HOUSTON — The Seattle Mariners are in Houston to take on the Astros in the American League Division Series. And while the two teams battle it out on the baseball diamond, KING 5 in Seattle and KHOU 11 in Houston are looking at reasons their team will advance! KHOU 11's Jason Bristol and Daniel Gotera have the reasons for the Astros. Alex Didion has the reasons it'll be Seattle moving on to the American League Championship Series.
Following baseball tradition, because the Mariners are the visiting team, we start with the five reasons Seattle will win.
Cal Raleigh stays hot
The Mariners’ catcher has played hero several different times just in the past few weeks, between his walk-off home run to clinch a playoff spot and being the winning run in Saturday’s thrilling comeback win to sweep the Blue Jays in the Wild Card. If Raleigh keeps swinging the bat well, Seattle will have a much better chance at victory.
Shoeless in Seattle
With their backs against the wall on Saturday facing a 7-run deficit, Mariners fans at the team’s watch party in Seattle begin putting shoes on their heads to try and spur a comeback. The “shoe rally” was born as the team improbably climbed back and advanced, and the Mariners will ride that shoeless mojo into the next round.
Pressure makes diamonds
The Mariners have had their backs against the wall for weeks, clawing and scratching just to earn a spot in the postseason. The Astros cruised to the end of the season as they clinched a playoff spot way back on Sept. 16. Seattle has the momentum on their side and finds a way to take down the AL West dynasty that has been the Houston Astros.
Julio’s time to shine
The presumptive AL Rookie of the Year had just one hit in seven at-bats in the Wild Card series, and the law of averages would indicate Rodriguez is due for a big hit or two in this series. If Julio truly wants to become one of MLB’s brightest stars, there isn’t a better way to make yourself a household name than by showing up big when the entire nation is watching.
“Los Bomberos”
The Mariners’ bullpen was the backbone of the team in 2022, and faces its greatest test of the season to date with a potent Astros lineup. Andres Munoz should continue his late-inning brilliance, and if the rest of this group can keep from getting swept up in the postseason anxiety, this team will absolutely have a chance to advance.
And now for the Houston Astros, playing at home at Minute Maid Park, here's why they'll win.
The Mariners batted .188 in 2022 at Minute Maid Park
Minute Maid is one of the best parks in the Majors for hitters. Well, most hitters. The Mariners couldn’t even break the Mendoza line, meaning a batting average of .200 (named after Mario Mendoza, a former Seattle Mariner). Facing arguably the league’s best pitching staff in 10 games (359 plate appearances, per Baseball Reference) certainly has a lot to do with it.
The Astros are one of the best teams in baseball when playing at home
The Astros have home field advantage and Seattle doesn’t. Houston is 55-26 at Minute Maid Park, the second-best mark in the American League. Plus, an October playoff game at Minute Maid is much different than your average Tuesday in mid-June, as the Mariners are about to find out.
Patience is a continued virtue for the Astros
Over the past few years, the Astros have been one of the most patient teams at the plate, producing some of the best at bats in Major League Baseball. Their strikeout percentage this year ranks 2nd best in MLB (7.28), only behind Cleveland, as having the least amount of strikeouts per game. During the regular season, Mariners pitching had the most walks as a staff against the Astros than against any other team. So…for the Astros, the approach stays the same. Continue to be patient at the plate against a group of Mariners arms that love the breaking ball and love to get swing and misses. Guys on base increase the potential for big innings which has been the Astros forte…and his huge in the postseason.
Altuve leading off and leading the way
This may be an obvious choice, but the Astros go as Jose Altuve goes and lately, he’s been on top of his game. Altuve finished the season with et another year of hitting .300. Altuve hit .356 over the last month of the season, belting 6 home runs and collecting an OPS of 1.058. He is the spark plug for the Astros and he shines when the lights are brighter in the playoffs. He ranks 2nd in MLB history with 23 postseason homeruns, only trailing Manny Ramirez who has 29. If Altuve continues his hot streak, the Astros should be in good shape.
Justin Verlander will get two starts if the series goes the distance
The future Hall-of-Famer and shoe-in to win the American League Cy Young Award this season has been on fire, with an MLB-leading ERA of 1.75. And outside of one bad game, he's owned the Mariners. In six starts against Seattle this season, Verlander has picked five wins. Facing Verlander twice in a best-of-five series would put any team at a big disadvantage.