On the strength of 13 wins in their last 14 games and back-to-back victories over the Astros, the Seattle Mariners clinched the season series with Houston and opened a two-game lead in the American League West with seven games remaining.
The Mariners' 6-4 win on Saturday inched them closer to their first division title since 2001. By no means is the job finished, but taking the first two contests of a crucial three-game series with the host Astros certainly placed the Mariners in an enviable position heading into the series finale on Sunday evening.
"We've been saying all along that we need to just focus on what we do, and if we take care of business on our end, we'll be where we want to be," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. "And that hasn't changed. We've just got to continue to do the things that we've been doing, playing to our identity and who we are as a team, and the good stuff will come."
The Astros (84-71) have won the AL West in each of the last seven full seasons. The Mariners (86-69) recognize that fact and are reluctant to lean into discussions of magic numbers to clinch the division title.
"That's a good team over there," said Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who set a franchise single-season record Saturday with his 57th home run in the third inning.
"We still have one more game here; we have six more tough games (after that). We're keeping one day at a time and focusing on that rather than a certain number or something like that."
Right-hander Logan Gilbert (5-6, 3.53 ERA) is the scheduled starter for the Mariners on Sunday.
Gilbert earned his first victory in three weeks on Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals after allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings of a 12-5 victory. Gilbert is 1-0 with a 2.20 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings across three starts this month.
He is 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 13 career starts against the Astros. In his lone start against Houston this season, he allowed one run on one hit and two walks with seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings but did not factor into the decision of a 4-3 home victory on April 7.
Right-hander Jason Alexander (4-1, 4.04 ERA) will start the series finale for the Astros, who are tied with the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final wild-card berth in the AL.
Alexander posted his fourth consecutive no-decision on Monday after allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings in the Astros' 6-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Alexander recorded a 2.82 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 22 1/3 innings in those four starts, with the Astros winning each game.
Alexander will make his first career appearance against the Mariners.
Mariners starters Bryan Woo and George Kirby combined to allow six hits and one walk with 14 strikeouts over 11 shutout innings in the first two games of this series. If the Astros are to salvage the finale, they'll need to fashion a better approach against Gilbert.
"We do have to attack the zone," Houston manager Joe Espada said. "These guys are coming at you with fastballs. We have to hunt our pitches, and we've got to do damage.
"They're known for not wasting time on the mound. They come and they're attacking. We just need to do a better job of trying to get some people on base, trying to put pressure on them early in the game."
--Field Level Media
