Houston Astros' Bopper Continues Ownership of Mariners, Joins Elite Company in Record Books
The Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners on Monday night 5-1 in a huge game with playoff implications.
With the win, the Astros sent the Mariners to their fourth consecutive loss and moved to 1.5 games up on Seattle in the battle for the third and final wild card spot in the American League.
It was a familiar script for the Astros against the M's: Justin Verlander dominated on the mound and Yordan Alvarez dominated at the plate.
Verlander went 8.0 dominant innings on the mound, surrendering one run on three hits. He's now 12-8 on the year.
Alvarez went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and a home run. Both hits came off Mariners' ace Luis Castillo, who Alvarez also took deep in Game 2 of the ALDS in 2022.
Alvarez, who has battled injuries this year, is hitting .297 with 30 home runs and 96 RBI. He's got an OPS of 1.004 in 391 at-bats.
By hitting his 30th home run, he also joined an exclusive club in team history.
Per ESPN Stats & Info:
Yordan Alvarez is the 2nd player in Astros history with three straight 30-homer seasons, joining Jeff Bagwell (8 straight from 1996-2003).
Bagwell is in the Hall of Fame so joining him in any team history is a great accomplishment. Alvarez is one of the most feared sluggers in all of baseball so if he's healthy and the Astros make the playoffs, he'll figure to be a huge part of their chances.
The Astros and Mariners will play again on Tuesday night. First pitch is 10:05 p.m. ET.
