Series Preview: Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners, September 28-30, 2015

Series Preview: Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners, September 28-30, 2015

This is for all the marbles. The easiest way for the Astros to make the playoff is to win the remaining six games they have with sub-par opponents in the Mariners and Diamondbacks.

Houston is 10-6 against the Mariners this season and the Astros are 17-11 all-time at Safeco. Hopefully the great northwest can be a safe haven once again

Pitching

Monday: RHP Lance McCullers (5-7, 3.22 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) vs. LHP Roenis Elias (5-8, 3.94 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
Tuesday: RHP Mike Fiers (7-10, 3.66 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) vs. LHP Vidal Nuno (1-5, 3.69 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) 
Wednesday: LHP Scott Kazmir (7-11, 2.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) vs. TBA

The Astros send out the the back end of the rotation against the M's, while Seattle only has two starters officially set for the series.

Lance McCullers gets the start in game one, he has allowed three runs or less in his last four starts, while going 25 innings over those four starts. Roenis Elias has bounced between the Mariners and Triple A Tacoma, but he is 1-2 with a 3.30 ERA in his last five starts.

Mike Fiers has a 2.44 ERA in eight starts as an Astros. This is his first career start at Safeco Field. Vidal Nuno is pitching on three days rest with James Paxton out. Nuno threw 67 pitches in 4 1/3 innings in an 8-4 loss in Anaheim on Friday.

Scott Kazmir maybe pitching for his spot in the rotation if the Astros make the playoffs. He has struggled mightily in September -- he is 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA in five starts.

Batting

Chris Carter has come alive for the Astros in his limited time at the plate, batting .556 (5x9) with three home runs over the past week. Jose Altuve is batting .333 (7x21) with two home runs -- he needs eight hits over the next six games to reach 200 hits for a second straight season. Carlos Correa, too, is hitting .333 (7-for-21) with two home runs over his last five games.

Three Mariners are batting over .300 with at least 11 at-bats over the team's last six games -- Brad Miller (.375, 6x16), Jesus Montero (.364, 4x11), and Mark Trumbo (.357, 5x14). Robinson Cano has two home runs in his last 26 at-bats.

Prediction

The Astros take two of three, straightforward. The bullpen gives up one game.

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