Naylor homers twice, Kirby pitches into 8th as Mariners beat Astros 6-2 for 4-game sweep

By: Andrew Destin, The Associated Press Posted: 5:43 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 13, 2026 Last Modified: 6:29 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 13, 2026

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SEATTLE (AP) — Josh Naylor hit his first two homers of the season and drove in five runs, George Kirby allowed two runs in 7 2/3 innings, and the Seattle Mariners completed a four-game sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-2 win on Monday.

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It was Naylor’s seventh career game with five or more RBIs.

Seattle was coming off a five-game skid before sweeping Houston. The banged-up, last-place Astros have lost eight in a row, their longest skid since they dropped the last 15 games of the 2013 season en route to 111 losses.

Seattle Mariners' Josh Naylor flips his bat after hitting his second home run of the game, a two-run home run during the third inning of a baseball game against the Houston Astros, Monday, April 13, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The Mariners swept their division rivals over four games for just the second time. The first was from Aug. 9-12, 2018.

Naylor ripped a fastball down the middle from Mike Burrows (1-3) into the right field bleachers for a three-run shot in the first inning. It ended his string of 59 consecutive at-bats without a home run to start the year, and was Naylor’s first longball in the regular season since Sept. 19, 2025, also against the Astros.

Naylor took Burrows deep again in the third, pouncing on another fastball for a two-run shot that traveled 433 feet, the Mariners’ longest homer this season.

Kirby (2-2) allowed his only runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Yainer Diaz and a double-play grounder from Nick Allen. He struck out six, allowed seven hits and walked one while throwing 99 pitches.

Up next

The Astros had not named a starter for Tuesday night’s game against RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-1, 8.36 ERA) and the Colorado Rockies. Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (0-1, 1.50) faces Padres righty Michael King (1-1, 3.24) at San Diego on Tuesday night.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb