Clueless in Seattle as Keuchel falters
SEATTLE — The best April record the Astros can muster would leave them six games under .500.
But the way they’ve played this season, reaching even that mark is a stretch. The last-place Astros’ 11-1 loss to the firstplace Mariners on Tuesday night at Safeco Field dropped them to a lowly 6-15, the worst record in the American League. They have lost seven of their last eight games.
Only the 4-16 Braves are worse than the Astros, a trendy preseason pick to win the American League West. In recent days, it’s the Mariners (11-9) who have looked like the contenders, winning nine of
their last 12 games.
In a game that began in a pitcher’s duel, Seattle dominated behind six RBIs from Robinson Cano, who tagged Michael Feliz for a grand slam in the seventh inning. It became so out of hand for the Astros that backup catcher Erik Kratz pitched the eighth inning to preserve the bullpen.
Mariners righthander Nathan Karns, who entered the night sporting a 5.28 ERA, limited the Astros to just two singles over seven innings.
Dallas Keuchel fell to 2-3 on the season, the first time he’s had fewer wins than losses since after his debut to his breakout 2014 campaign. The reigning American League Cy Young Award pitched well Tuesday save for the Mariners’ four-run fifth inning in which he was bitten by some bad luck and a poor throw from Tyler White.
Keuchel cruised through the game’s first two innings and worked around Chris Iannetta’s leadoff double in the third. Ketel Marte led off the fourth with a double but Keuchel didn’t strand him on base. Nelson Cruz split Carlos Correa and Luis Valbuena with a ground ball into left field that scored Marte for the game’s first run.
The fifth proved disastrous for the Astros. With runners on first and second, Keuchel just barely missed on a fastball on the inside corner to Seth Smith to load the bases. Marte, the Mariners’ two-hole hitting shortstop, lined a runscoring single to center field to bring up Cano with the bases loaded.
Cano was even with Keuchel, 1-1, when the six-time All-Star blooped a cutter in front of Colby Rasmus in shallow left field. Two more runs had scored when catcher Jason Castro fired to first baseman White to catch Cano in a run-down. Meanwhile, Marte took off for home, and White’s throw back to the plate was thrown offbalance and skirted past Castro.
The two RBIs credited to Cano gave him 1,000 in his decorated career. The 33-year-old second baseman added to that total just two innings later.
Feliz, the Astros’ recently recalled long reliever, took over for Keuchel to start the seventh. Dae-Ho Lee singled, Norichika Aoki reached on a Correa throwing error and Marte loaded the bases with his third hit, his second single.
That brought up Cano. In a nine-pitch at-bat, Feliz fired eight fastballs, Cano battling off pitch after pitch until he was able to launch one over the right-center field fence. His 10th career grand slam extended the Mariners’ lead to 9-0.
The Astros’ lone run came in the eighth inning against reliever Tony Zych, who walked Castro and Jose Altuve and allowed a run-scoring single to George Springer.
That set the stage for Kratz, a 35-year-old baseball journeyman, to make his first major league pitching performance. He pitched six innings in the minor leagues from 2004 to 2010. He became the ninth Astros position player to pitch in a game in the team’s history.
Kratz faced six batters and allowed two runs, only one of which was earned.