After returning home with an offensive explosion the night prior, the Astros returned to Minute Maid Park on Saturday, looking to continue their success against Seattle. They would repeat their offensive dominance in this one, securing the series win with their third win in a row.

Final Score: Astros 15, Mariners 1

Astros' Record: 73-50, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi (6-6)

Losing Pitcher: Logan Gilbert (5-5)

The runs keep coming for Houston

As if a curtain call for the dominant performance they had at the plate the night prior, the Astros put things out of reach early again against Seattle's starter. They jumped out to a lead in the first inning, getting a leadoff double by Jose Altuve, who would later score on an RBI groundout by Carlos Correa to make it 1-0. They went on to score a dozen runs over the first five frames, getting a leadoff triple by Jacob Wilson in the third, who then scored on a wild pitch, before later in the inning putting two on base for a three-run homer by Yordan Alvarez to push the lead to 5-0.

Taylor Jones hit the second homer of the day for Houston to lead off the bottom of the third, making it 6-0, then in the fifth, they doubled their lead with a six-run frame. It started with another leadoff double by Altuve, who scored on an RBI single by Michael Brantley in the next at-bat. He would come around to bat later in the frame, but not before a two-RBI single by Jake Meyers to go along with more RBI hits by Jones and Wilson. That made it 11-0, and Altuve would make it a dozen with his second hit of the inning, an RBI single to make him 4-for-4 on the day.

Odorizzi posts a strong start

Although with recent struggles, it may have taken a big lead to keep Jake Odorizzi in line for a win, he was able to post a strong start in this one. He held the Mariners without a run through the first five innings, allowing just two hits and three walks over that span. Seattle got on the board against him in the top of the sixth, getting a leadoff solo homer to cut the lead to eleven runs at 12-1. He faced four more batters, getting two outs while allowing a single and walk, ending his day one out short of a quality start: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 100 P.

Astros secure the series win

Houston quickly shifted the momentum back in their favor in the bottom of the sixth, again getting a multi-run inning on a two-RBI triple by Jones followed by a sac fly by Meyers, making it 15-1. Phil Maton, who finished the top of the sixth, returned for a scoreless seventh, erasing a single and a walk.

Blake Taylor was the next reliever out of the bullpen, tossing a 1-2-3 top of the eighth. Pedro Baez entered to finish things off with the lead still fourteen runs in the top of the ninth, getting a scoreless inning to wrap up the win, Houston's third in a row, and securing the series victory with a chance to sweep in the finale.

Up Next: The third and final game of this series will get started at 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Framber Valdez (8-4, 3.16 ERA) will pitch for Houston, while Tyler Anderson (6-8, 4.10 ERA) will make his fifth start for Seattle after joining them from the Pirates.