The Seattle Mariners closed out their seven-game road streak with a winning record after beating American League West archrivals the Houston Astros 8-3 on Thursday at Daikin Park in Houston.

The Mariners earned the series win in the four-game series with Thursday's victory, finished the road trip with a 4-3 mark and improved to 22-23 on the season — one game behind the Athletics for first place in the American League West.

The series win didn't come without sacrifices for Seattle.

American League MVP finalist (2025) and starting catcher Cal Raleigh was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday due to a right oblique strain. Raleigh missed three games earlier in May due to the same injury but re-aggravated it in game two of the four-game series against Houston on Wednesday.

In Raleigh's stead, the Mariners will opt with the same two-catcher set up it did when he was out at the beginning of the month: Mitch Garver taking over primary starting duties with Jhonny Pereda (who was recalled from the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers on Thursday) being the primary backup.

Garver started in the series finale against the Astros and went 1-for-3 with two runs, a home run and two RBIs. He reached base a second time via walk. Both his RBIs came via a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning.

Raleigh being placed on the 10-day IL indicates that the team anticipates Raleigh being on the shelf for the short-term. But the team has also seen firsthand the persistent nature of oblique strains. Outfielder Luke Raley was limited to just 73 games last season and was unable to hit his stride in large part due to nagging issues with his oblique.

Whether Raleigh is out for the long term or the short-term, Garver seems confident that he and Pereda will be able to weather the storm.

"First and foremost, we just want (Raleigh) to get healthy," Garver said in a postgame interview Thursday. "It's not fun being hurt. I know he doesn't really have experience with that. It's not fun. So we're gonna be there for him, support him in that aspect. But the show must go on. ... Jhonny and I can hold down the fort. Just make sure the pitchers continue to do what they do."

Garver is slashing .176/.354/.255 with a .609 OPS in 21 games this season. He's hit one double and his aforementioned homer with three RBIs.

Pereda has gone 2-for-5, both singles, in two games with the M's this year.

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