Round #1 - Seattle(13) upsets Houston(4) in 5

In a fantastic series featuring two extra inning games and three games won by one run, the lowly but hungry Seattle club upset the heavily favored Astros in five to advance....

This was one heck of a battle between Bruce and me, taking two hours to play due to all the position jockeying and pitching changes in this series. Here's a brief writeup:

Game One: Dallas Keuchel and Felix Hernandez bump heads in a great duel. Hernandez strikes out 11 and Kuechel 10, providing extra air conditioning for Minute Maid Park due to all the empty cuts. But Hernandez also was prone to the longball from the get-go, giving up a two-run homer in the first to Carlos Correa and another to Jason Castro. Correa had a magnificent game, driving in three and making a stellar defensive play to save a run. Houston 4, Seattle 1.

Game Two: Seattle comes back with the stellar Hisashi Iwakuma dominating Houston by strikingSeattle 4, Houston 2.

Game Three: Seattle jumps out to an early 3-0 off a battered Lance McCullers. But Houston isn't finished, as Evan Gattis ties it at three in the sixth with a long homer off Taijan Walker, who had been cruising until then. But Seattle jumps out for two more in the bottom of the inning as Seth Smith scorched a triple. But Houston gets single runs in seventh and eighth, with Gattis contributing another RBI.

out eight in only 5.2 innings and Mark Lowe and Charlie Furbush keeping the Astros bats at bay. Seattle only sprayed seven hits but prospered from three Houston errors to win.
With the game tied at five in the bottom of the 11th, Seattle pinch hit little-used Jesus Montero. He proceeded to crush a two run homer down the left field line to send the home crowd into the frenzy and give Seattle a 2-1 series lead. Seattle 7, Houston 5 (11).

Game Four:  With their season on the line, Houston comes out strong with three runs in the first two innings to chase ineffective Seattle starter Roenis Ellis. Colby Rasmus and Correa crack doubles to open the scoring. But Seattle gets two back in the fourth on Nellie Cruz's second homer of the series. After that, both teams' offenses took the rest of the day off. Seattle's James Paxton, normally a starter, came in to shut down Houston over 5.1 innings, while Houston relievers kept Seattle off the board. Seattle had a few chances to tie, including a no-out bases loaded situation, but couldn't crack the relief corps. Houston 3, Seattle 2.
Game Five:  A rematch between Keuchel and Hernandez for the chance to move on. Neither starter is as sharp as in game one, with Keuchel giving up three runs and 10 hits in six innings. Hernandez gave up three in seven innings, as Houston pounded two doubles (two by Rasmus) and a homer to tire him. Seattle looked to break it open in the top of the seventh, as Cruz knocked a two-run shot, his third, to give Seattle a 5-3 lead. But Houston tied it in the bottom of the eighth, as Jose Altuve and Correa hit back to back doubles and Furbush uncorked a wild pitch to send the tying run to third (which later scored).

But Seattle again found extra inning heroics to take the series. In the top of the 11th, Kyle Seager lined his fourth double of the series to send home pinch runner Chris Taylor with what turned out to be the winning run. Fernando Rodney did the job with flare in the bottom of the 11th to send Seattle home happy, striking out the side, shooting his trademark imaginary arrow  and leaping in joy. Seattle 6, Houston 5 (11)

Regards,

Joe Pryweller