Crawford's grand slam and Raleigh's 58th homer lead Mariners to sweep over Astros

HOUSTON (AP) — J.P. Crawford hit a grand slam and Cal Raleigh slugged his major league-leading 58th home run to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

The Mariners completed a three-game sweep that gave them a three-game lead in the AL West over the Astros with six remaining.

Seattle, which has won four straight and 14 of 15, holds the second American League playoff seed by two games over AL Central-leading Detroit, which has dropped six in a row. The Mariners, looking to win the AL West for the first time since 2001, finished 8-5 against the Astros this season.

Houston is tied with Cleveland for the final AL wild card.

The Mariners jumped on Jason Alexander (4-2) early. They got things going with a bases-loaded walk with one out in the second inning before Crawford’s grand slam made it 5-0. Randy Arozarena singled before Raleigh, who was batting left-handed, connected for his home run to right field to extend the lead.

The shot came a night after Raleigh passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the franchise’s single-season home run record with his 57th homer. Griffey hit 56 in both 1997 and 1998.

Alexander allowed seven hits and seven runs while getting just four outs.

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (6-6) yielded three hits and a run with four strikeouts in six innings.

Zach Cole and Isaac Paredes hit solo homers for the Astros.

Crawford’s grand slam.

The Astros never led in the series and went 2 for 20 with runners in scoring position.

Both teams are off Monday before Houston opens a three-game road series against the Athletics on Tuesday night and the Mariners host the first of three against the Colorado Rockies that night.

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Houston Astros' Zachary Cole rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Astros starting pitcher Jason Alexander throws against the Seattle Mariners during the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Seattle Mariners' J.P. Crawford rounds the bases after hitting a grand slam against the Houston Astros during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Seattle Mariners' J.P. Crawford, right, presents Cal Raleigh a trident after Raleigh hit a two-run home run against the Houston Astros during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Seattle Mariners' J.P. Crawford reacts after hitting a grand slam against the Houston Astros during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was at the White House on Thursday discussing her country's future with President Donald Trump even after he publicly dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela. His administration has signaled its willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president and, along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day governmental operations.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela and sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was expecting a positive discussion during the lunchtime meeting and called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela.

The White House said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

Leavitt said Trump is committed to seeing Venezuela hold elections “one day,” but wouldn’t say when that might happen.

Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate later Thursday. Trump has called her “a nice woman” while indicating they might not touch on major issues in their talks Thursday.

Her Washington swing began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

The White House says Venezuela has been fully cooperating with the Trump administration since Maduro’s ouster.

Rodríguez, the acting president, herself has adopted a less strident position toward Trump and his “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, saying she plans to continue releasing prisoners detained under Maduro — a move thought to have been made at the behest of the Trump administration. Venezuela released several Americans this week.

Trump, a Republican, said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which Trump wanted to win himself. She has since thanked Trump. Her offer to share the peace prize with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)