Make that two-straight victories for now the Houston Astros (78-70), who trumped the Seattle Mariners, 2-1, on Saturday to pull dead-even with their AL East rivals at three games behind for the final spot in American League Wild Card race.
Righty Mike Fiers gave up seven runs on seven hits to the Cubs in his previous start, but bounced back nicely with six scoreless innings of work against the M’s. The Astros will need another one of their underperforming starters in Doug Fister (12-11, 4.17 ERA) to break out in the three-game series finale ahead to complete the sweep in hopes of keeping their playoff dreams alive.
Fister’s in quite a funk of late himself, with Houston losing all four games that he started in and with the seven-year veteran posting a miserable 9.35 ERA during that stretch. However, he’s also had some of his finer moments against Seattle, going 8-1 with a 3.46 ERA in six-career starts.
Then again, perhaps all the Astros need is for their offense to deliver as it has done for most this season. They rank in the top 10 in most of the major league’s offensive categories, such as eighth overall in runs scored (700), ninth in on-base percentage (.327) and 10th in team batting average (.260).
Prior to the two-consecutive losses to the Astros, the Seattle Mariners (78-70) were the hottest team in baseball, having gone on an eight-game tear – all against division rivals – to put them back in the thick of the playoff race. However, they’ve come crashing back to earth after mustering up just one run these past couple of days against Houston.
There’s no sound reason for us to count the Mariners out just yet, especially with banner campaigns coming from Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager. The two Seattle standouts have combined for 64 home runs and 190 RBIs this season, and both of them still have the propensity to erupt at any moment despite their team’s lackluster showing of late.
Another plus for the M’s this Sunday is that rookie Ariel Miranda (4-1, 4.10 ERA) will take the mound in the series finale. The Cuban lefty has a three-game win streak going for him, and his great form should hold up based on what we saw from his last outing. Miranda just pitched six shutout innings against the Angels on Monday to lower his ERA to a healthy 2.00 mark during his solid three-start stretch.
Writer’s Prediction
The Mariners (-105) salvage a series win behind a stellar starting effort from Miranda, 5-2.
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