. He said:

“It’s challenging, but I think it is for both sides. On the flip side, seeing someone and facing someone a lot in a year, you just expect different things and the game plan can change.”

As if to underline it just wasn’t meant to be the Mariners’ night, Jose Urquidy allowed only four hits and one earned run in 6.0 innings. Prior to the outing he had gone 0-3 versus Seattle this season, allowing 27 hits and 15 earned runs in 13.0 combined innings.

While the Mariners saw their winning streak snapped just one game short of their all-time record, they still have a chance to extend their current run of eight consecutive series wins. Of course, this is easier said than done against an Astros side which is looking ominously good after their double-header sweep of the Yankees on Thursday.

Logan Gilbert will face Justin Verlander on Saturday, while Robbie Ray will go up against Framber Valdez the following day. The win streak is over and these next two days should tell us a little more about what this Mariners side is made of.

At least the Mariners will be able to count on strong backing from a passionate fan base. Speaking about the crowd on Friday night, Servais said:

“The feel in the ballpark tonight was awesome. You can certainly feel our fans as we started to rally there (in the eighth inning). Everybody was on their feet, hoping we could keep this win streak going.”

What stood out for you most in Friday’s loss to the Astros. How do you see the remainder of this series playing out for the Mariners? Let us know in the comments section below.