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The Houston Astros take on the Seattle Mariners in a three-game series, with the first game set for 7.10 p.m. CDT on Friday at Minute Maid Park. These teams have seen contrasting starts to the 2024 MLB season, but as it's early May, there's still everything to play for.
The Mariners are top of the AL West with a 17-14 record, have won seven of their last 10, and are coming off a series win against the Atlanta Braves. While the Braves took the last game of the series 5-2, there's room for optimism in Seattle and they will be cautiously confident against Houston.
The Astros were labeled a potential World Series contender in the preseason but have seemed far away from that. Standing at 11-20, the Astros are fourth in the AL West but have won four of their last five games and might be starting to turn their season around.
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Astros vs. Mariners: Pitching Matchups
Houston is set to start Ronel Blanco in Game 1, and he has gone 3-0 this season, recording a terrific 1.65 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 32.2 innings pitched. George Kirby is expected to start for Seattle, and the right-hander has gone 3-2, recording a 4.18 ERA and 38 strikeouts across 32.1 innings.
Game 2 on Saturday features a face-off between Framber Valdez and Logan Gilbert, as per MLB.com. Valdez has a 2.60 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 17.1 innings pitched, while Gilbert is 2-0, has a very good 2.03 ERA and has recorded 44 strikeouts in 40 innings this season.
Seattle is expected to start Bryce Miller on Sunday, who has gone 3-2 this season, recording an impressive 2.04 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. Meanwhile, Hunter Brown is set to start for Houston and has gone 0-4 in 2024, recording a slightly worrying 9.78 ERA and 24 strikeouts across 23 innings.
Astros vs. Mariners: Odds & Prediction
The Astros enter Game 1 as the favorites with odds of -115, while the Mariners are -104 underdogs. The over/under is set at 8.5 runs, and this is an intriguing matchup to predict. While the Astros have struggled against the stronger teams this season, Seattle's away form is 6-6 and the pitching matchup favors an Astros win.
Expect Houston to win the first game of the series. It wouldn't be surprising if they take a narrow lead and defend it, with a final score of 4-3.
Game 2 sees two pitchers in good form, so a low-scoring, defensive battle could ensue. The odds are -120 for either team to win, and given that the Mariners haven't lost two games in a row since mid-April (versus the Chicago Cubs) and are in good form, expect them to do just about enough to win on Saturday.
Sunday, though, looks a bit of a mismatch on paper, and it would be a surprise if Seattle doesn't go after Hunter Brown early on. If Brown can bounce back, this could be a close game, but with Bryce Miller on form, this looks like a comfortable Mariners win, potentially by several runs.
The odds for Sunday have the Astros at -121 and the Mariners at +102, and with the above in mind, Seattle is a better bet.
