Arozarena, Raleigh Homers Hold Off Houston's Late Charge
Seattle needed every bit of a two-run cushion built on solo shots to survive Houston's sixth-inning rally and escape with a 3-2 win on August 16. Four of the game's five runs came via the home run ball, and the Mariners' ability to answer Houston's threats before they fully materialized was the story of the night.
Seattle wasted no time. Randy Arozarena opened the scoring in the first inning with a 365-foot homer to left center, and the Mariners tacked on a second run in the third when Dominic Canzone singled to right to score Brock Rodden. That 2-0 lead felt comfortable — until Jeremy Peña cut it to 2-1 with a 369-foot shot to right in the fourth. Bryan Woo kept Houston from doing more damage, finishing his night with 6.0 innings pitched, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. That's a quality start by any measure, and it looks like Woo gave Seattle exactly what they needed to stay in front.
The sixth inning was where this game got genuinely interesting. Cal Raleigh led off with a 327-foot homer to left, pushing Seattle to 3-1 and appearing to put the game on ice. But Houston answered immediately in the bottom half: Nick Allen went deep 387 feet to left, cutting the deficit back to one and swinging Houston's win probability from 28% to 44% — a 16-point jump in a single swing. That's the kind of momentum shift that can unravel a bullpen, and for a moment it looked like Houston might be setting up something bigger. They weren't. Seattle's relievers slammed the door.
Andres Munoz followed Woo with a clean inning — 1.0 IP, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 2 strikeouts — and Eduard Bazardo closed it out with 1.0 inning of his own, allowing just 1 hit and no runs. Hunter Brown, meanwhile, struggled with command for Houston, walking 5 batters across 5.0 innings while striking out 5 and allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits. Five walks from a starter is a recipe for trouble, and Seattle's ability to convert two of those baserunners into runs proved to be the difference. Arozarena went 2-for-5 with the homer and an RBI. Canzone was 2-for-4 with an RBI. This was a complete team effort from Seattle's lineup, and the bullpen finishing what Woo started makes this win feel particularly clean.