HOUSTON -- The Mariners emphatically opened their most monumental regular-season series in recent memory by crushing four solo homers and silencing a sellout crowd within a ballpark that for years had been their house of horrors, running away to a 4-0 win over the Astros on Friday night at Daikin Park.

Seattle also suffered an injury scare to All-Star starter Bryan Woo, who exited abruptly with an unspecified injury after throwing a few awkward warmup tosses to begin the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Mariners (85-69), who’ve now won 12 of their past 13 games, reclaimed sole possession of first place in the American League West over the Astros (84-70), and they can claim the coveted tiebreaker against their division rivals with one more win this weekend.

Moreover, coupled with De

See Full Page