7/21/24

(Seattle, WA) One game separated the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros as both teams came out of the All-Star Break with a massive three-game series in Seattle. After watching their 10-game division lead completely disappear, the Mariners had a chance to create a little bit of breathing room as they search for their first division title since 2001. While Seattle held the head-to-head advantage over the Astros 5-2, things completely change in the second half.

Looking to make their eighth consecutive ALCS, the Astros offense came into the series looking as strong as ever while the Houston pitching has show a ton of improvement over the last month which is the reason they got back to the top of the division. Seattle would hope that the break could reset the mentality of the Mariner offense while the pitching looked to continue to carry the team on their backs with the trade deadline right around the corner.

Astros 3, Mariners 0 (Game 1, July 19th)

Opening up the series in their City Connect uniforms, the Seattle Mariners sent their Opening Day starter Luis Castillo to the mound to try to get the series off to a strong start. Houston turned to a breakout performer in Hunter Brown as they looked to draw even with the Mariners atop the AL West.

Seattle couldn’t cash in on a two-out double by Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the 2nd and that opened the door for Houston. In the top of the 3rd, Trey Cabbage began the inning with his eighth double of the season. That turned the lineup over to Jose Altuve who dropped a perfect bunt down the third baseline. Josh Rojas attempted the bare-handed play but the throw went off the glove of Ty France at first. That allowed Cabbage to score, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. Castillo then gifted a bases-loaded opportunity to the Astros as he hit Alex Bregman and walked Yordan Alvarez with still nobody out. A base hit to right field by Yainer Diaz looked like it would spark a big inning as two more runs scored, making it 3-0. A fielder’s choice and a double play helped Castillo get out of the jam but the damage was done for Houston.

Seattle had plenty of opportunities to get on the board against the young righty in Hunter Brown. In the bottom of the 3rd, Victor Robles and J.P. Crawford singled and Julio Rodríguez walked to load the bases. Cal Raleigh squared up a line drive but hit it right at Altuve to end that threat. In the 5th, Luke Raley and Victor Robles both reached to start the inning, but a fly out and double play quickly killed that rally as well.

Bullpen wise, the Mariners were strong and shutdown Houston after Castillo finished his outing strong as well. That kept things within striking distance for the M’s. However, the Mariner bats continued to be non-existent with runners on base. Houston’s bullpen didn’t allow the Mariners any opportunities once they took over the game in the bottom of the 7th. Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly, and Josh Hader retired all nine batters they faced in dominant fashion. A flat performance out of the break turned the pressure up even more for the Mariners as they dropped the opener 3-0 and found themselves tied atop the AL West with the Houston Astros.

Notable Performances

Astros

• Hunter Brown (W, 8-6)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO
• Yainer Diaz- 1-3, 2 RBI, BB
• Trey Cabbage- 1-3, 2B, R

Mariners

• Victor Robles- 2-3
• Jorge Polanco- 1-4, 2B
• Luis Castillo (L, 8-10)- 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Astros 4, Mariners 2 (Game 2, July 20th)

With still a chance to win the series, Seattle would look to come out much stronger in the middle game. George Kirby looked to continue his run of quality starts against a Houston team he has dominated over the course of his career. Houston lefty Framber Valdez would attempt to turn around his luck against the Mariners who have had his number over the last couple of seasons.

Victor Robles moved up to the #2 spot in the batting order. At the time he was acquired, it seemed like Robles would only be on the team for a few weeks, but the former World Series champion’s near .400 batting average forced Scott Servais to put him in the lineup everyday. His one-out singled kept the outfielder red hot but he added to his resume on-base. Robles stole both second and third with two outs to give Mitch Garver an RBI opportunity. Unfortunately, Garver’s struggles continued with a strikeout, ending the inning and wasting Robles’ efforts.

Neither team got anything going until the top of the 4th as both starters settled in. Alex Bregman got hit in the hand with two strikes to leadoff the inning against George Kirby. After Yordan Alvarez hit a pop up to Garver behind the plate, Yainer Diaz singled to right to put a runner in scoring position. As Jon Singleton stuck out swinging, Bregman swiped third to put runners on the corners with two outs. The man that dealt the knockout blow in the 18-inning marathon game back in 2022, Jeremy Peña came through again at T-Mobile Park. A high chopper was fielded on the run by Dylan Moore at third, but his throw couldn’t get the speedy Peña, allowing Bregman to score and giving Houston a 1-0 lead.

Seattle left a couple more runners on base in the 4th and continued to search for some offense in the midst of a 22-inning scoreless drought dating back to Sunday in Anaheim. Entering the bottom of the 6th, the crowd began to really turn on the M’s, but Victor Robles got things going with a leadoff walk. That brough Julio Rodríguez to the plate but he quickly fell behind 1-2 to Framber Valdez. After taking a curveball off the plate to even the count, Julio was hoping to run the count full to get a fastball. Instead, J-Rod got a curveball hanging belt high on the inner half and he got all of it. He was able to keep it fair down into left field for a two-run shot and his 11th home run of the season. The blast brought energy back to T-Mobile Park as the M’s had found themselves out in front, 2-1.

