HOUSTON -AP- Houston's lineup is so powerful that even the Astros' No. 9 hitter Jake Marisnick has been dangerous at the plate this season.He proved that once again on Monday night, finishing with three hits, including two homers, and a career-high five RBI and the Astros coasted to a 14-7 win over the Tampa Bay Rays."It's nice to have that kind of production at the bottom," manager A.J. Hinch said. "It really makes things interesting when we roll to the top again no matter who we put at the top. They've benefited from some guys at the bottom doing their part."
The Rays cut the lead to one after a two-run homer by Corey Dickerson in the third inning before an RBI single by Tyler White made it 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the inning.Marisnick's first shot -- a three-run homer which bounced off the wall above the seats in left field -- came next to push the lead to 7-2.Two pitches later Derek Fisher, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, connected off Alex Cobb (9-7) on a home run to right field to make it 8-2.The Astros were up 10-2 in the fifth inning when Marisnick launched a solo shot to left field for his second career multi-homer game."You go 1-9 with us and we can do it and we've got guys on the bench that can do it, too," Marisnick said. "It's just a complete team, a complete lineup."Houston starter Charlie Morton (9-4) allowed a season-low two hits with two runs in six innings for his fourth win in five starts.Cobb was tagged with nine hits and eight runs in a season-low three innings for his first loss since July 2. He'd been pitching well lately, allowing just five runs combined and going 3-0 in his past four starts."Alex just didn't have it," Tampa manager Kevin Cash said. "He couldn't quite command the baseball, missing over the plate too much. They came out, and they didn't miss anything either."Jose Altuve added two hits, including a two-RBI single which pushed Houston's lead to 3-0 in the second, before being lifted in the seventh with the game out of hand.Dickerson added a solo home run in Tampa's four-run eighth inning to give him his seventh multi-homer game and third this season.Houston added three runs in the eighth inning when the Rays put backup catcher Jesus Sucre in to pitch with their bullpen taxed.
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