Mariners successful weekend series against Astros

SEATTLE (AP) — Randy Arozarena hit a solo home run and Luis Castillo threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 6-1 on Friday night.

Arozarena hit an elevated fastball from Astros left-hander Brandon Walter (1-3) out to left-center field in the fourth inning for his 18th home run of the season. In the process, Arozarena became only the second player in the majors this season with 10 or more home runs over a 14-game stretch.

Designated hitter Mitch Garver doubled the Mariners’ lead in the seventh inning when he pounced on a fastball down the middle from Astros left-hander Bennett Sousa for a solo shot.

Seattle broke things open with a four-run eighth inning on RBI singles from J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh, a sacrifice fly from Donovan Solano and a wild pitch.

Castillo (7-5), in his first start after the All-Star break, struck out seven and yielded only three hits — all singles — before departing in the seventh inning.

The Astros could have taken an early lead in the third inning when two runners were in scoring position for Jose Altuve. The nine-time All Star struck out swinging, though, to end the threat.

Raleigh — who became the first catcher and switch hitter to win the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night — is the only other player in the major leagues this season with 10 or more home runs over a 14-game stretch besides Arozarena.

Saturday Game:

Rookie second baseman Cole Young hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to give the Seattle Mariners a 7-6 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday night.

Young — who also delivered a game-ending fielder’s choice in the 11th inning of his major league debut — provided some more late-night theatrics in the Emerald City. Just a couple weeks shy of his 22nd birthday, Young went below the zone to drive a splitter from reliever Hector Neris (3-2) into right field, scoring automatic runner Dominic Canzone from third base.

Though the Mariners jumped out to a 4-1 lead after just three innings, their advantage disappeared once Seattle reliever Carlos Vargas lost control of his sinker in the sixth.

He plunked two batters, first Brice Matthews and then Zack Short, which led to warnings being issued to both benches. Jose Altuve, Victor Caratini and Christian Walker all added RBI singles shortly afterward to put the Astros up 5-4.

The Mariners evened it in the eighth thanks to a fortuitous bounce. Astros reliever Bryan Abreu spiked a slider, allowing Randy Arozarena to score with ease from third base on the wild pitch and ultimately force extra innings.

The teams traded runs in the 10th before Eduard Bazardo (4-0) tossed a scoreless inning to set the stage for Young.

Ahead of Young’s game-winning single, Miles Mastrobuoni laid down a terrific sacrifice bunt to advance Canzone to third. Mastrobuoni and teammate Jorge Polanco both executed textbook sacrifice bunts in extra innings.

Young is the first Mariners player 21 or younger with a walk-off hit since Alex Rodriguez on March 31, 1996, against the Chicago White Sox.

Sunday Game:

Christian Walker hit a go-ahead solo homer in the sixth inning as the Houston Astros rallied from an early three-run deficit and beat the Seattle Mariners 11-3 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.

Walker, who entered the game hitting .333 in July, hit his third homer of the month and 13th of the season to left field off Mariners All-Star Bryan Woo (8-5).

Two batters later, Taylor Trammell added his second homer of the season to double the Astros’ lead. Trammell added a two-run double in the seventh inning.

The Astros were resilient after falling behind 3-0 after three innings. They tied the game in the fifth on a fielding error by J.P. Crawford and a two-run double by Cam Smith.

Houston starter Hunter Brown allowed three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts in four innings. Four relievers worked five shutout innings with right-hander Kaleb Ort (2-1) earning the win.

It briefly appeared the Mariners had cut their deficit to one run when J.P. Crawford doubled to left field in the sixth. Miles Mastrobuoni tried to score from first and was originally ruled safe on a close play at the plate, but the Astros challenged the call, which was overturned.

The Astros have scored at least nine runs in a game 11 times this season. They are 11-0 in those games.

The Mariners will send RHP George Kirby (4-4, 4.50) in the opener of a three-game series against visiting Milwaukee.

    Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo reacts after retiring the side against the Houston Astros during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, July 18, 2025, in Seattle.