Altuve jump-starts balanced attack as Astros drop M’s

SEATTLE — Jose Altuve ripped a home run and two doubles as the Astros snapped a three-game losing streak Wednesday with a 7-4 win over the Mariners in their series finale at Safeco Field.

Altuve went 3-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs as he hiked his average to .330 with six homers on the season, while right-hander Collin McHugh picked up the win with five innings of two-run ball. The win was just the second in the past nine games for Houston, which trails the American League West at 7-15.

Mariners starter Hisashi Iwakuma allowed a season-high five runs in five innings as he fell to 0-3 with a 4.65 ERA. Altuve had three of the seven hits allowed by Iwakuma and is now 13-for-30 (.433) against the 35-year-old right-hander.

Robinson Cano had a pair of hits, including a solo homer off McHugh in the first, but the Mariners saw their three-game win streak end as they dropped a half-game back of Texas in the early AL West race at 11-10.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDClutch city: The Astros, who entered the game hitting a Major League-worst .185 with runners in scoring position, came through with five hits in their first 10 at-bats with runners in scoring position, including four consecutive hits in the third inning. Colby Rasmus had a bases-loaded single in the fifth inning, and Evan Gattis had a two-run double in the seventh.

Cano keeps clubbing: After cranking out six RBIs in his last two at-bats in Tuesday’s 11-1 …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com