Jose Altuve Hits His 200th Over Seattle Mariners; Houston Astros Win 5-2

The Houston Astros have put together another series win, seizing two out of three games in their series against the Seattle Mariners!

This was certainly a game of firsts and the Astros couldn’t have done it in better fashion than by becoming the victor last night!

Jose Altuve, who has had a season for the ages, completed his 200th hit on the season being the first Astro since Craig Biggio to do so.

Keep in the mind, it has been more than 15 years since Biggio completed that feat so it’s definitely worth noting.

A feat like that isn’t easy to attain but Altuve has made it look effortless as he approached the record.

He only needed two hits to do it and he got them…

This is just another accent to the encouraging push the Astros are making to the finish line and it’s something to build off of for next season and beyond.

Sep 10, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher

Nick Tropeano

(63) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

In addition, last night was Nick Tropeano‘s debut in the major leagues as a starting pitcher.

I imagine that he has been waiting for this opportunity for quite some time.

He did not disappoint either…

It was also great to see when the camera would transition to shots of his family in the stands throughout the game — they seemed so proud of him, especially his father.

One can tell that all of the hard work he had undertaken had finally paid off — playing pitch with his son in the backyard during his childhood days, the little league games, and the gradual move up to playing ball at West Islip High and Stony Brook U, his high school and college alma mater, respectively.

Through and through, he finally made it…

His first MLB pitch was to Austin Jackson and it was a strike! He eventually struck him out in four pitches!

What a great start!

Now let’s get to it!

The Astros struck first with Max Stassi, also making his major league debut, singling to left scoring Jon Singleton and Alex Presley. Because of the timing of the throw, Stassi was able to advance to 2nd base. Astros 2, Mariners 0

Later on in the frame, Jonathan Villar doubled to left scoring Stassi. Villar continues to keep making plays to put the Astros on top. Astros 3, Mariners 0

At the bottom of the 2nd, the Mariners answered with a Mike Zunino double to center scoring Kyle Seager and Brad Miller. This would mark the first and only two runs given up by Tropeano. Astros 3, Mariners 2

Seager was walked previously and Miller singled to shortstop but it was a throwing error by Villar that allowed each to advance to 3rd and 2nd base, respectively, putting Seager in scoring position.

Until the 5th inning, we would see a series of line outs, ground outs and strike outs on both sides.

At the top of the 5th, Altuve doubled to left scoring Robbie Grossman, who had singled to center when he was at-bat. Astros 4, Mariners 2

Sep 10, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; The Houston Astros celebrate after defeating the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Houston defeated Seattle 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

After a Dexter Fowler walk, it was the end of the road for Hisashi Iwakuma and was pulled in favor of Dominic Leone. Leone immediately took control, not allowing a hit and struck out three in the 1.2 innings he pitched.

At the top of the 8th, the Astros final score involved Presley singling to left scoring Chris Carter. Presley was able to advance to third because of a throwing error by James Jones who went for Carter at home. The throw was severely off to Zunino and both Carter and Presley were safe at their respective positions. Final Score: Astros 5, Mariners 2

And there you have it, another hard-fought, cerebral Astros win! They took the lead and still maintained control when things got tight in the 2nd inning!

Offensively, Altuve was obviously the star with his milestone, going 2-for-5 with one ribbie, a double and a stolen base. But Grossman also went 2-for-5 and Presley went 2-for-4 to help will the team to a win.

How did Trope do?

Not bad.