The wait will be over on Tuesday for the Astros as the Mariners come to town riding high off of a two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card series. Seattle is in its first postseason in two decades and bested a team picked by many early in the season to reach the World Series. The Astros have been waiting patiently thanks to the best record in baseball.
There are plenty of storylines in this one including how raucous the Mariners home crowd will be, how Astros pitching, which has been so dominant all year, will fare, and how a pair of rookies will do facing one another.
Will the records matter?
The Astros are 12-7 against the Mariners this season and beat them by 16 games in the American League West. But the Mariners added ace Luis Castillo at the trade deadline after the two teams had faced off for the final time. The Astros have played well in Seattle and Astros starting pitchers have been excellent in both home and away matchups this year and historically. Still, the postseason is a complete do-over and whatever the records say up to this point, it will have no impact on what happens in the series.
Mariners postseason magic.
The M’s have been on a roll, not just besting the Blue Jays, but playing extremely well over the second half of the season after acquiring Castillo. In the playoffs, momentum can be play a significant role. While the Astros have been waiting, the Mariners have been beating one of the best teams in the American League, including an incredible comeback in game two. The Astros will try and stop that momentum in its tracks.
Jeremy Peña vs. Julio Rodriguez and how it relates to the teams overall.
The Astros rookie shortstop and Mariners rookie outfielder are friends. They also are critical components to both their teams success, but what they mean to their respective teams is quite different. As important as Peña has been replacing Carlos Correa in the offseason, not a ton was expected of him, whereas Rodriguez, who signed a unique and massive contract during the season, is the lynch pin to the Mariners lineup. If there is one fairly noticeable difference between the two teams, it is depth, which a rookie and an acquired pitcher leading the Mariners, while the Astros are loaded with talent up and down the lineup and throughout the rotation.
Seattle’s crowd will be nuts.
When the Astros do go to Seattle for the first time in the ALDS, the crowd is going to be intense. They are not just some of the loudest fans in the country, they do NOT like the Astros at all. The Astros thrive in hostile environments and they will need to against this rowdy crew.
Prediction: Astros in 4.
Jeff Balke covers the Astros and Rockets weekly for the Houston Press and co-hosts the Bleav in Astros podcast with former third baseman and current Astros broadcaster Geoff Blum. Follow him on Twitter.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
