Josh Naylor breaks out of slump in Mariners' sweep of Astros

Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor snapped out of an early-season funk with a huge game to close out a four-game sweep of the slumping Houston Astros.

On Monday, the Mariners (8-9) defeated the Astros (6-11), 6-2, and Naylor was the surprising star of the game, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Naylor entered the day mired in a slump through 15 games, slashing .102/.197/.102 to begin the season. His performance against Houston might be enough to spark a turnaround, which would be huge for the Mariners, who have struggled out of the gate on offense.

Josh Naylor breaks out of early-season slump with first multi-home run game since September 2024

Through Sunday, Seattle was one of two teams hitting below .200. And that was after it scored 23 runs on 24 hits through the first three games of its series against the Astros. Batting clean-up, Naylor has been a big part of the team's rough start at the plate, only tallying six singles in 59 at-bats before Monday's breakthrough. 

But it didn't take long for the 2024 All-Star to get going against Astros starting pitcher Mike Burrows. Naylor took the second pitch he saw — a 95 mph fastball over the heart of the plate — out of the park on a straight-line shot that just cleared the outfield wall, giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.