Mariners Complete Dominant Sweep of Astros, Take 3 Game Lead in AL West
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Houston, TX - In a truly remarkable turn of events, our Seattle Mariners swept the Astros in Houston to take a 3.0 game lead in the division with just six games remaining on the season. The Mariners magic number is down to three for the American League West title, and it could be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday depending on a combination of Mariners wins and Astros losses. Should Seattle hang on to win the division, it would be the first time the Mariners would have accomplished the feat since the historic 2001 season, when the team won 116 games. Make sure to thank the Etsy Witch and Steven, as since that fateful spell was cast, the Mariners are 14-1.
What if I told you that the Mariners have the highest odds to win the World Series? According to Fangraphs, the Mariners have an 18.6% chance to win the World Series, nearly 4% higher than the second place Los Angeles Dodgers. While that’s a fascinating thought to have, lets not get out ahead of our skis. Seattle still needs to clinch a playoff spot, and their magic number for that is down to two as they can punch their postseason ticket with a win Tuesday and Yankees win against the White Sox on the same night, plus hopes of capturing the division. A first round bye is right there for the Mariners, and their fate is entirely on them. A combination of Mariners wins and losses from the Tigers totaling four can seal the second seed in the American League for Seattle.
Focusing back to this past weekend in Houston, the series did not feel all that close. Seattle held control throughout all three games. Contributions from everyone in the lineup, and the pitching that we all come to know and expect, was on full display. This was exactly what Mariners fans wanted to see, perhaps even better than their wildest dreams, and now they have a chance to clinch the division at home in front of the home fans. This should be a real special homestand.
Game one - Mariners win, 4-0
Our Mariners took game one behind a masterful pitching performance from Bryan Woo (15-7, 2.94 ERA). He pitched five shutout innings, while allowing just one hit and one walk and struck out seven. Perhaps the lone negative from this series was that Woo had to leave the game before the bottom of the sixth inning with “right pectoral tightness”, but there is hope that Woo and the Mariners dodged a serious bullet. He had an MRI done which showed minor inflammation, but the Mariners don’t know exactly how much time he will miss, if any. Follow along on all of Circling Seattle Sports socials to get up to date information.
The Mariners bullpen picked Bryan Woo up and finished the shutout. Eduard Bazardo pitched a shutout sixth and seventh inning without allowing a hit or a walk. Matt Brash allowed just one hit in his eighth inning before handing the ball to Andrés Muñoz. Muñoz allowed a hit, but finished the game off strong to secure victory.
Julio Rodríguez set the tone in the top of the first inning with a solo home run off of Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown. That was Julio’s 31st home run of the season. Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suárez then clobbered his 47th home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning, giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead. The ball traveled 425 feet and it landed on the train tracks well past the Crawford Boxes in left field. Victor Robles hit his first home run of the season in the top of the seventh inning, giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead. Josh Naylor joined the home run party with a solo shot of his own in the top of the eighth inning, his 20th of the season, becoming just the 14th first baseman in baseball history to achieve a 20/20 season.
Game two - Mariners win, 6-4
Just like in game one, the Mariners got another heroic performance from their starting pitcher. George Kirby (10-7, 4.24 ERA) was fired up for this game, and the box score shows it. He pitched six shutout innings, allowing just five hits and did not walk a batter while striking out seven. Though Kirby has not seemed like himself at points this year, he delivered when the Mariners needed him most.
Just like the night before, the Mariners jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Eugenio Suárez hit an RBI double, driving in Julio Rodríguez. Victor Robles gave the Mariners a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning with a sacrifice fly, but his night would not be done. Cal Raleigh made history in the top of the third inning with his 57th home run of the season, giving the Mariners a 3-0 lead. With that home run, Raleigh passed Ken Griffey Jr. for the most single-season home runs in Mariners franchise history.
Seattle scored two more runs in the top of the fifth inning with Josh Naylor’s RBI walk and Dominic Canzone’s RBI single. They took a 6-0 lead in the top of the seventh inning when Jorge Polanco hit his 30th double of the season. In the bottom of the seventh, the Astros got on the board when shortstop Jeremy Peña hit a grand slam off of Mariners reliever Carlos Vargas. Eduard Bazardo, Gabe Speier and Andrés Muñoz then shut down the Astros offense with Munoz earning his 37th save of the season.
Victor Robles was the player of the game in game two. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Astros were storming back. They had runners on first and second with just one out when shortstop Carlos Correa hit a line drive to right center field. Robles made a heroic diving catch before doubling up the runner at second base, securing the win for Seattle. Robles missed most of the season with a fractured shoulder when he made an acrobatic catch against the wall in San Francisco. For him to come back and make such an incredible catch to win such a pivotal game is unreal.
Game three - Mariners win, 7-3
The Mariners completed the sweep of the Houston Astros on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Logan Gilbert (6-6, 3.43 ERA) was dominate again Sunday, giving Seattle yet another quality start. He pitched six innings, giving up just one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out four. The Mariners were shorthanded in the bullpen tonight, and Gilbert gave Seattle exactly what they needed: Length. The Astros scored a run off of Caleb Ferguson and Carlos Vargas, but they still got the job done.
The Mariners scored all seven runs in the top of the second inning off of Astros starting pitcher Jason Alexander. No, this was not the well known actor Jason Alexander, but he pitched like George Costanza tonight. Victor Robles got the scoring started with a bases-loaded walk before John Paul Crawford hit a grand slam, giving the Mariners a 5-0 lead. Cal Raleigh would then hit his 58th home run of the season, giving the Mariners their sixth and seventh run of the game. While the Mariners would not score again, that proved to be enough to complete the sweep.
Playoff race
The Mariners enter the final six game homestand with a three game lead over the Astros. Houston heads to Sacramento to face the Athletics for three games before ending their season in Los Angeles (Anaheim, in reality) to face the Angels. Houston is now tied for the third wild card spot with the surging Cleveland Guardians, who ended their ten-game winning streak on Sunday. Cleveland owns the tiebreaker over Houston.
The Detroit Tigers, who were the first or second best team in the American League for most of the season, is in a massive skid. They have lost nine of their last ten, and are two games behind the Mariners for the second seed in the playoffs. The second seed comes with a first round bye, so that will be important to watch down the stretch.
The American League wild card race will be entertaining down to the final game. The New York Yankees own the first Wild Card spot, with the Boston Red Sox in second place, three games behind the Yankees. The Red Sox have a one game lead over both Cleveland and Houston. The Guardians are just one game behind the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central division, with a massive three game series between Cleveland and Detroit starting Tuesday.
What’s next?
Seattle gets a much needed off day on Monday before finishing off the season with a pair of National League West teams. The Colorado Rockies (43-113) come to town for a three-game series before the Mariners finish off the season with the Los Angeles Dodgers (88-68), who are still in a race to win their division. The Rockies have the worst record in the National League, and it really isn’t close. The Dodgers may have clinched a playoff berth, but they are still fighting for the division title. As we enter Monday, the San Diego Padres are 3.0 games behind the Dodgers. Los Angeles may have something to play for when they get to Seattle.
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