Takeaways From Seattle Mariners 4-Game Sweep Against Houston Astros

SEATTLE —  The Seattle Mariners completed a four-game sweep with a 6-2 win against the Houston Astros on Monday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

The Mariners secured the win with a pair of multi-run home runs from first baseman Josh Naylor and a 7.2-inning quality start from right-handed pitcher George Kirby.

Here's several takeaways from Seattle's series sweep against Houston:

Mariners lineup wakes up

Over the Mariners' first 13 games of the season, the offense was the biggest weakness of the team. The team was second-to-last in the majors in on- base percentage .297.

Over the course of the four-game series against the Astros, the M's slashed .289/.422/.469, had 13 extra-base hits (eight doubles, five home runs) and averaged 7.25 runs a game.

Over the course of the series, the heart of Seattle's lineup also came alive.

Catcher Cal Raleigh, center fielder Julio Rodriguez, Naylor and left fielder Randy Arozarena all hit home runs during the season. It was Rodriguez, Naylor and Arozarena's first homers of the season, respectively, and Raleigh's first at home at T-Mobile Park.

"You want to try and get on-base every at-bat," Naylor said in a postgame interview Monday. "You want to try to pass the baton to the next guy, whether it's a walk, a hit, a sac bunt. Find a way to get a run in. Runs are hard to get at this level, it's the highest level of baseball. ... That's not an easy task to beat (the Astros) four games in a row. So the fact that we did that, testament to our work, our discipline on the offensive end."

Dan Wilson stays successful against Houston

Last year, the Mariners won the American League West for the first time since 2001, snapping a stretch of four consecutive AL West titles won by Houston.

Since manager Dan Wilson was hired in August 2024, Seattle is 14-6 against the Astros, including this recent four-game sweep.

"It is important," Wilson said after the game Monday. "I think to play well against your own division, especially when things like tiebreakers rest in that. But in other ways, it doesn't matter who's out on the field. You're playing against a team, you're playing against a game. So it's more of a 'can we get back to doing what we do consistently?' Because we know we have a great team. If we can do that consistently, it doesn't matter who's out there. We're gonna come up on the good side of it most times. That's what I'm happiest about (in) this homestand, was that we got back to our brand of baseball."

Luke Raley cementing his hold in right field

Raley missed most of last season with two stints on the injured list due to back spasms and a right oblique strain. In 73 games in '25, he slashed .202/.319/.311 with a .630 OPS and hit eight doubles and four homers with 19 RBIs.

This year, Raley started the season as the team's starting right fielder against right-handed pitching and so far he's succeeded in that role.

So far this season, Raley's slashed .294/.345/.569 with a .914 OPS in 15 games and has hit three doubles, a triple and three home runs with 10 RBIs. He went 7-for-17 in the series against Houston and ended the set with back-to-back three-hit games.

Seattle Mariners right fielder Luke Raley swings during a game against the Houston Astros on Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. | Joe Nicholson/Imagn Images.

Raley also showed off his defense and had a great grab at the wall in the top of the ninth inning in game four against the Astros on Monday.

"(Raley) is gonna give you 100% effort every single night," Wilson said. "It's great to see him have the success he's having. He's putting together really good at-bats. It's great to see, especially coming off of what he went through last year. It was a difficult year for him with the injuries. His intent all spring, his intent here at the beginning of the year, is to get back to who he is. He's really done it."

Up next

The Mariners will go on the road for the first of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres at 6:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday at Petco Park in San Diego. Bryan Woo will start for Seattle and Michael King will start for San Diego.

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