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04/11 00:05 CDT Arozarena hits 1st home run of season, Mariners end 5-game skid with 9-6 win against Astros Arozarena hits 1st home run of season, Mariners end 5-game skid with 9-6 win against Astros By ANDREW DESTIN AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) --- Randy Arozarena hit his first home run of the season and drove in three runs as the Seattle Mariners beat the Houston Astros 9-6 on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak. Houston, meanwhile, dropped its fifth straight game and sixth out of seven. With the game tied 3-3 in the fifth inning, Arozarena turned on an elevated fastball from Houston reliever Ryan Weiss (0-1) and hit it to left field for a two-run shot. It traveled 426 feet, and was Arozarena's first regular-season home run since Sept. 9. Seattle increased its advantage with a four-run seventh inning, which included a run-scoring double by Dominic Canzone and an RBI single by J.P. Crawford. It was the first run Crawford drove in this season after starting the year injured. The Mariners took their first lead of the game in the opening inning as Astros starter Tatsuya Imai struggled to find the strike zone. Imai, who signed a three-year, $54 million contract this offseason after spending eight seasons with the Pacific League's Seibu Lions, made it through just one-third of an inning against Seattle. Houston had two big innings against Mariners starter Emerson Hancock (2-1) and the rest of Seattle's bullpen. Astros catcher Christian Vzquez, who slotted into the No. 9 hole in the lineup, hit a two-out, bases-loaded double off Hancock that scored three runs. Left fielder Yordan Alvarez added a three-run home run in the eighth inning off right-hander Cole Wilcox. Mariners closer Andrs Muoz walked two hitters and allowed the tying run to come to the plate, but induced a game-ending groundout by Astros shortstop Jeremy Pea to secure his first save of the season.

Up next Mariners RHP Luis Castillo (0-0, 2.79 ERA) faces Astros RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (1-0, 3.27) on Saturday in the second game of the four-game series. ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

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