Astros look to keep the Mariners reeling with four at home

The Astros open up an important four-game series against the Mariners on Thursday night.

After a two-game sweep in San Francisco, the Astros return home to face the Mariners fresh off a series loss against the Texas Rangers. The Mariners are currently 7.5 games back out of first place and have had a tough time lately only winning two games in the past week. The Astros have recently struggled offensively, so they hope to get the bats going in the crucial AL West matchup. All stats via Baseball-Reference.

Game One

Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander squares off against “Big Maple” James Paxton. The Astros against Paxton have a team batting average of .231, and Paxton against the Astros has a career 14/55 BB/K ratio. Verlander is coming off one of his best starts of the year, in a World Series rematch against the Dodgers he went 7.2 innings and tied his career high in strikeouts with 14. This game is set to be a pitchers duel as the Astros hope to start their homestand off right with a win.

Game Two

The Astros have a slight edge in this game, Mike Leake will be starting for the Mariners and has a 4.33 ERA against the Astros and has yet to beat them during the season. Gerrit Cole will look to bounce back after taking a tough loss against the Dodgers last week allowing three runs in five innings. He has a 1.75 ERA against the Mariners this year and looks to improve his case as a Cy Young candidate.

Game Three

On Saturday Uncle Charlie takes the mound against the 34-year-old southpaw Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc has been a pleasant surprise for the Mariners this year with a 6-2 record and a 3.81 ERA. Morton, however, is fresh off an eight-strikeout outing against the Giants where Marwin Gonzalez‘s late-game heroics overshadowed him. Two players to keep an eye on in this game is Evan Gattis and Josh Reddick whom both have over a .500 batting average against the lefty.

Game Four

To close the series Felix Hernandez goes against former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel. It has not been a good year for Hernandez as he has an 8-10 record and a 5.73 ERA. He is coming off a brutal start against the Rangers where he allowed seven runs in six innings.

Keuchel, however, is fresh off one of his best outings of the season. He allowed one run through six and had pitched better over his last two starts where he has a 2.71 ERA. Keuchel was pinch hit for in that game. Alex Bregman is the key to this game as he is batting .600 in his career against King Felix.

Overlook

The Mariners should have a tough time dealing with the Astros rotation in this series. With Lance McCullers out, they will stick to a four-man rotation for now. The Astros will have a good chance to separate themselves from their competition in their return home. If the Astros can find a way to get the bats going and the bullpen keeps out locking down the back end of the games the Astros have a chance to get the four-game sweep.