Houston Astros (48-96) at Seattle Mariners (65-79), 9:10 pm (CT)

Houston at Seattle, 9:10 pm (CT)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Mariners SBNation Blog: Lookout Landing

Pitching Match

RHP Jordan Lyles ( 6-7 / 5.08 ERA / 1.45 WHIP) vs. LHP Joe Saunders (11-13 / 4.95 ERA / 1.61 WHIP)

Preview

It was a late night to say the least for Houston sports, two games starting after nine o'clock on the west coast. Even with the excitement of a 21-point come-back by the Texans on national stage, the four runs in the ninth by the Astros felt like a more critical result. This may be a first step on the road to a winning culture, changing the narrative in the late innings.

Jordan Lyles hopes to keep up the good fortune tonight on the mound for the Astros. Lyles is making his third start since picking up his first save on August 26. He has two straight quality starts in his previous outings in his most recent outings, which were against Minnesota and Seattle. Holding both teams to three runs through the sixth inning and striking out a total of eight batters over both outings.

Lyles is 0-2 over three starts, against the M's this season. He is touting a 6.35 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in those three starts. Lyles had one of his best starts of the season in Seattle, 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10K. He had probably his worst outing of the season too, 4 IP 8H 9 ER 2 BB 2 K. Nick Franklin is batting .444 (4-9) against the righty with two home runs and five runs batted in. Franklin Gutierrez and Kendrys Morales are both 2-for-3 in their careers against Lyles. While Lyles has kept Raul Ibanez in check, he is 1-for-9 with four strike outs.

What is there to say about Joe Saunders? This is his fifth time facing the Astros this season, he has a record of 3 wins and one loss. He has three wins while recording a 4.50 ERA and 1.86 against Houston this season. How does that happen? One eight-run outing will do the trick, that's exactly what happened way back on April 24. In his most recent start against Houston, he kept the Astros scoreless over 5.1 innings.

Brandon Barnes just missed the cycle on Saunders earlier this season, he is 6-for-9 in his career with two extra base hits against Saunders. Jason Castro is batting .500 (3-6) against the left-hander with a double. Matt Dominguez is 5-for-11 with two runs batted. Finally, Chris Carter as a hitter can be summed up in 14 at-bats against Saunders, he is 3-for-14 with a solo home run, four walks, and four strikeouts.