Mariners 11, Astros 1
SEATTLE -- Robinson Cano drove in six runs, and Nathan Karns threw seven scoreless innings as the Seattle Mariners pounded the Houston Astros 11-1 Tuesday night.
Cano recorded his 1,000th career RBI with a two-run single in the fifth, and then he tagged on a seventh-inning grand slam that opened up a 9-0 lead. The slam was the 10th of Cano's career and his first since 2012.
The Mariners (11-9) scored five runs in six innings against Dallas Keuchel, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, and finished the night with 13 hits.
Karns (2-1) allowed just two hits and three walks while striking out six. He turned the game over to the Seattle bullpen with a nine-run lead.
Keuchel (2-3) struggled for the second consecutive start, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five. His season ERA has ballooned from 2.18 to 4.41 in a span of two starts.
Seattle won for the sixth time in seven games and is two games over .500 for the first time since the conclusion of an 87-75 season in 2014.
The Astros (6-15) managed three hits in the loss, their seventh in eight games.
The Mariners used a four-run fifth inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
Seattle shortstop Ketel Marte went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs. Nelson Cruz, Chris Iannetta and Dae-Ho Lee added two hits apiece for the Mariners.
Houston finally got on the board in the top of the eighth, when right fielder George Springer's RBI double off reliever Tony Zych cut the deficit to 9-1. Things got so bad for the Astros that backup catcher Erik Kratz came on to pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kratz, making his debut on the mound, allowed three singles and a pair of runs while throwing two wild pitches.
Cano capped off a four-run bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run single. The play actually resulted in three runs after Cano got caught in a rundown between first and second base, allowing Marte to score from third base on an errant throw to the plate. That run put the Mariners ahead 5-0 while leaving Cano at second base with two outs.
Cano needed 1,708 games to reach 1,000 career RBIs, making him the fifth-fastest second baseman to accomplish the feat.
NOTES: Houston led the American League with 202 strikeouts heading Tuesday's games. ... The Astros' loss Tuesday dropped their all-time record at Safeco Field to 19-14, still Houston's best mark in any road stadium. ... A 10-9 record heading into Tuesday night put the Mariners in first place in the American League West, marking the latest in a season Seattle has been atop the standings since 2009. ... RHP Taijuan Walker (2-0) became the first Seattle pitcher to record two wins this season when he beat Houston on Monday night. Nine different pitchers earned victories over the Mariners' first nine wins of the season. ... Mariners CF Leonys Martin, who hit home runs in back-to-back games Sunday and Monday, was not in the lineup Tuesday because the Astros were starting a left-handed pitcher, Dallas Keuchel.