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A peek at the bottom third of the Seattle Mariners batting order told the tale of their 10-1 victory over the Houston Astros Friday, a win that clinched at minimum a split of this four-game series.

Jarred Kelenic, Mike Ford and Kolten Wong were a combined 7-for-10 with five walks, six runs and seven RBIs. They scored five of the Mariners’ nine runs in the fourth inning and tallied six RBIs. Kelenic had a single and a bases-loaded walk, Ford a walk and a three-run double and Wong added a pair of run-scoring hits to pace an outstanding offensive effort by Seattle.

The teams meet again Saturday in Houston.

“We did a really good job of controlling the strike zone,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “A lot of good things offensively but we’ve got to carry it over. We’ve got to do it again (Saturday). Last couple of nights we’ve had our All-Star pitchers (George Kirby and Luis Castillo) going; (Saturday) they’ve got their guy.

“It’s a good start to the series. We’ve got to keep it rolling here into the break.”

Rookie right-hander Bryan Woo (1-1, 4.08 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Mariners on Saturday. Woo earned his first career quality start in his most recent outing when he allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over six innings in a 6-5 road win against the San Francisco Giants on Monday. He has 39 strikeouts through his first six career starts.

Woo will make his first career appearance against the Astros and his third against an American League West opponent.

All-Star left-hander Framber Valdez (7-6, 2.49) is the scheduled starter for Houston on Saturday. Valdez missed his previous turn in the rotation with right ankle soreness.

He was the pitcher of record in his most recent start after allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks with six strikeouts over six innings in a 4-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on June 27. The four earned runs matched a season high for Valdez, who alternated wins and losses over five June starts.

Valdez is 5-0 with a 1.94 ERA over nine career appearances (seven starts) against the Mariners. He made back-to-back starts against Seattle last July and allowed six runs on 13 hits and two walks with 15 strikeouts over 13 2/3 innings while recording a victory and a no-decision.

Astros rookie right-hander Hunter Brown closed the book on the first half of his first full season with a ragged performance on Friday. His three innings pitched were a career low as a starter and, despite recording eight strikeouts, Brown surrendered at least five earned runs for the third time in 17 starts this season while his three walks matched his second-highest total in 2023. After allowing 10 hits in his previous start against the Texas Rangers, Brown allowed eight Friday.

“He’s been kind of up and down but I don’t think about that,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He’s a young pitcher and they go through periods of inconsistency and ups and downs. He gets a lot of strikeouts. It’s just a matter of putting guys away.”

–Field Level Media