Keuchel, Hinch come unraveled
Starter struggles with walks, HRs; manager ejected
SEATTLE — Carlos Correa was a facsimile of the Air Jordan logo when he used every bit of his 6-4 frame to snag a line drive Saturday night at Safeco Field, his legs spread wide with his right arm stretched high as he descended.
The force of the leap spun him around and turned his back to home plate before he rolled into a somersault. A scorcher from the Mariners’ Mike Zunino became the second out of the sixth inning. Third baseman Luis Valbuena’s reaction was to just stand and point in awe.
But the Astros were down three runs at that point, and the catch stood as the highlight of an
otherwise angering and odd night.
The Astros lost to the Mariners 6-3, and for the first time this season, lost their leader.
A.J. Hinch took his first ejection as Astros skipper; the best pitcher he has, Dallas Keuchel, tied a career high with three home runs allowed. Just as odd were the four walks he issued inside an inning.
Squandered lead
After arriving in Seattle with a five-game winning streak, the Astros (40-30) have dropped the first two games of this series and could be swept in a quick turnaround Sunday afternoon before heading to Anaheim, Calif., for a must-watch series with the Angels starting Monday.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on solo homers from Evan Gattis and Valbuena against Mariners righty Taijuan Walker. Valbuena’s power surge is one of the Astros’ many unexpected pleasant surprises. One of two players they received for Dexter Fowler in a trade with the Cubs over the winter, Valbuena set a career high with 16 homers in 2014. That’ll be shattered this year, because he has 17.
The second inning was a mess for Keuchel, who walked four, including two with the bases loaded. He allowed more walks, four, in a single inning, than he had in any of 14 previous starts this season.
That tied the game at 2 before the Mariners’ solo-homer barrage. Nelson Cruz, who was in a long ball drought, went deep in the third for a 3-2 M’s lead. Seth Smith homered in the fifth and Mark Trumbo in the sixth for a 5-2 Mariners advantage.
Keuchel off his form
The five runs Keuchel allowed were a season high. Typically the master of the ground ball and purveyor of the double play, Keuchel has surrendered three home runs in a game four other times, the last July 27, 2013, against the Blue Jays. He’s never allowed more.
Nonetheless, Keuchel managed six innings and struck out seven, and he didn’t walk anyone outside that perplexing second inning.
Hinch was ejected with two out in the top of the sixth in a situation that he and most everyone else knew would result in a toss. He was arguing a reviewed play.
With Correa on second base and one out, Gattis’ pop foul along the left-field line was ruled interference as a fan reached out and appeared to inhibit M’s shortstop Brad Miller’s play.
The Astros challenged, seemingly hoping the ball — which was not caught — would be ruled out of play, and therefore not a case of interference. When the call was confirmed, Hinch wasn’t satisfied and was gone. The Astros trailed 4-2 at that point.
The Astros’ strikeout train has been running at full speed lately, with 15 on Saturday and 45 in their last three games combined.
The home runs aren’t bringing quite the same result as they used to. After starting the season 27-0 in multi-homer games, the Astros have dropped two such games consecutively.