SEATTLE — Second baseman Robinson Cano returned to the Seattle lineup after missing one game with a stiff back and helped lead the Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Cano went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, while right fielder Mark Trumbo drove in three runs as the Mariners (31-37) beat Houston for only the third time in 11 head-to-head meetings this season.
The Astros (40-29) had their five-game winning streak snapped with the loss.
Seattle starter Roenis Elias, who got tagged for eight runs in a 13-0 loss to the Astros on Sunday, bounced back to allow just two runs on four hits over seven innings Friday. He gave up solo homers on his first and final pitch, his 96th of the night, but allowed just two hits in between. Elias (4-4) struck out 10 without issuing a walk.
Rookie reliever Carson Smith, who has been filling in for struggling closer Fernando Rodney recently, came on to earn his fifth save of the season with a scoreless ninth.
The Mariners, after scoring just four runs over their previous three games combined, piled up eight hits while chasing Houston starter Lance McCullers in the fifth.
Trumbo, who had driven in just one run in his first 12 games since being dealt from Arizona, had RBIs on each of his first three at-bats Friday. He brought in runs with two groundouts and a third-inning single while leading Seattle to a 5-1 lead through the fifth.
Seattle scored five unanswered runs after Houston center fielder George Springer opened the game with a solo homer on the first pitch. Springer’s 11th home run of the season gave the Astros a 1-0 lead before Mariners starter Roenis Elias settled down.
Seattle tied the score 1-1 on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the first, after a strange sequence of events put three Mariners runners on for designated hitter Nelson Cruz.
Leadoff hitter Logan Morrison popped to shallow leftfield and was awarded a single when Houston third baseman Luis Valbuena lost sight of the ball, then Morrison got picked off leading off first base — only to have that call reversed by a replay challenge. Centerfielder Austin Jackson, the No. 2 hitter, walked before an error on second baseman Marwin Gonzalez loaded the bases for Cruz. The walk tied the score, then Trumbo’s RBI groundout one batter later scored Jackson from third and gave Seattle a 2-1 lead.
The Mariners went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position during the first inning but still managed to score two runs.
Trumbo added another RBI in the third inning, giving the Mariners a 3-1 lead. Third baseman Kyle Seager, with an RBI single, and Trumbo each drove in runs as Seattle took a 5-1 lead and chased McCullers in the fifth.
McCullers, who pitched five innings without giving up a hit or a run against Seattle last Sunday, lasted only 4 1/3 innings in Friday’s rematch. He allowed six hits and five runs, three of which were earned.
NOTES: The Mariners got back 2B Robinson Cano (stiff back) and 3B Kyle Seager (flu-like symptoms) after the pair missed Thursday’s game. … Going into Friday’s game, the Astros had won eight of their past 10 meetings with the Mariners. … Houston starter Lance McCullers was facing Seattle for the second time in six days. McCullers tossed five shutout innings in a 13-0 home win over the Mariners last Sunday. … Houston 2B Jose Altuve (hamstring) was not in the lineup for the second game in a row Friday. … Astros RHP Collin McHugh turned 28 on Friday. He shares a birthday with Seattle rapper Macklemore, who celebrated 32 years. … Astros CF George Springer’s home run on the first pitch of Friday’s game was the first leadoff homer of his career and extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games.