Series Preview: Seattle Mariners against Houston Astros

The Mariners enter the second half of the season with a greater presence in national consciousness thanks to Cal Raleighs Homerun derby victory, a fantastic draft transport and the awareness of all four all stars from Seattle during the exhibition game on Tuesday. Together with your series -Weep of the Tigers a week ago, you have had a little dynamic. The MS will leave the break in the temporary season with a huge series against the Astros, the third time in four years, the first series after the all-star game against Houston (and once it was not that Astros and Mariner were exposed to the all-star break). Seattle 'record in these games against the streams that come from the break? 1-5. Let's hope that you can chew the trend this weekend.

From 1. June 6th to July 6th, the Astros went 24: 8 and ran a few weeks ago with a fairly comprehensive Dodgers with a fairly comprehensive Dodgers. However, they stumbled during the All-Star break and went against the guardians and Rangers against the Wächter and Rangers last week. This enabled the Mariners to make a little ground in Houston and bring the division back into play this summer. The most impressive thing about the Astros Hot Streak in June was that they did it even though they were exposed to a lot of injury problems. They have put eight players in the IL since the beginning of June and joined Yordan Alvarez, who has been traveling with a hand injury since the beginning of May. This is probably the weakest that the cans were of them in a particularly weak season.

Jeremy Peña is probably the biggest name that was injured in this June – he broke a rib on June 27 and could be shortly before returning, although it is unlikely that it will be activated for this series in good time. Four other role -playing games were also injured. The former Mariner Taylor Trammell was started in the midfield for Houston. All of these injuries have put Jose Altuve a lot of pressure to anchor the line -up, and in July he reacted with a slash line of .391/.444/.783 (229 WRC+).

Probable jugs

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Once Brandon Walter could have been viewed as a TOP 100 -Prospect in the Red Sox organization, but he missed so much of his development due to a multitude of injuries. He actually made his debut in the Major League in 2023, but was released next year after suffering a rather significant shoulder injury that kept him away from the hill throughout the season. He sent in a Minor League deal with the Astros and made his debut with Houston at the end of May. He has a perfect command via a five-pitch repertoire and his slot with a low arm gives the battery a unique look from the left. His arm slit also means that his parking spaces have a lot of horizontal movement, although his change and his sinker both have a decent depth. Because he intervenes in and around the zone so often, it can sometimes be hit hard, and despite the presence of his above -average change, he shared a rather important train.

From a previous series preview:

Lance McCullers Jr. achieved his long -awaited return from several arm injuries a few months ago. It was his first Big League start since game 3 of 2022 World SeriesAlmost 1,000 days of relaxation and rehab. At its climax, McCullers was an ASS on the front that could turn his curve ball with the best of them. It is proof of his perseverance that he even injected into the big leagues and is somehow only 31 years old, but I am not sure whether he will ever return to this level. His command has not yet returned and its speed sits far below where it was three years ago.

In his previous excursion against the Mariners, McCullers allowed two runs in 4.1 Innerings, so eight were eight.

From a previous series preview:

Framber Valdez rejected another fantastic season last year and achieved a seventh place in the Cy Young vote, his third season in a row with a ballot. It is actually quite impressive how consistent he was during this route. His excellent relationship between strikeout-to-walk has hardly moved, his ground ball rate is constantly excellent and he has no bad problems with the fighting ball or Homerun problems. It all starts with his curve ball. This breaking ball is one of the best in baseball and continues to give the opposing battery. Valdez has dealt with a few versions of his repertoire that contained a cutter or a four-person soul over the years, but he chose the core trio of parking spaces that worked for him so well during his entire career. This kind of consistency makes Valdez a bit underestimated, but don't make a mistake, he is still one of the best pitchers in the American League.

Valdez has only allowed one run over his two previous starts against the M's. His last excursion was a six-inner affair in which he allowed eight Baserunner and hit five.

The big picture:

The Mariners enter the second half of the season with the third Wild Card Slot with a lead of 1.5 games compared to the rays. Both the Rangers and the angels float a little further in the overall ranking; Texas organizes the tigers this weekend, while the halos travel to Philadelphia. In the Al East, the Yankees are still two games in the division and only two games in front of the Mariners in the Wild Card Race and the Red Sox are just a game behind New York. The Yanks are in Atlanta this weekend, while Boston wants to extend his 10-game victory against the Cubs in Chicago.