HOUSTON — Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon wasn’t celebrating his team’s 8-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.
He was unhappy that the Mariners didn’t add to their lead after piling up eight runs in the first three innings.
“The bottom line is … we had opportunities after those eight runs and we didn’t do as well as we could have,” McClendon said. “It’s my job as the manager of this club, even when we win ballgames, to point out the things that we need to do better at.”
Logan Morrison homered twice and tied a career high with five RBI for the Mariners.
The Mariners jumped on Collin McHugh (6-3) for five runs in the first inning, a day after Houston roughed up Seattle’s Felix Hernandez for eight runs in the opening frame in a 10-0 win on Friday night.
Morrison connected for his first homer since May 12, a two-out, three-run shot in the first that made it 5-0.
He didn’t have to wait long for another one, launching a two-run drive in the third to almost the exact same spot in right-center field. It was the third multihomer run game of his career.
Rookie starter Mike Montgomery (1-1) allowed six hits and one run while walking three in six innings. He became the second player in franchise history to pitch at least six innings while allowing two earned runs or fewer in each of his first three career starts and the first since Bob Stoddard in 1981.
McHugh allowed nine hits and tied a career high with eight runs in a season-low three innings.
“It’s frustrating because my stuff is not very sharp right now, but my body feels good, my arm feels good,” McHugh said. “I feel good in between starts.”
It was a rare offensive outburst for the Mariners, who entered the game last in the American League in runs scored and they had scored three runs or fewer in 15 of their last 16 games.
“It’s unrealistic to think it’s going to happen every day, but at the same time it has to happen more often for us,” Morrison said. “We have a great team. We know it. We’ve got to find a way to be more consistent, not only with our at-bats but with our production. Hopefully this is a step in the right direction.”
The Astros were without All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who sat out with a strained right hamstring after injuring it Friday. He is listed as day to day.
Morrison extended his hitting streak at Minute Maid Park to 18 games and Saturday was his first five-RBI game since June 19, 2012.
The Mariners got things going with a single by Austin Jackson with one out in the first. Robinson Cano followed with a double and a single by Nelson Cruz made it 1-0. Kyle Seager had a sacrifice fly, Mark Trumbo singled and Morrison homered.
Jackson’s RBI single in the third inning pushed the lead to 8-0.
The Astros, who have scored two runs or fewer in seven of their last nine games, made it 8-1 on an RBI double by George Springer in the fifth.
Roberto Hernandez, who has started 11 games this season, struck out five in four scoreless innings for the Astros in his first relief appearance this year after McHugh’s early exit.
Danny Farquhar, who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday, walked two in two scoreless innings for the Mariners.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Altuve probably won’t play on Sunday, but the Astros don’t expect him to be out too long. … Starter Brad Peacock (left intercostal strain) had a setback after a rehabilitation start at Double-A Corpus Christi and will return to Houston to be re-evaluated. “I feel bad for him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “I’m not sure what it means, and I don’t want to rush to too many judgments until we talk to him. To have this rehab stint interrupted is certainly not something he wants or something we want.”
UP NEXT
Houston rookie Lance McCullers opposes left-hander Roenis Elias when the teams wrap up the three-game series on Sunday. McCullers has struck out 36 batters in his first five starts to tie a franchise record for most strikeouts in a player’s first five games.
