Mariners 7, Astros 5: Astros pitching falters against Mariners

What Happened:

After erasing deficits of 3-1 and 5-3, the Astros fell one comeback short in a 7-5 loss to the Mariners. Jose Altuve led the Astros with two hits and a walk, but Pat Neshek gave up a go-ahead two run home run in the eighth that gave the Mariners their margin of victory.

Astros starting pitcher Scott Feldman labored through two and two thirds innings before leaving with tightness in his right shoulder. He walked five and surrendered three earned runs in the short outing. It was a disappointing start for Feldman after a brilliant month of August.

Vincent Velasquez relieved Feldman, and must have felt like he was back in his tandem start days from the minors. Velasquez pitched four and a third effective innings, only allowing two runs and giving the Astros offense a chance to get back in the game.

They did manage to come back and tie, scoring two runs in the sixth with aggressive base running. Jed Lowrie led off the inning with a single, and with two outs Jake Marisnick (who had a solo home run earlier) singled to move Lowrie to third. Jose Altuve knocked in Lowrie with Marisnick taking third. Altuve then stole second, and the throw sailed into center field allowing Marisnick to score.

Unfortunately, the Astros pen couldn't hold the lead, as Neshek allowed a two run pinch-hit home run to Logan Morrison. Carson Smith and Tom Wilhelmsen closed it out for the Mariners.

The Astros will hope for better results in the rubber match of the series tomorrow night.

Tweet of the Night:

When Altuve gets hot, no one is hotter. He's 2-for-3 tonight and is hitting .318.

— Brian McTaggart ⚾️ (@brianmctaggart) September 2, 2015