Castro's walk helps Astros rally in 8th to beat M's 7-5

HOUSTON (AP) — Pinch-hitter Jason Castro drew a bases-loaded walk to put Houston in front during a four-run eighth inning, and the Astros rallied to beat the Seattle Mariners 7-5 on Wednesday night.

Houston has won six of its last seven and handed Seattle its third straight loss.

The Astros pulled ahead in the eighth without an extra-base hit. Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel had back-to-back singles against Rafael Montero (2-1) with one out. An error by first baseman Evan White allowed Tucker to score on a fielder’s choice, and Aledmys Diaz singled to score Gurriel.

“We trust each other in the clubhouse,” Diaz said. “Nobody tries to be a hero. We just try to hit the strikes and get the walks.”

Will Vest came in and walked Castro, and Jose Altuve followed with a sacrifice fly.

“The bottom of the lineup really picked us up today,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Some day, we’re going to click on all cylinders, and it’s not far off.”

Joe Smith (1-1) struck out one in a scoreless eighth. Ryne Stanek worked the ninth for his first save of the season.

Montero was charged with three hits and four runs, two earned, in 2/3 of an inning.

“That one stings a little bit tonight,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I thought we swung the bat a lot better tonight. There were some positives, but unfortunately the eighth inning got away from us. You’ve got to give some credit to the Astros because they’re tough to put away in this ballpark.”

Houston starter Zack Greinke allowed four runs on four hits in four innings, striking out five and walking two.

“I wasn’t real sharp,” Greinke said. “I didn’t feel really locked in and kept missing my pitches by a little bit, over and over again. I tried to make some adjustments and probably got...

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