HOUSTON _ Hours before the Mariners' first win of the season, Jarrod Dyson stood at his locker and discussed the Mariners' hitting struggles to start the season.
"It'll get better," he said. "You know it will. You just can't let yourself get caught up in it. We'll start rolling."
He made his own words prophetic when the Mariners need him most in their 4-2 victory over the Astros.
With one out, Dyson lifted a single to left field scored pinch runner Taylor Motter and broke a 2-2 in the top of the ninth. It was just the Mariners second hit with a runner in scoring position in the series, and it was vital. The clutch hit seemed so easy that Jean Segura did the same thing with two outs, sending a single to right to score pinch runner Guillermo Heredia to make it 4-2.
Given a two-run lead and in his first save situation, Edwin Diaz closed out the win with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth.
Dan Altavilla picked up the win in relief.
It wasn't simple for the Mariners and it likely won't be for them against the Astros this season.
After hitting a walk-off homer in his last at-bat on Wednesday night, George Springer followed it up with another homer in his first at-bat on Thursday. Unlike the game-winner that barely got into the short porch known as the Crawford Boxes, Springer obliterated a fastball from Ariel Miranda, hitting it off the train tracks high above left field. MLB statcast measured it at 454 feet.
The Mariners answered with an impressive homer of their own to tie the score at 1. After drawing a walk off Astros starter Joe Musgrove in his first at-bat, Mitch Haniger crushed a ball to left field, hitting the Halliburton sign high above the Crawford Boxes for his first homer of the season.
The score stayed tied for about 10 minutes.
Marwin Gonzalez led off the third inning, jumping a get-me-over fastball on the first pitch from Miranda, hammering it into left field for his second homer of the season. The solo homer made it 2-1.
The Mariners tied the score in a way that is befitting of their current season-starting slump. Haniger led off the sixth with a single to left and Robinson Cano followed with a sharp single to right. Nelson Cruz drew a walk to load the bases.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch called on hard-throwing Michael Feliz to face Kyle Seager. The Mariners got a run as Seager's hard ground ball to the right was gloved by a diving Yuli Gurriel, who fired to second for a force-out. With runners on the corners, Danny Valencia hit a soft, broken-bat line drive for an out and Carlos Ruiz fly out to deep center to end the inning. Three at-bats with runners in scoring position, no hits, just one run.
