Taylor Jones finished a single shy of hitting for the cycle, Jose Altuve recorded a four-hit game and Yordan Alvarez homered for a second consecutive contest as the Houston Astros pounded the visiting Seattle Mariners 15-1 on Saturday.

The Astros clinched the three-game weekend series with their second blowout victory over the Mariners in as many games, following their 12-3 win in the opener with an unrelenting 15-hit attack. And while Houston enjoyed production up and down the lineup, Jones (3-for-5, three runs scored and four RBIs), Altuve and Alvarez (1-for-4, two runs scored and three RBIs) proved especially effective.

Altuve (4-for-5) scored in each of his first three plate appearances. He doubled twice and gave the Astros a 1-0 lead when he came home on a Carlos Correa groundout in the first inning. Houston tacked on four runs in the third against Mariners rookie right-hander Logan Gilbert (5-5), with Alvarez striking the biggest blow via a two-out, three-run home run to left field.

Alvarez drove in Altuve and Correa with his 24th homer and pushed the Astros to a 5-0 lead. Jones, who recorded an outfield assist to close the first inning, then got going with his bat, opening the fourth with a 399-foot homer to left-center. He added an RBI double in the Astros' six-run fifth and a two-run triple in the sixth that stretched the Houston advantage to 14-1.

Leading 6-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Astros pulled away when six consecutive batters reached with two outs. Jones was the second in line with his double off Seattle reliever Robert Dugger, followed by Jake Meyers' two-run single and an RBI double from Jacob Wilson, who tripled and scored in the third. Altuve capped the outburst with his run-scoring single to center.

Gilbert allowed nine runs on eight hits and one walk over 4 2/3 innings. Seattle starters had allowed more than three runs just once this month prior to the series opener when Yusei Kikuchi surrendered seven runs over 2 2/3 innings.

Astros right-hander Jake Odorizzi (6-6) carried a shutout into the sixth inning before allowing a leadoff homer to Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger, his 28th of the season. Odorizzi allowed one run on four hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts, generating 12 swings and misses.

--Field Level Media