HOUSTON -AP- Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer and Colby Rasmus and rookie A.J. Reed added two-run shots in the fourth inning to back up a solid start by Dallas Keuchel and give the Houston Astros a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.
Keuchel (6-9), last year's AL Cy Young Award winner who has struggled this season, allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for his season-high third straight win. Will Harris, who was named to his first All-Star team on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.
 
Astros hit 3 HRs to back up Keuchel in 5-2 win over Seattle
 
The Astros trailed by one in the fourth inning when Rasmus launched his homer off Taijuan Walker (4-7) to the bullpen in right-center field to make it 3-2. Valbuena drew a walk before, with two outs and two strikes, Reed hit his second career homer to left-center to extend it to 5-2.
Walker yielded five hits and five runs before leaving after four innings with discomfort in his right foot. It's his third start that has been shortened because of this problem. He left early on June 14 and June 19 because of his foot.
Nelson Cruz homered for the Mariners, who dropped their second straight to Houston.
The three home runs Walker allowed tied a career-high and all were by left-handers. He's been plagued by homers by lefties this season and 13 of the 18 homers he has allowed have been to them.
Dae-Ho Lee singled with one out in the second before a double byKyle Seager. The Mariners took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout byChris Iannetta.
Valbuena's homer, which landed in the second deck in right field, came with two outs in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 1-all.
Cruz's 22nd home run gave Seattle a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.
He was shaken up in the sixth inning when he fouled a ball off his left foot and leg. He limped around the plate for a couple of minutes while talking to manager Scott Servais and a trainer before staying in the game to finish his at-bat.
HOT IN HERE
The air conditioning in Minute Maid Park was off for about three innings on Tuesday night because of a power outage outside of the building. It had been off for a bit when the team's official Twitter account announced the problem at about 9 p.m. with the temperature outside the ballpark a balmy 86 degrees. Many people could be seen fanning themselves with their hands or pieces of paper as the temperature in the domed ballpark began to rise. Another tweet came in the eighth inning saying the problem was fixed and the air conditioning was back on.
 

Comments are closed.