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HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 21: (left to right) Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) accepts the trident from Seattle Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford (3) after hitting a two-run home run in the top of the second inningduring the MLB game between th (Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)
HOUSTON – J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam and Cal Raleigh slugged his major league-leading 58th home run to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.
The Mariners completed a three-game sweep that gave them a three-game lead in the AL West over the Astros with six remaining.
Seattle, which has won four straight and 14 of 15, holds the second American League playoff seed by two games over AL Central-leading Detroit, which has dropped six in a row. The Mariners, looking to win the AL West for the first time since 2001, finished 8-5 against the Astros this season.
Houston is tied with Cleveland for the final AL wild card.
The Mariners jumped on Jason Alexander (4-2) early. They got things going with a bases-loaded walk with one out in the second inning before Crawford’s grand slam made it 5-0. Randy Arozarena singled before Raleigh, who was batting left-handed, connected for his home run to right field to extend the lead.
The shot came a night after Raleigh passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season home run record with his 57th homer. Griffey hit 56 in both 1997 and 1998.
Alexander allowed seven hits and seven runs while getting just four outs.
Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (6-6) yielded three hits and a run with four strikeouts in six innings.
Zach Cole and Isaac Paredes hit solo homers for the Astros.
Key moment
Crawford’s grand slam.
Key stat
The Astros never led in the series and went 2 for 20 with runners in scoring position.
Up next
Both teams are off Monday before Houston opens a three-game road series against the Athletics on Tuesday night and the Mariners host the first of three against the Colorado Rockies that night.
The Source: Information in this story came from The Associated Press.
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