HOUSTON — The Mariners are returning home triumphantly.
They finished off a nine-game road trip in style Wednesday evening, rallying on home runs from Cal Raleigh and Ty France and defeating AL West-leading Houston, 6-3, at Minute Maid Park.
What did it mean?
It meant a 6-3 road trip, their fourth straight series victory and they did it at a ballpark where they were 4-26 in their previous games entering the series.
It was Seattle’s first series win in Houston since September 2018, so the Mariners will be coming home with smiles and confidence.
It is certainly a different feeling than their last return home from a road trip. That one ended with the Mariners going 3-7 after getting swept in a four-game series at Boston.
Unlike Tuesday night when both starting pitchers — Houston’s Justin Verlander and Seattle’s Chris Flexen — were on top of their game, it was a good night for the hitters.
And Seattle’s in particular.
Mariners starter Logan Gilbert entered the game having allowed one run in his past two starts over 13 innings, but was not sharp early. Still, he persevered through six innings and a season-high 109 pitches.
Houston’s Jose Urquidy, roughed up in Seattle less than two weeks ago when he gave up six runs, 12 hits and two walks in just 4 2/3 innings, was not much better Wednesday. He was gone after 4 1/3 innings, having allowed five runs.
Gilbert had command issues early, with a leadoff walk and a wild pitch to start his outing leading to a run.
Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez saved a run in the second inning with a nice catch at the wall on a drive from Martin Maldonado.
The defense saved another run in the third inning, when Jose Altuve was thrown out at home, trying to score on Alex Bregman’s single to left. But left fielder Jesse Winker’s throw was on the money, beating Altuve by a few steps.
That was the second out, but Gilbert could not escape without damage as Yordan Alvarez hit a run-scoring double to left-center, then scored on Kyle Tucker’s soft single to right field.
That gave Houston a very short-lived lead. Because in the top of the fourth, Seattle catcher Raleigh hit his second homer of the season, a two-run blast, and two hitters later France hit a homer just over the wall in left field.
Seattle scored in the fifth when Adam Frazier’s sacrifice fly drove home Crawford, who led off the inning with a walk, ending Urquidy’s night.
Staked to a lead, Gilbert kept it. He threw three scoreless innings to end his night, working around runners on base in each of them.
He allowed the three runs on seven hits and three walks, but that was good enough on this night with relievers Andres Munoz, Paul Sewald and Diego Castillo — aided by another run in the eighth — taking care of the rest with little drama.
One of the more suspenseful moments of the game came in the eighth inning, when Rodriguez was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game — perhaps in response to Gilbert throwing a pitch high and inside to Altuve in the fifth inning.
But unlike Monday, when the benches cleared after France was hit by a pitch, everyone stayed put.
Not long after, the Mariners were celebrating one of their biggest wins of the season.
