Julio, Cal stun dominant Astros reliever to lift Mariners to win

It didn’t look like the Seattle Mariners had much hope with two outs in the seventh inning Friday night in Houston.

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The Astros, who won the opening game of the four-game series Thursday, had successfully turned a one-run lead over to the scariest part of their roster: the back end of their bullpen, which features four different pitchers with an ERA under 2.00.

The Mariners, however, aren’t in first place in the AL West by accident. As Seattle Sports’ Mike Salk so aptly put it this week, the M’s have been successful because they’re resilient and relentless.

The Astros, and especially star reliever Bryan Abreu, know that pretty well at this point.

With J.P. Crawford on first base and Julio Rodríguez coming up to the plate, the Astros called for Abreu out of the bullpen. Rodríguez wasn’t phased, taking a 98 mph fastball on the outside half of the plate the other way for a double that scored Crawford and knotted the game up at 3-3.

That clearly got Abreu off his game, because a pitch later, the score wasn’t tied anymore.

Cal Raleigh jumped on an 88 mph slider that crossed the middle of the plate straight toward the barrel of his bat, banging it off the foul pole in right field for his 17th home run – moving him into a four-way tie for the MLB lead – to put the M’s ahead 5-3 (which turned out to be the final score).

Here’s what makes this all so impressive. Abreu entered the game with a 1.27 ERA, having allowed just three runs in 22 appearances this season. Oh, and all three of those runs were scored on April 9 by… the Seattle Mariners. Abreu also let two inherited runners score the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning of a 4-3 Mariners win on April 7.

That means:

• Bryan Abreu’s ERA this year against every team except the Mariners: 0.00.

• Bryan Abreu’s ERA this year against only the Mariners: 16.88.

• And the results of Bryan Abreu’s three appearances this year against Seattle: blown save, loss, and loss.

Seems like the M’s kinda have his number.

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Friday’s win pushed the Mariners’ record to 29-21, and their lead over second-place Houston (26-25) in the AL West back to 3 1/2 games.

Game 3 of the series is set for 1:10 p.m. Saturday, with radio coverage on Seattle Sports starting at noon with the pregame show.

Seattle Mariners coverage

• Why M’s hitting coach thinks Randy Arozarena could catch fire
• Mariners Updates: Miller, Gilbert throw sim games in Houston
• Mariners Moves: Rookie pitcher gets the call, Hahn DFA’d
• What Mariners’ Kevin Seitzer says is behind improved power numbers
• Stacy: What we learned about the Mariners from two insiders

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