Cristian Javier worked six scoreless innings and Yuli Gurriel blasted his fifth home run as the Houston Astros continued their dominance of the Seattle Mariners with a 2-1 victory on Saturday at Minute Maid Park.

Javier (2-1) allowed one hit, a one-out single to Austin Nola in the fifth inning, and recorded five strikeouts over a career-high 88 pitches. The right-hander posted only 48 strikes yet managed to keep the Mariners at bay, as the Astros improved to 23-2 against Seattle since the start of last season.

Gurriel drilled a two-out solo homer to straightaway center field in the fourth inning that extended the Houston lead to 2-0. His 420-foot blast came against Mariners left-hander Nick Margevicius (0-1), who pitched effectively in his second start of the season for Seattle. Margevicius allowed two runs on four hits and did not issue a walk over six innings.

Astros closer Ryan Pressly retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve delivered a run-scoring groundout in the second inning after being dropped to seventh in the batting order, marking the first time he has hit that low in the lineup since April 23, 2012, when Altuve batted eighth at Milwaukee.

Javier labored with his control throughout, yet routinely eluded significant danger. He struck out the side on 16 pitches in the first inning and faced the minimum through three frames despite issuing a four-pitch walk to Mariners first baseman Evan White with one out in the top of the third. White later ran into an inning-ending double play when he stumbled on second base trying to retreat back to first after Mallex Smith lofted a harmless fly ball to the warning track on left.

Javier benefitted from the arm of catcher Martin Maldonado, who erased Dylan Moore as he attempted to swipe second base in the fourth. With a pair of runners on and no outs in the fifth, Javier induced a 3-6-1 double-play grounder from Mariners designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach and followed with a strikeout of Shed Long Jr. Javier retired the side in order in the sixth inning.

White smashed a solo homer, his second, to center field off Astros left-hander Brooks Raley in the eighth.

--Field Level Media