HOUSTON — Without Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver wouldn’t be here.

He wouldn’t have a spot on the Mariners roster and wouldn’t have a chance to hold down the catching position during Raleigh’s sudden absence.

In the short term, at least, Garver showed Thursday that the Mariners just might be OK without their star catcher.

A few hours after Raleigh landed on the injured list for the first time in his career, Garver hit his first home run of the season to help lift the Mariners to an 8-3 victory over the Astros and close out a winning road trip.

“We’re all thinking about Cal right now, and we’d love for him to be healthy in our lineup and doing what he does,” Garver said on the Mariners broadcast after the game. “But the show must go on, so somebody’s gotta do it. I’m gonna fill in and Jhonny (Pereda) is gonna be here and we’re gonna do our best to keep the train moving.”

Luke Raley belted a three-run homer in the first inning, Brendan Donovan was a home run shy of the cycle, and Luis Castillo had his sharpest outing in six weeks to send the Mariners (22-23) to their 10th victory in their last 11 games (dating back to last season) over the Astros (17-28).

Garver sent his 369-foot homer into the back of the Daikin Park Crawford Boxes to drive in J.P. Crawford and extend the Mariners’ lead to 5-1 in the fourth inning. It was Garver’s first homer since Sept. 12, and it could not have come at a better time as the Mariners try to navigate Raleigh’s absence.

A free agent this winter, the 35-year-old Garver acknowledged he had little interest from teams until Raleigh called him in mid-February and urged him to come back to the Mariners. A day later, Garver finalized a one-year deal to return as Raleigh’s backup.

Three months later, Garver will take on a key role in helping the Mariners tread water until Raleigh returns from a right oblique strain.

Garver has earned the trust of Mariners pitchers, and he was lauded for his work behind the plate during a vital start for Castillo on Thursday.

After his homer in the top of the fourth, Garver won an ABS challenge to end the fourth inning, overturning a ball call on a perfect strike-three fastball from Castillo that just ticked the top outside corner for a strikeout of Brice Matthews.

Garver gave the Mariners a brief scare in the seventh inning when he tried to catch a shallow pop-up near the wall behind home plate. As he slid, his shin guard stuck in the dirt, and Garver rolled awkwardly on his knee. After a check up from trainer Taylor Bennett, Garver remained in the game.

Castillo overcame early command issues to pitch into the sixth inning, allowing three runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts on a season-high 108 pitches. Yordan Alvarez belted a 422-foot home run in the third inning, his fifth career home run off Castillo

He was one out away from completing six innings when Houston’s Braden Shewmake doubled off the wall in left field in front of the Crawford Boxes, a fly ball that would have been an out in most ballparks. Here, it turned into a two-run double and ended Castillo’s outing.

Still, it was an important bounce-back performance for the veteran right-hander to boost his case to remain in the starting rotation, one day after Bryce Miller’s strong season debut.

Raley’s first-inning blast just sneaked into edge of the Crawford Boxes, his second homer in as many nights into that section, and his third homer of this weeklong trip.

Raley is the first M’s player to reach double-digit home runs this season, continuing a bounce-back season after his 2025 was derailed by an oblique injury.

Donovan doubled in his first at-bat and tripled in his second at-bat, diving head-first into the bases on both occasions, an indication he’s closer to full strength after missing three weeks because of injuries.

Cole Young’s two-run double in the sixth drove in Dominic Canzone and Garver and chased Astros starter Mike Burrows.

Crawford added an RBI double in the eighth to score Raley from first.

Notes

— In a last-minute lineup change, Julio Rodríguez was taken out of center field and moved to DH, with Raley taking over in CF and Canzone moving to RF. Rodríguez had fouled a ball off his foot in the ninth inning Wednesday night. It was just the third defensive start of the season for Canzone, the Mariners’ primary DH against right-handed pitching.

— Jhonny Pereda arrived in Houston around 6 a.m. Thursday after taking a redeye flight from Sea-Tac. He was formally recalled to the Mariners’ roster a few hours later, as the corresponding move to Raleigh’s first IL stint. Pereda, 30, was the Rainiers’ starting catcher Wednesday night in Tacoma, then pulled from the game shortly after Raleigh was pulled from the Mariners’ game.

— An encouraging injury update, finally, for the Mariners: Matt Brash is scheduled to begin a rehab appearance in Tacoma Thursday night. Brash hadn’t allowed a run in 14 appearances before landing on the IL on April 30 with right lat inflammation. He’s eligible to return Friday.

— In a procedural move, Jose A. Ferrer was reinstated from the paternity list Thursday, shortly after he and his wife welcomed a baby girl. Ferrer is scheduled to meet the Mariners in Seattle on Friday. Left-hander Josh Simpson was optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma.

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