HOUSTON — The Seattle Mariners swept the Toronto Blue Jays out of the postseason. Here’s why the upstart M’s can be a threat to the top-seeded Houston Astros in the ALDS.
This season, the Houston Astros posted a 12-7 record against their AL West rivals from the Pacific Northwest. However, the Seattle Mariners won two of the three series played at T-Mobile Park and took two of three games from the Astros in Houston during a June series.
Seattle has proven this season it can hang with Houston, and it’s shown this postseason that the bright lights of October won’t provide too much pressure either. Will that mean anything in the ALDS?
Three reasons the Seattle Mariners could beat the Houston Astros in the ALDS
3. Logan Gilbert’s Houston history
The second-year pitcher has succeeded so far this season against Houston, and he’s likely to draw the Game 1 start at Minute Maid Park against AL Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander.
In four starts this season against the Astros, Houston batters are slashing just .228/.283/.348 as Gilbert has posted a 2.52 ERA in 25.0 innings of work. If the 25-year-old right-hander can continue his success against Houston, especially in that Game 1 matchup, it bodes well for the Mariners to potentially steal the series opener.
With the Game 1 start, Gilbert will also likely have another chance to face the Astros as well later in the series. For Seattle, that’s a very good thing.