Houston looks to cool down the white-hot Mariners at Minute Maid Park.
The Houston Astros will host the Seattle Mariners three times starting on Friday night.
The Houston Astros have gone 11-5 since dropping two-of-three to the Tampa Bay Rays. Most recently, they finished a short roadtrip by winning two-of-three against the Miami Marlins. In the finale, the Astros jumped out to a five-run first inning lead, and eventually earned a 12-5 win. Alex Bregman (19), Kyle Tucker (24), and Chas McCormick (17) all homered in the first inning, as they each finished with a pair of hits. Yordan Alvarez also collected two. Justin Verlander (8-6, 3.36) earned the win despite allowing 11 baserunners in five innings. Kendall Graveman, Rafael Montero, Ryne Stanek and Parker Mushinski each pitched a hitless inning, and only Mushinski allowed a walk.
This is the third of four series’ Houston and Seattle will share this season. Seattle won two-of-three in Washington state from May 5 to May 7, and three-of-four from the Astros in Houston from July 6 through July 9. If Seattle wins this series they will close the gap with Houston in the AL West and wildcard chase, and also clinch the season series. It’s very important the Astros lose no more than one more game to the Mariners out of the six they’ll play for the rest of the season. The two will play one more three-game set in Seattle from September 25 through 27.
In the most recent matchup between the two clubs, on July 9, Seattle took a 3-1 decision against an anemic Houston offense. Martin Maldonado (7) hit a home run, and José Abreu and Chas McCormick added a single each. Kyle Tucker drew a walk, and that completes Houston’s offensive output from that night. Brandon Bielak (4-5, 3.79) took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and a walk over five innings. He struck out five.
Despite Houston’s struggles this year against the Mariners, they have a 120-77 all-time regular season record in games between the two. At .609, it’s their best record against another team. Houston has only met Seattle once in the postseason, winning all three in the 2022 ALDS.
Seattle is three games down in a 10-game roadtrip. They started it by taking three-of-four against the Kansas City Royals. Julio Rodríguez had a five-hit night, including his 22 home run of the year. Isaiah Campbell (3-0, 2.13) earned the win in relief, and Matt Brash (4) collected the save.
Gametime & Starting Pitchers
Friday at 7:10 PM CT — Bryce Miller (7-4, 4.04) vs. JP France (9-3, 2.74)
Saturday at 6:10 PM CT — Logan Gilbert (10-5, 3.80) vs. Framber Valdez (9-8, 3.31)
Sunday at 12:05 PM CT — Emerson Hancock (0-0, 5.40) vs. Hunter Brown (9-8, 4.16)
It looks like Michael Brantley is going to make a career bow with the Astros, and the sooner the better. Kyle Tucker looks like an MVP (if it wasn’t for that other guy), Jose Altuve is just minutes from his 2,000th hit, and JP France looks like the best starter on the staff. Even if they weren’t in an actual playoff race, there’s plenty of storylines for Astros fans to glom onto. The Astros seem to be hitting their stretch-run stride at the right time, but the Rangers and Mariners are also hitting theirs.