Brad Peacock Keeps The Mariners In Check As Astros Bats Stay Hot.

The Astros dusted off their brooms tonight for the first time in a while after putting the finishing touches on a sweep of the Mariners. The win evened the Astros record at 5-5 for the month of September. The Astros bats stayed hot at the plate to start this game as they scored two in the second and three in the third before being shut down by the Mariners bullpen until the top of the ninth. The five run lead however would be enough for Brad Peacock and the bullpen to make stick for a 6-1 win.

After being retired in order in the first, Matt Dominguez got things started in the top of the second with a one out double. One out later Marc Krauss hit a double of his own to plate Dominguez. Carlos Corporan followed with a double to right to score Krauss from second for a 2-0 lead.

The Astros added three more in the third when Jonathan Villar got things started with an infield single that he immediately turned into a double with a steal of second. With two outs in the inning Brett Wallace hit a single to right to score Villar. Matt Dominguez followed with his second double of the night, a ground rule double, to put runners at second and third. Chris Carter followed with a single to left to score Wallace and Dominguez to give the Astros an early 5-0 lead.

The Mariners got one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a lead off home run from Kendrys Morales to center. Other than that home run, Brad Peacock was able to keep the Mariners off the board for his six innings of work. He only allowed three hits, with the home run being the only hit to go for extra bases. It was nice to see Peacock only give up one walk in this one, and he also added four strikeouts while lowering his ERA on the season to 5.27.

The Mariners gave Astros fans a scare in the eighth when they loaded the bases with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate off of relief pitcher Kevin Chapman. It wasn't all Chapman's fault however as he dealt a Jonathan Villar error in the inning to work with. Still, after working a scoreless seventh, a single, error, and walk chased Chapman out of this one with two outs.

Josh Zeid who isn't exactly known as a control specialist entered the game to pitch to slugger Raul Ibanez with nowhere to put him. The move was somewhat surprising as Bo Porter opted to call on Zeid instead of playing the matchups card by leaving in the lefty Chapman. The move paid off however as Zeid coaxed an infield pop out from Ibanez to end the threat.

The Astros added an insurance run in the top of the ninth off of three singles. Marc Krauss got things started with one out with a single to right. One out later Jimmy Paredes followed with a single to move pinch runner Elmore to third to put runners at the corners. Jonathan Villar followed with a single to center to plate Elmore to make it 6-1.

Josh Zeid stayed on to finish off the game in the bottom of the ninth. He allowed a two out single but otherwise kept the Mariners off the board to give the Astros their third sweep of the season. Zeid also earned his first save of the season.

Offensive standouts tonight include Jonathan Villar (2-5), Matt Dominguez (2-3), Marc Krauss (2-4), and Jimmy Paredes (2-4). Matt Dominguez and Marc Krauss had the only extra base hits of the night, both being doubles. Jose Altuve went 0-5 tonight to cool off his hot September.

The Astros enjoy an off day tomorrow before opening up a series at home against the Angels. Rookie Brett Oberholtzer will be opposed by Jason Vargas.