Young, Robles Torch Houston as Seattle Rolls 10-5
Cole Young went 3-for-5 with a home run, 4 RBI, and 3 runs scored to lead Seattle past Houston 10-5 on Saturday. Emerson Hancock backed him up with 7.0 innings of two-run ball, striking out 8 and keeping Houston's lineup largely in check all night.
Houston drew first blood in the first inning when Altuve reached on an infield single to shortstop, scoring Alvarez to make it 1-0. That lead lasted exactly one half-inning. Seattle erupted in the second, and the sequence was relentless: Young reached on an infield single to score Rodríguez, then Robles crushed a triple to right that scored both Naylor and Young, flipping the game to 3-1. That triple was the decisive blow of the night — Houston's win probability dropped from 55% to 33% on a single swing. Donovan capped the inning with an RBI single to right, scoring Robles, and suddenly Seattle led 4-1 before Houston could catch its breath. Vázquez hit a solo shot to left at 361 feet to cut it to 4-2, but the damage was done.
Hayden Wesneski lasted just 4.0 innings, allowing 7 hits and 5 earned runs — and the offense didn't get any relief from Ronel Blanco, who came on and surrendered another 7 hits and 5 earned runs over his own 4.0 innings. Seattle kept chipping away: Donovan singled to left in the fourth to score Young and push it to 5-2, then the eighth inning turned into a pile-on. Robles scored on a Rodden double to center, Donovan singled to center to score Rodden, and just like that it was 7-2. Paredes answered with a 407-foot blast to left-center that scored Peña and made it 7-4, giving Houston a brief pulse, but it was cosmetic.
Young put the game away for good in the ninth with a 358-foot home run to right that scored Rodríguez and Naylor, pushing Seattle to 10-4. Altuve scored on a groundout in the bottom half to account for the final 10-5. The story of the night, beyond Young's four-RBI performance, appears to be Donovan's quiet consistency — 3-for-5 with 3 RBI without ever needing the highlight reel. Hancock's line looks like the kind of outing that wins series: 7.0 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 8 strikeouts, with the bullpen barely needed. Seattle's offense was simply too much, too early, and Houston's pitching staff had no answer for it.