The Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 7–0 on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at T-Mobile Park, pulling into a first-place tie with the Texas Rangers in the American League West at 78–79, Reuters and an Associated Press account published by ABC News reported.
Christian Walker hit a three-run homer—his 26th of the season and the 200th of his career—Isaac Paredes added a solo shot, and Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer, Reuters said. AP/ABC said Alvarez’s blast came in the eighth and tied him with Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero for the AL lead at 41 homers; Alvarez also drove in a run in the first to reach 100 RBIs for the second time in his career.
Five Astros pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout. Starter Cristian Javier exited after two innings with groin tightness; Miguel Ullola (1–0) earned his first major-league win with two innings, Reuters and AP said. Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (12–11) allowed four runs on 10 hits in four innings.
Houston owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Texas if the teams finish tied, both wires reported. Both clubs had five games remaining after Texas lost 6–3 to the Mets, AP/ABC said. Seattle fell to 73–84 and was described as on the brink of playoff elimination.
Julio Rodríguez had two of Seattle’s four hits. The Mariners went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left nine on base, Reuters reported.