Houston's Bats Are Ice Cold and George Kirby Is About to Make It Worse

The Astros are coming home with a problem. After raking for seven straight road games, Houston's offense completely disappeared against Cincinnati, dropping the series finale 5-0 on Sunday with just three singles. Now they've got to face the Mariners starting Monday in a four-game series, and if there's a team that knows how to shut down this lineup, it's Seattle.

Manager Joe Espada knows exactly what went wrong. "We've got to get back to doing what we do best," he said after the loss. "We've got to make opposing pitchers work. We've got to control the at-bats. The last few days, that was not the offense that we've been able to deploy early in the season." The Astros still lead the American League in batting average (.258), total bases (598), and on-base percentage (.333, tied with the Yankees), but you wouldn't know it from watching Sunday's disaster. Espada called it "a quick fix," but the next four games will tell us if he's right.

Kirby Has Houston's Number

Peter Lambert gets the ball for Houston on Monday, and he's coming off a gem. The right-hander threw seven scoreless innings against the Dodgers on May 5, allowing just three hits and four walks with four strikeouts in a 2-1 win. He's alternated wins and losses through four starts this season, so he's due. But here's the problem: he faced Seattle once before, and it was ugly. Back in 2024 with Colorado, Lambert gave up six runs on six hits across three innings in a 10-2 loss.

George Kirby is the exact opposite. The Mariners right-hander has absolutely dominated Houston throughout his career, going 4-1 with a 2.17 ERA in 10 starts against the Astros. He beat them 6-2 at home on April 13, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk with six strikeouts over 7 2/3 innings. And he's been lights-out lately. Kirby has given up two earned runs or fewer in five straight starts, going 3-0 with a 2.53 ERA during that stretch. His last outing came against Atlanta on May 5, when he allowed two runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings in a 3-2 loss.

Seattle's Rotation Gets a Boost

The Mariners dropped their series finale against Chicago 2-1 on Sunday, falling to 3-3 in rubber matches this season. Logan Gilbert was brilliant, allowing just one hit and striking out nine over six scoreless innings, but Seattle's bats couldn't back him up. The good news? The Mariners are switching to a six-man rotation starting Wednesday to bring back right-hander Bryce Miller from the injured list. Miller has been sidelined since March 22 with a left oblique strain. He'll slot in after Kirby and Bryan Woo, with Luis Castillo lined up to start Thursday's series finale. For now, though, it's all about Kirby stopping this ice-cold Astros offense.

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