Pitching, HRs, defense propel Astros to win
HOUSTON -- The Astros ran their Opening Day winning streak to five games, getting solo homers from George Springer and Carlos Correa and seven scoreless innings and stellar defense from Dallas Keuchel to beat the Mariners, 3-0, on Monday night at sold-out Minute Maid Park."Today was awesome," Astros manager A.J.
HOUSTON -- The Astros ran their Opening Day winning streak to five games, getting solo homers from
"Today was awesome," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "The energy level in the ballpark, the energy level on the game. Obviously, George set the tone at the top. We just had a great day. We played great defense, the storyline of Dallas stepping up and being excellent, set a nice tone for us."
• Springer, Correa power up in Astros' opener
Springer greeted Mariners ace
Hernandez said athletic trainer Rick Griffin told manager Scott Servais the issue was affecting his delivery and the decision was made to end his night.
"He didn't think I was pushing off the right way," Hernandez said. "It's too early for that. But for sure, I'll be there [for his next start]."
Keuchel, the first Astros lefty to make an Opening Day start in three consecutive seasons, held the Mariners to two hits and two walks and struck out four batters while throwing 85 pitches. Keuchel fought through a 26-pitch fourth inning in which he retired
"It felt great to get back out there and compete without thinking about it too much," said Keuchel, who missed the final month of last year with shoulder inflammation. "It's a great feeling to have and just to start off on a good note is probably the best possible scenario. We'd like to build on it."
• Justice: Healthy Keuchel sets strong tone
In addition to a pair of terrific defensive plays by Keuchel, Springer ran down a ball off the bat of
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Springer dinger: Springer set the tone by clubbing the fourth pitch of the season thrown by Hernandez and sending it 389 feet, according to Statcast™, into the Crawford Boxes in left field for a homer. Springer's home run marked the third time in franchise history a player hit a leadoff homer on Opening Day. The other two times were by Terry Puhl, most recently April 10, 1980, vs. the Dodgers.
"We have eight guys up behind me that can hit it just as far," Springer said. "That's where I fit in, I guess, hitting first, and I'm all right with it. Once you get past me, you still have eight guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark. It's fun. I'll do my job, do my role, and enjoy it."
Opportunity nullified: The Mariners didn't muster many chances against Keuchel, but they couldn't cash in on a two-out, bases-loaded shot in the fourth. After a
"Keuchel is a strike thrower," said Servais. "He's not going to walk a lot of guys. We did chase some balls out of the zone today, but it's Opening Day. Guys are fired up, they want to make a difference, make a big impact. We got away from our game plan a little in that regard. But give him credit. He threw a good ballgame."
QUOTABLE
"That's him -- early strikes, soft contact early in the count. He did a great job today keeping us in the game and worked at a great pace and he was able to have good command of the zone, so that helped us a lot to win the game." -- Correa on Keuchel
"It was kind of the Dallas Keuchel Show with the defensive plays on the bunts, the comebacker. We put some pressure on him, but he made some great plays. The two bunts were phenomenal plays." -- Servais
WHAT'S NEXT
Mariners: Veteran right-hander
Astros: Right-hander
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Greg Johns has covered the Mariners since 1997, and for MLB.com since 2011. Follow him on Twitter [
@GregJohnsMLB]() and listen to his podcast.
Brian McTaggart has covered the Astros since 2004, and for MLB.com since 2009. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter and listen to his podcast.