Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Star pitcher Zack Greinke fell two outs short of a no-hitter after allowing a ninth inning single to Austin Nola during a Houston Astros win against the Seattle Mariners.
Greinke allowed two hits in 8.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 18th win of the season Wednesday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. Houston has now won a franchise-record 104 games this season.
"The last couple of innings I might not have been as sharp," Greinke told reporters. "They were starting to hit the ball a little harder. I had the players positioned properly to help out. I just gave up some hits to the last couple of guys."
The Astros right-handed pitcher forced Tom Murphy to ground out to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning. Nola then settled in as the second batter of the frame. The Mariners second baseman fell behind 1-2 in the count before taking back-to-back balls. He smacked Greinke's sixth offering of the exchange to left center field.
Astros centerfielder Jake Marisnick bolted to his right in pursuit of the flying baseball. He left his feet and dove toward the ball, but it hit the field just before he arrived, resulting in the Mariners' first hit of the game. Greinke said he initially didn't think Marisnick had a shot at the catch.
"At first, no," Greinke said. "But he was covering a lot of ground. Then I was like, maybe. He gave a great effort, that's for sure."
Greinke allowed a single to Tim Lopes in the next at-bat before being removed from the game for relief pitcher Will Harris. Harris retired the final two hitters of the inning to pick up his third save of the season.
Astros shortstop Alex Bregman drew first blood with an RBI double in the top of the first frame. Yordan Alvarez also recorded an RBI double in the first inning, giving the Astros a 2-0 edge. Kyle Tucker hit his third home run of the season in the top of the ninth inning for the final run of the game.
Yusei Kikuchi took the loss for Seattle. The left-handed pitcher allowed six hits and two runs in six innings. Bregman went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored in the win.
The Astros (104-54) clinched their third consecutive American League West division title Sunday in Houston. The Mariners (66-92) sit in last place in the same division. The Astros finish the season with a four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, starting Thursday in Anaheim, Calif. The Mariners end the regular season with a four-game series against the Oakland Athletics, starting Thursday in Seattle.
