Seattle Mariners Host Houston Astros

crawfishboxes.com

05 May 2023

Tonight at 9:10 PM CT the Houston Astros will face off against the Seattle Mariners in the first game of a three-game series at T-Mobile Park.

Houston had fought their way to a 14-11 record a week ago today before starting a six-game homestand. They lost two-of-three in each series, first to the Philadelphia Phillies and then to the San Francisco Giants to land at 16-15.

In the series finale, the Giants defeated our heroes, 4-2 behind a strong outing from Logan Webb (2-5, 3.80). The Astros collected a grand total of five hits in the loss, including a two-run home run by Alex Bregman (4) for Houston’s only runs of the night. Framber Valdez (2-4, 2.60) finished with a Quality Start by striking out eight and allowing two earned runs on five hits and two walks.

The Seattle Mariners just finished a nine-game road trip at 4-5, ending with a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics. In yesterday’s series finale, Taylor Trammell (2) hit a two-run homer, collecting three RBI in the game while Kolten Wong added two RBI on two hits. George Kirby (3-2, 3.11 earned the win by going seven innings and giving up three runs.

The Astros and the Mariners played 19 times last regular season, but it wasn’t enough. After Houston took 12 wins against seven losses, the two clubs faced off in a Best-of-Five for the ALDS. Houston won the first two contests handily, but the third game went to 18 innings before Jeremy Peña put the Astros back into the ALCS for a sixth straight season with a solo home run. Eight Houston pitchers combined for the super long shutout, including Luis Garcia striking out six against two hits and zero walks over five innings for the win.

All Time Head to Head

Houston is 118-72 all-time against the Mariners, for a .621 winning percentage. That’s their best winning record against any team. Their three-game sweep in the ALDS last season was their first postseason matchup.

Standings

Houston Astros: 16-15, .516, third in the AL West, ninth in the AL, 15th in MLB, on pace for 84-78, Last 10: WLWWLLWWLL, Playoff Odds: 96.7 percent

Seattle Mariners: 15-16, .484, fourth in the AL West, 10th in the AL, tied for 18th in MLB, on pace for 78-84. Last 10: LWLLLLWWWW, Playoff Odds: 31.9 percent.

Team leaders

AVG: Jarred Kelenic .304, Mauricio Dubon .303, Yordan Alvarez .264, Kyle Tucker .259, Eugenio Suarez .237

OBP: Yordan Alvarez .382, J.P. Crawford ..374, Kyle Tucker .364, Jarred Kelenic .363, Alex Bregman .336

SLG: Jarred Kelenic .598, Yordan Alvarez .516, Cal Raleigh .452, Jeremy Peña .439, Teoscar Hernandez & Kyle Tucker .426

OPS: Jarred Kelenic .961, Yordan Alvarez .898, Kyle Tucker .790, Cal Raleigh .770, Jeremy Peña .727

HR: Teoscar Hernandez & Jarred Kelenic 7, Yordan Alvarez & Jeremy Peña 6, Cal Raleigh, Kyle Tucker & Julio Rodriguez 5

RBI: Yordan Alvarez 27, Kyle Tucker 20, Cal Raleigh & Eugenio Suarez 18, Jeremy Peña 17

BB: J.P. Crawford 22, Alex Bregman 21, Kyle Tucker 19, Yordan Alvarez & Cal Raleigh 14

SB: Julio Rodriguez & Jeremy Peña 6, Jarred Kelenic & Kyle Tucker 5, Chas McCormick 4

ERA: Luis Castillo 1.82, Hunter Brown & Framber Valdez 2.60, George Kirby 3.11, Cristian Javier 3.48

WHIP: Luis Castillo 0.92, George Kirby 0.98, Logan Gilbert 1.07, Cristian Javier 1.13, Framber Valdez 1.16

K: Framber Valdez 45, Logan Gilbert 40, Luis Castillo 38, Hunter Brown 36, Cristian Javier 35

Injury report

Chas McCormick should be back next week. He began a rehab assignment with the Corpus Christi Hooks on Saturday, going 0-for-2 with a walk.

Michael Brantley is nearing his return from the 10-day il.

Lance McCullers Jr. threw 20-30 pitches from the front of the bullpen mound this past Tuesday, according to Brian Murphy of MLB.COM.

Jose Altuve is ahead of schedule, and we should probably expect him in Houston around the first week of June.

Luis Garcia & Jose Urquidy just joined the injured list, and will each miss at least two starts.

Gametime & Starting pitchers

Today 9:10 PM CT — Cristian Javier (2-1, 3.48) vs. Luis Castillo (2-0, 1.82)
Saturday 8:40 PM CT — J.P. France (debut) vs. Marco Gonzales (2-0, 4.74)
Sunday 3:10 PM CT — TBD vs. Bryce Miller (0-0, 1.50)

Who’s hot (highest WPA vs Giants)
Ryne Stanek .118
Matt Gage .100
Phil Maton .066
David Hensley .058
Yainer Diaz .051

Who’s not (lowest WPA vs Giants)
Jake Meyers & Bryan Abreu -.071
Alex Bregman -.129
Corey Julks -.154
Jeremy Peña -.195
Kyle Tucker -.339

Common Thread

Teoscar Hernandez appeared in 42 games for the 2016 and 2017 Astros, hitting .230 with four jacks and 11 RBI.

Rafael Montero pitched in 40 games for the Mariners in 2021, going 5-3 with a 7.27 ERA and a 1.638 WHIP.