HOUSTON — Evan Gattis hit a two-run homer early and Yulieski Gurriel added a two-RBI single in a four-run seventh inning that lifted the Houston Astros to a 7-5 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night.
The victory ends a three-game skid for Houston and snaps a five-game winning streak by the Mariners.
The Astros led 3-1 after four, but had fallen behind 4-3 entering the seventh after the Mariners got a run in sixth and tacked on two more in the seventh.
Tony Kemp, who finished with three hits, got things going in the seventh with a single off Juan Nicasio (1-3) before a double by George Springer. The Astros tied it when Kemp scored on an infield single by Alex Bregman. Jose Altuve followed with a single to left field to send Springer home and put Houston up 5-4.
Dan Altavilla took over and struck out Carlos Correa before a passed ball by catcher Mike Zunino allowed both runners to advance a base. Gurriel then pushed his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with a single to centre field that made it 7-4.
Nelson Cruz, Denard Span and Kyle Seager all homered for the Mariners, who have a one-game lead over the Astros atop the American League West standings despite the loss.
The Mariners had runners at the corners with two outs in the ninth inning, but Hector Rondon struck out Cruz to end it and get his first save.
Houston starter Lance McCullers allowed seven hits and four runs — three earned — in six-plus innings. Seattle starter Wade LeBlanc yielded seven hits and three runs in four innings.
Cruz gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead with his solo shot to the seats in left field with one out in the fourth inning.
Josh Reddick singled with one out in the fourth in his return after being sidelined with an infection near his right knee since May 21. Gattis followed with his towering homer to left field to put Houston on top 2-1. Kemp hit a two-out single and scored on a double by Springer that bounced off the wall in left-centre, to push the lead to 3-1.
Cruz hit the last of three straight singles to send home a run with one out in the sixth inning and cut the lead to 3-2.
The Mariners tied it at 3-all on the first pitch of the seventh inning when Span sent a 93 mph fastball into the seats in right field. Guillermo Heredia then drew a walk to chase McCullers, who was replaced by Chris Devenski (2-1).
An error by Devenski when he overthrew first base allowed Heredia to advance to third base. The Mariners took a 4-3 lead when Jean Segura’s grounder rolled just out of reach of a diving Altuve and into the outfield for a single with two outs.
Seager homered for the second straight game with a solo shot off Joe Smith in the eighth.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: C Brian McCann, on the disabled list with right knee soreness, had a second straight heavy work day on Wednesday and manager A.J. Hinch said he could come off the disabled list sometime this weekend.
UP NEXT
Astros: Gerrit Cole (6-1, 2.20 ERA) will start when Houston opens a four-game series at Texas on Thursday. Cole, who leads the American League with 116 strikeouts, has a four-game winning streak.
Mariners: Mike Leake (5-3, 4.71) is scheduled to start on Thursday when Seattle starts a four-game series at Tampa Bay. Leake is 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA and 21 strikeouts combined in his last five games.
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