All the positive vibes and good energy were quickly killed as the Astros responded back immediately against Ryne Stanek. The struggling reliever walked Jeremy Peña before getting ahead of Jake Meyers 1-2. A fastball on the outer black was driven the other way by the young outfielder and it left the yard for Meyers’ 11th home run of the season. While the pitch wasn’t a bad pitch, the walk was what did in Stanek as the lead quickly went back to the Astros, 3-2.

A solo shot by Yainer Diaz in the 8th made it 4-2 Houston with Ryan Pressly on to pitch the bottom of the 8th. After Victor Robles struck out, Julio Rodríguez looked like he had done it yet again. A deep drive to right field had just enough to clear the fence, but Trey Cabbage went up and brought back Julio’s home run and turned it into the second out of the inning. After Cal Raleigh was hit by a pitch, Mitch Garver pulled a deep fly ball down the left field line, towards the corner. Joey Loperfido would follow up Cabbage’s great catch with one of his own, diving and robbing Garver of a double and ending the inning. The two great defensive plays by the Houston outfield quieted the crowd with the M’s still trailing by two.

Facing one of the best closers in baseball in lefty Josh Hader, the Mariners faced a very tall task in the bottom of the 9th. Hader quickly retired Jorge Polanco and Ryan Bliss for the first two outs of the inning. A pitch clock violation would help the Mariners out as it resulted in a walk for Jonatan Clase, bringing the potential tying run to the plate in Luke Raley. The lefty-on-lefty matchup clearly favored Hader and he was able to strikeout Raley with a fastball up in the zone and on the outside corner to put the game away. For the first time all season long, Houston had taken sole possession of first place in the AL West as they knocked off the Mariners 4-2 and put themselves in position to earn a sweep in the finale on Sunday.

Notable Performances

Astros

• Jake Meyers- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Yainer Diaz- 2-4, HR, RBI, R
• Framber Valdez (ND)- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO

Mariners

• George Kirby (ND)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
• Julio Rodríguez- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Victor Robles- 1-3, R, BB, 2 SB

Mariners 6, Astros 4 (Game 3, July 21st)

A lot of Mariner fans voiced their displeasure with the decision to not start Logan Gilbert in any of the games in this series as the M’s decided that they didn’t want Bryan Woo to sit too long and they gave him the nod in the series finale. Houston would have their best pitcher so far in 2024 on the bump as the young Ronel Blanco attempted to lead the Astros to a sweep of the Mariners.

For the first time in the series, the Mariners would strike first. In the bottom of the 2nd, Josh Rojas cracked his 15th double of the season with one out to put a runner in scoring position. Mitch Haniger drew a walk, but he was erased when Luke Raley hit into a fielder’s choice. Luckily Raley beat out the double play so the Mariners had runners on the corners with two outs. Hitting with runners in scoring position is one of the biggest issues with the Mariners, but this time around Dylan Moore came through. A drive to deep left center was just out of the reach of Jake Meyers and short hopped the wall. Both Rojas and Raley scored easily and the high bounce off the wall allowed Moore to reach third with his fourth triple of the season. Finally, the M’s got the big two-out hit and had taken a 2-0 lead.

In the 4th inning, home runs would help both teams. In the top of the inning, Yordan Alvarez just missed the rare feat of homering into the upper deck at T-Mobile Park. Still, his blast sailed a whopping 429-feet for his 20th home run of the season and got the Astros on the board, trailing 2-1. Seattle got an immediate response from a guy that continues to trend in the right direction. Leading off the inning, Jorge Polanco got himself in a good count, working ahead 2-1. A slider from Blanco came back over the outer half of the plate and Polanco pulled it out to right center. The drive had enough to get out of the park for Polanco’s sixth home run of the season and second off of Blanco in 2024. The solo shot gave the M’s a little breathing room as they were back up by a couple, 3-1.

Bryan Woo looked much better in this start than he did coming off the IL in Anaheim. Really cruising through the first five innings, Woo went back out for the 6th as he looked to notch a quality start. A leadoff double by Mauricio Dubón and an infield single by Jose Altuve put runners on first and third and Woo was down to the last batter of his outing. It turned out to be a good one as Alex Bregman hit a hard line drive at J.P. Crawford, who just knocked down the ball instead of catching it like both runners thought he would. It turned into a 6-4-3 double play while Dubón stayed at third with two outs after the heads-up play by the Gold Glover.

