Astros Can't Even Win Two Straight and the M's Are Already Letting Them Eat Our Dust

Holy smokes, did you see the Astros scraped by the Rangers with a 2-0 win last night? On the surface, you might think, "Okay, a win's a win, right?" But for us Emerald City faithful, that game just highlighted exactly why our Mariners are looking so good early on. Houston can't even get out of their own way, and our boys in green and blue are benefiting big time from this kind of inconsistent mess.

Houston's Season of "Almost" is a Gift to Seattle

Seriously, how wild is this? The Astros started the season winning five of seven at home, and since then, they haven't strung together more than two wins in a row. Not once! That tells you everything you need to know about why they haven't gained any ground in the American League West, even with most of the division sitting under .500. They blew a shot to close the gap on our Seattle Mariners earlier this week, dropping three out of four to us. Then, last night, they beat Texas 2-0. Their bats barely did anything to help Spencer Arrighetti's no-hit bid, but hey, they still got the win.

Astros manager Joe Espada is practically begging for more, saying they need "a little more urgency out of both sides of the ball." He wants them to "set the tone early" and "keep that fire for weeks." Sounds like a team that's searching for answers, right? Meanwhile, our M's are out here putting in the work. For their next game, the Astros are rolling with right-hander Kai-Wei Teng, who's got a 1-3 record with a 3.12 ERA. He's trying to earn a rotation spot, but he's 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA as a starter. Yikes. That's not exactly inspiring confidence, is it?

deGrom is Dealing, But Seager Can't Buy a Hit

On the other side of that Astros-Rangers series, you've got Jacob deGrom on the mound for Texas, and that dude is dealing! He's 3-2 with a 2.62 ERA and has only allowed one or zero runs in six of his seven starts since April 6. He just carved up the Chicago Cubs, going seven shutout innings, giving up just three hits with 10 strikeouts in a 3-0 win. The guy's second in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.49 and third in WHIP at 0.92. He's a menace. But here's the thing: he's 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA in four career starts against the Astros, including a tough one last September where he gave up five runs on six hits, two of them homers, in a 5-2 loss. So, he's not invincible against them.

And then there's Corey Seager. Oh man, this is rough. The Rangers' shortstop got the opener off and probably needs more bench time. He's in a brutal 0-for-27 slump with 11 strikeouts across seven games. That's his longest career hitless streak by both games and at-bats! Even his manager, Skip Schumaker, is hoping he doesn't swing too much, wanting him to just "sit and observe." When a three-time Silver Slugger is in that kind of funk, you know things are tough for Texas.

What This Means for Our M's

So, while the Astros try to figure out how to win more than two games in a row, and the Rangers deal with deGrom's dominance versus Seager's historic slump, our Seattle Mariners are quietly making moves. We know every game matters, and while the Astros picked up a win, their overall struggle to find consistency is a huge bonus for our M's as we push through this early part of the season. Our Mariners, on the other hand, just dropped a tough 2-0 game to the San Diego Padres. It’s early, and the M's have to keep grinding. Next up, the Astros host the Rangers again, and we'll be watching to see if Houston can finally get some momentum, or if they keep sputtering, leaving more room for our boys to shine. Let's go M's, keep that momentum going!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.