Altuve lifts Astros over Mariners in extras
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Jose Altuve ripped an RBI single to the wall in the bottom of the 10th inning to life the Houston Astros to a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners in the opener of a four-game series.
Houston starter Scott Feldman surrendered two runs in the first inning but settled down after that, tossing seven innings to keep baseball's hottest team in the game. Four relievers took over from there, with Luke Gregerson (2-0) pitching around a leadoff single in the top of the 10th to earn the win.
Dominic Leone (0-2) was on the mound for Seattle in the home 10th. He served up a Marwin Gonzalez double and walked Colby Rasmus, setting up Altuve's game winner.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We had opportunities to certainly put some runs on the board and we didn't do it," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said.
The Astros have won a major-league high seven straight games and 11 of their last 12.
"This game was very important for us because of the way we're playing," Altuve said. "Keep the momentum going."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James Paxton started for the Mariners and matched Feldman's output, allowing a pair of runs with seven strikeouts over seven innings.
It looked to be a high-scoring affair after the first inning. Seattle loaded the bases with no outs for Nelson Cruz, who grounded into a double-play to score the first run. Kyle Seager singled in another for an early 2-0 lead.
Houston responded in the home half. Altuve set the tone with a single and steal before moving to third on George Springer's groundout and scoring when Evan Gattis grounded to second.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 2-1 lead held until the sixth, when Gattis plated Houston's second run with another ground out. Luis Valbuena walked and advanced to third on a Springer single earlier in the frame.
Game Notes
The Mariners were coming off a three-game sweep of Texas ... Altuve had three of Houston's seven hits and stole his ninth bag of the season.