Mariners 3 - 8 Astros
Final
  for this game

Astros sink Mariners, take series

Sep 22, 2014 - 12:46 AM Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Jake Marisnick hit a three-run homer, while Alex Presley finished 3-for-5 with two RBI, as Houston topped Seattle, 8-3, in the rubber match of a three-game set.

Jose Altuve added two hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Astros, who put a four-game skid in the rear view by winning the final two games in the series.

"I gave a little wave, but then my teammates and coaches told me to go outside," Altuve said of the curtain call requested by the fans at Minute Maid Park when he was pulled in the ninth. "I was kind of embarrassed, but I was really happy with the way my teammates treated me and my fans treated me."

Collin McHugh (11-9) allowed three runs on four hits and struck out six over his successful six-inning outing.

Michael Saunders hit a two-run shot and scored twice for the Mariners, fell 1 1/2 games back of Kansas City for the AL's second wild card berth.

Hisashi Iwakuma (14-9) was tagged in defeat for six hits and four runs with three walks despite fanning eight over 4 1/3 frames.

The Mariners went up 3-1 in the fifth as Logan Morrison walked and Saunders followed with a two-run homer to right, but the hosts stormed back with the game's final seven runs.

Houston got three back in the home half to take a 4-3 lead on an RBI double from Altuve and two-run single by Presley.

Dexter Fowler singled with one down in the seventh, Presley added a base hit which moved the former to third. Presley then stole second and Marisnick took Yoervis Medina deep to left to give the hosts a 7-3 advantage.

Houston extended its edge to five in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out RBI infield single from Jason Castro.

Tony Sipp struck out two in a scoreless ninth.

"The only thing you can say is that we haven't done our jobs," Seattle second baseman Robinson Cano said. "The last couple of games, we'd have men in scoring position and we haven't done our job to get them in."

The Astros picked up the game's first run in the second. With men on second and third, an Iwakuma wild pitch brought home Marisnick.

Seattle put runners on first and third in the top of the third thanks to hits from Saunders and Mike Zunino, before a Brad Miller double-play grounder scored Saunders to tie the game.

Game Notes

After scoring just six runs in their previous four contests, the Astros reeled off 23 runs over the weekend, including 18 in their two victories against the M's ... Seattle won 10 of 10 from Houston for the second consecutive season, and won six of nine in southeast Texas despite losing the series ... Both clubs are in action on Monday, as the Astros commence a season-ending six-game road trip at Texas, while the Mariners look to gain a playoff berth at Toronto in the first of a four-game set.






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