Homered in Houston

HOUSTON – Right now, the Mariners have no answers for the Houston Astros. And not many answers period.

On Saturday, they rocked Astros starter Collin McHugh for three home runs in the second inning, which staked Taijuan Walker to a three-run lead.

But Houston roared back for an 11-4 victory. Two runs in the second inning, three in the third and four in the fourth … you get the idea. The Astros hit back-to-back homers in the third and fourth.

Now what?

“You just keep playing,” said right fielder Nelson Cruz, who hit two homers for the third time in 18 games. “There’s no doubt we have the talent. We’ve just got to put all of the pieces together.

“Right now, it’s something (that goes wrong) every day. We have to figure it out.”

As M’s manager Lloyd McClendon is wont to say, the Astros are blue hot. They swept series at Oakland and Anaheim before the Mariners arrived in town. They have won nine in a row and 13 of their last 14.

But make no mistake: From the Mariners’ perspective, Saturday was a fiasco. They are 10-14 and, as the calendar turns to May 3, already seven games behind first-place Houston.

Walker (1-3) lasted just three batters into the fourth inning in a disastrous outing.

This was a return by Walker to the miserable form of his first two starts: Eight runs (seven earned) in three-plus innings.

Lost in the carnage was Cruz’s latest two-homer effort. Both were no-doubt bombs that pushed his season total to 13. He has three multi-homer games this season and 16 in his career.

Cruz’s first homer ignited the three-run second. Logan Morrison and Mike Zunino also went deep in that inning. So four homers in all, but the Astros hit five.

The nine homers are a record for a nine-inning game at Minute Maid Park.