Houston’s four-game date with the Mariners starts tonight.
The Mariners shamble into town for a four-game date with the Astros.
GameTimes and Starting Pitchers
Thursday, 7:10PM CT: George Kirby (season debut) vs. LMJ (0-1, 7.88)
Friday, 7:10PM CT: Emerson Hancock (1-2, 6.21) vs. Ryan Gusto (3-2, 4.65)
Saturday, 3:10PM CT: Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.65) vs. Framber Valdez (3-4, 3.57)
Sunday, 1:10PM CT: LM Castillo (4-3, 3.20) vs. TBD
Will TBD make his triumphant return to the win column?
With a sweep and only with a sweep will the Astros pass the Seattle Mariners this weekend. That being said, only the Los Angeles Angels have been historically worse when facing Houston. Seattle is 128-91, and that’s not even including Houston’s three-game sweep in the 2022 ALDS.
Even considering what Houston could do this series, they’re still sitting in the number two slot in a surprisingly weak AL West Division. Would they be a playoff team if the postseason started today you may ask… No. They would not. It would be the Mariners, the Yankees, and everyone from the AL Central (excepting the obvious omission of the Chicago White Sox).
The last time Houston and Seattle met on the field of play was from April 7 through April 9 earlier this season, with the M’s taking two-of-three. The lone Astros win was in the middle game on April 8.
In that game, a 12-inning 2-1 Houston win, Ryan Gusto (1-0, 1.13) earned the victory in relief after a very solid Framber Valdez Quality Start. (six IP, two hits, no runs, one walk, eight K’s). Victor Caratini’s RBI-single drove the eventual game-winner home with one out in the 12th. Cam Smith opened the scoring in the seventh with an RBI-triple to score Yainer Díaz. The Mariners answered in their half of the frame with a Luke Raley RBI-single.
Honestly, just talking to the vet guys, they help me deal with stuff like this. Obviously it’s part of the game, everybody has to deal with it. — Cam Smith, on dealing with a mini-slump to open the season
Seattle will be playing in the seventh-game of a season-high (tying) 10-game roadtrip with tonight’s matchup. Their last 12 games have seen them get swept by the Toronto Blue Jays, lose two-of-three to the New York Yankees, sweep the San Diego Padres, and defeat the White Sox two-out-of-three times. In the final game of that stretch, a 6-5 win last night, Casey Legumina (4-1, 1.62) earned the win in relief. Julio Rodríguez (9) Cal Raleigh (16), and Leody Tavares (2) each went deep.
Hit the ball hard just about every time up today. Found the barrel a lot, particularly that last time up, and that was a big lift for us. — Dan Wilson, on Tavares
Standings/Predictions
Houston Astros: 25-24, .510, second in the AL West, 3.5 games behind Seattle. Seventh in the American League, 1.5 games behind the current number six-seed Cleveland Guardians. Fifteenth in MLB. On pace for 83-79, FG projects 84-78 and a 50.4 percent chance at reaching the postseason.
Seattle Mariners: 28-20, .583, leads the AL West. Third in the American League behind the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. Seventh in MLB. On pace for 95-67, FG projects 88-74 and a 78.8 percent chance at the playoffs.