6/6/22: SEA at HOU Open Game Thread

As I mentioned in the series preview, this is the last time the Mariners will have to see the Astros until late July, so everyone grit your teeth and let’s get through this together. It’s only three games, we can do it.

The Mariners don’t have more than a 50% chance to win any of these games per 538, but tonight’s contest lands squarely in the middle of their less-than-average chances. As Jake pointed out in the series preview, Javier completely shut down the Mariners the last time he faced them, at what would be the beginning of the Mariners’ MayDay Slump; here’s hoping the Mariners hitters took some time to study and improve their approaches against him in the intervening month.

Meanwhile, the idea of a homer- and big inning-prone Robbie Ray facing the Yordan Álvarez-led Astros feels...not great. I am no pitching expert, but it seems like Ray’s particular brand of “here are my two pitches, you know what’s coming, do the best you can with them” is particularly ill-suited for the sophisticated mashers of Houston’s lineup. It’s okay if you want to skip this one, is what I’m saying, or even take this whole series off. We’ll be here with the summaries for you either way.

Meanwhile, at least Mike Cameron has the right idea:

Tonight’s game starts at 5:10 PT and can be found in all the old familiar places: on TV if you have ROOT Sports NW via cable or fuboTV, streaming on MLB TV if you’re out of area, or on the radio at 710 Seattle Sports if you need a nice buffer zone between you and the Mariners/Astros, which is what I recommend. Staff member Lou only listens to games on the radio while moving her body or doing chores or just being and catches up on highlights later, which is something I might try on a non-recap night, as it sounds like the healthiest way to consume this particular brand of Mariners baseball.

Before we go, a bit of injury news: Erik Swanson is fatigued (same, honestly) and won’t be joining the club in Houston after all, as he needs one more rehab outing.