Astros vs Mariners Game Preview: Expect Runs In Game 2!

The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners will play their second game of a three-game series on Tuesday night. Houston’s in a tight race with the Mariners and Rangers for the AL West.

However, one of those three teams might not make the playoffs.

Only one team can win the division. However, there are three AL Wild Card spots to be won. The Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays are currently in the first two AL Wild Card spots.

Therefore, the team finishing third in the division could miss the playoffs.

How will Game 2 play out between the AL West rivals?

Take a look at the Astros vs Mariners game preview for Game 2 of this intriguing series in the AL West.

Is Christian Javier Truly Back To His Old Form?

Christian Javier’s last start was exactly what the Astros needed from him.

Javier faced the Orioles, allowing one run on three hits in five innings. He also struck out 11 and added 91 pitches in those five innings.

The right-hander has a 9-4 record, but he’s also compiled a 4.64 ERA with a 1.28 WHIP. These stats are far from good. But his last start proved that Javier can still be elite for the Astros.

He still has a 4.50 ERA in September and threw a 6.17 ERA in 23.1 innings in September. No one will get excited over one brilliant start. However, if Javier stays more consistent and adds a high strikeout rate, the Astros will be in much better shape down the stretch and in the postseason.

Javier was expected to break out this season. The 26-year-old threw a 2.54 ERA with a .095 WHIP last season in 25 starts and 30 games played. Javier threw 148.2 innings that season and finished with 194 strikeouts.

Javier has struck out 149 batters this season but has thrown over 150 innings. He’s seen a massive decline in strikeouts, and his WHIP has increased rapidly.

In 2022, Javier allowed 89 hits. Looking at his MLB stats 2023, opponents have earned 137 hits, and he still has a couple more starts this season. Javier wasn’t great this season. But he might be turning it on when it matters the most.

What Happened to Ty France?

The Mariners found a gem in Ty France in 2021.

France left the Padres for the Mariners in 2020. He played 22 games and hit a .309 average with a .371 OBP.

In 2021, France played 152 games and hit a .291 average with 18 home runs. Then, in 2022, France added a .276 average with 20 home runs.

However, although France has played in over 150 games this season, he’s hit a .247 average with only ten home runs. He’s seen a massive dropoff in his fourth season with the Mariners.

With these struggles, many fans are asking for Mike Ford to take over at first base, especially against right-handed pitching. France is a righty struggling badly against righties.

Meanwhile, Ford is a lefty who has shown some power against righties.

Ford has only started five games at first base this season. But his left-handed pop should be considered against righties moving forward.

The Mariners have to act on the now and not worry about what France did previously. He’s been bad this year, and the Mariners are fighting for a playoff spot.

Below, we’ll look at the probable for the Astros vs Mariners game preview.

Early Odds: ML Seattle -128, O/U 7.5 -120/+100

Can Christian Javier Grow His Momentum?

We talked about it above. Christian Javier finally had an excellent start for the Mariners in his last start against the Orioles.

But we don’t want to get too excited over one start. After all, Javier has allowed a .200 ISO and wOBA of .328 to 645 batters this season. That’s typically not going to cut it in the Majors.

Javier has only struck out 23.1% of batters this season. But over the last month, he’s earned 32.1% of strikeouts. He’s improving in that department.

However, in the same month, he’s given up a .226 ISO and wOBA of .341 to 106 batters. That’s worse than his season’s average.

Lefties have smacked a .227 ISO and wOBA of .375 against Javier, while righties have hit a .224 ISO and wOBA of .311. He rarely gets ground balls and has allowed over 43% of fly ball contact in the last month.

Meanwhile, the Mariners are getting excellent production from Julio Rodriguez. He’s hit an ISO of over .375 with a wOBA nearing .500. Eugenio Suarez has also produced at a high level, along with Teoscar Hernandez, J.P Crawford, and Cal Raleigh.

The offense has struck out nearly 22% of the time against righties and doesn’t earn a lot of walks. But they’ve got enough bats to stick around against the Astros in this game.

George Kirby’s Bad Against Righties

It’ll be George Kirby on the mound for the Mariners in this Astros vs Mariners game preview. Kirby has only struck out 19.8% of batters in the last month and has watched his previous 47 righties hit a .405 ISO and wOBA of .504.

The right-hander typically keeps walking down, but he only induces 30.6% of grounders against righties while allowing 33.3% of fly balls.

Over the last month, Houston’s been on fire against righties. Jose Altuve has hit a .380 ISO with a wOBA of .451, while Yordan Alvarez has smacked a .481 ISO and wOBA of .587.

The team has just two players hitting a wOBA of below .364 and an ISO below .156. They’ve also limited strikeouts to under 17% as a projected lineup and have earned nearly 10% of walks against righties over the last 30 days.

The lineup is super deep and has Martin Maldonado batting last. He’s hit an ISO of above .275 and a wOBA of more than .350 against righties in the last 30 days. The lineup will also likely have six or seven righties in the lineup. That plays out well against Kirby.

The MLB betting odds have the Astros sitting at +118 in Game 2 of this series. The Mariners are currently -128, with the total at 7.5. The total has the Over juiced to -120 for this game.

We agree with the Over here. Both offenses should have plenty of success against the opposition. Make sure to check out MLB yesterday scores before putting a bet down on this game.

For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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