Woo was still pulled and Tayler Saucedo came in to face Yordan Alvarez. In a questionable decision, the Mariners let Alvarez hit and that’s just what he did, sending a deep drive to center. Julio Rodríguez looked like he had made a tremendous catch while crashing into the wall, but the ball popped out of his glove. That allowed Alvarez to reach third with his second triple of the season while Dubón scored, making it 3-2. Things got even worse as Julio stayed down holding his ankle and had to leave the game as he limped off the field. X-rays were negative for Julio as his injury was described as a sprained ankle and he is day-to-day. Yainer Diaz would be intentionally walked before Saucedo struck out Chas McCormick to end the inning and protect the 3-2 lead.

Seattle put together another threat immediately in the bottom of the 6th. Singles by Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger put runners on the corners with two outs. With Seth Martinez on the mound, Houston hoped that he would get Haniger to end the inning to avoid facing a lefty. After Haniger reached, he had to face Luke Raley due to the three-batter minimum. It took one pitch for the M’s to capitalize on it. A sweeper hung for Raley and he hit a skyscraper that carried out for his 11th home run of the season. The big three-run shot gave Seattle even more breathing room as they had a 6-2 lead.

A solo shot by Jeremy Peña in the top of the 7th made it 6-3 going into the 8th as Gregory Santos looked to protect that lead. A one-out double by Yordan Alvarez completed his cycle and he moved up to third on a ground out by Yainer Diaz that hit the wrist of Santos. Luckily, he was able to stay in but Chas McCormick came through for Houston. A two-out RBI single brought the tying run to the plate with the score 6-4. Santos was able to get Peña to fly out to end the inning and get the game to the 9th with the Mariners leading.

For the first time in over a week, Andrés Muñoz took the mound looking for his 16th save of the season. It looked like the extra rest for Muñoz made him even better and gave his back time to heal. Only throwing four pitches to each batter, Muñoz struck out Jake Meyers, Trey Cabbage, and Joey Loperfido in order to slam the door on the finale. Seattle salvaged a game in the series thanks to a couple big two-out hits by Dylan Moore and Luke Raley, and walked away with a 6-4 win.

NOTE: After the game, the Mariners placed Ty France on outright waivers. If no team claims France, he has the option to either accept the assignment to Triple-A Tacoma or become a free agent. France will remain on the roster and can still play while he waits to be claimed over the next few days. The Mariners also optioned Ryan Bliss to Triple-A Tacoma and called up first baseman Jason Vosler who will likely take over the starting spot at first. Vosler is hitting .289 in Tacoma this season with an .883 OPS 20 home runs and 79 RBI.

Notable Performances

Astros

• Yordan Alvarez- 4-4, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, Hit for the Cycle
• Jeremy Peña- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Ronel Blanco (L, 9-5)- 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Luke Raley- 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Jorge Polanco- 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Bryan Woo (W, 4-1)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO

What’s Next

A tough start to the second half of the season for the Seattle Mariners (53-48) will need to be flushed quickly as the M’s no longer hold the division lead. Seattle and Houston are even in the division but technically Houston holds a slide lead based on percentage points that won’t exist when the two teams have played the same amount of games. Texas still sits close but they continue to fade, sitting five games back of both Seattle and Houston. Houston stays on the west coast this week with a three-game series in Oakland while Texas will host the Chicago White Sox for four games.

While both Houston and Texas get to take on some easier opponents, the Mariners will do the same but can’t be as confident as their AL West foes. The M’s stay home for a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels (42-57) who just took three of four from Seattle before the All-Star Break. Los Angeles also had a tough time out of the break, losing two out of three to Oakland as they were outscored 26-13 over the three games. Rotation wise, the Angels lined things up where their top two starters will pitch in the series with the Mariners, just as they did in the four-game set in Anaheim before the break.

This series player to watch is a guy that has hit a couple of big homers against the Mariners this season in Jo Adell. His game-tying grand slam back on May 31st ended up not hurting the M’s, but he also hit a three-run, game-winning home run in the series finale on Sunday that had the Mariners limp into the All-Star Break. Going 4-10 in the three games in Oakland, Adell got his second half off to a good start. While he continues to hit towards the bottom of the Angels order, Adell leads the team in home runs with 15 and runs driven in with 45, with nine coming against the Mariners. The former top 10 prospect in baseball struggled out of the gates in his big-league career, Adell has recorded career-highs in both homers and RBI as he enjoys his healthiest season to date. The batting average continues to be an issue for Adell who is hitting .198 on the year, but the power continues to show up for a guy that could be turning into a new Mariner killer.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- Tyler Anderson (8-8, 2.97 ERA) vs. Bryce Miller (7-7, 3.63 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- José Soriano (5-7, 3.71 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (6-5, 2.79 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 12:40pm- Griffin Canning (3-10, 5.20 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (8-10, 3.55 ERA)

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