Astros ride first-inning rally to win over Mariners

Robinson Chirinos homered in a three-run first inning, and the Houston Astros held on to defeat the host Seattle Mariners 4-2 Monday night. Left-hander Framber Valdez (2-2) pitched four innings of scoreless relief to get the victory, the Astros' fourth in a row and sixth in seven games.

Mallex Smith and Edwin Encarnacion hit solo homers for the Mariners, who lost their third in a row. Seattle has dropped six of the past seven. The Mariners used a reliever as an "opener" for the first time this season, and the move backfired. Right-hander Cory Gearrin (0-2) allowed three runs on two hits and a walk in his lone inning.

With one out in the Houston first, Alex Bregman walked and stole second. Josh Reddick then lined a triple to centre field to score Bregman with the opening run. Reddick scored on Yuli Gurriel's groundout, and Chirinos hit the next pitch over the wall in the left-centre field for a 3-0 advantage. The Mariners got two runs back in the third. Smith led off with a solo homer to right field and, an out later, Encarnacion went deep to centre for his team-leading 16th home run of the season.

The Astros added an insurance run in the sixth. With one out, Bregman doubled to centre and advanced to third on Reddick's single that deflected off the glove of centre fielder Smith. Bregman scored as Gurriel hit into a fielder's choice.

Astros starter Corbin Martin, a rookie right-hander, went three innings, allowing two runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out three. Valdez replaced him and allowed only two hits in his four innings, with two walks and three strikeouts.

Right-hander Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth for his third save of the season. Mariners left-hander Wade LeBlanc entered in the second and went the rest of the way, allowing one run on three hits in eight innings. He walked one and struck out two.