The Seattle Mariners (54-46, 49-50 RL, 45-52-2 O/U) battle the Houston Astros (65-35, 52-48 RL, 37-61-3 O/U) as the division rivals continue a big three-game series on Saturday evening. The Mariners will have Chris Flexen on the mound targeting a second consecutive win. The Astros will reply with Framber Valdez. Houston leads the season series 10-6.
The Mariners will give Chris Flexen the nod for the 20th time of the season. Flexen was stellar in his previous start, limiting the Rangers to only two runs in six innings, and was credited the win to bring his season record to 7-8. The veteran right-hander is enjoying a dominating string of outings, posting a 1.61 ERA this month, and has recorded a 3.75 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP in 105.2 innings pitched on the season. Flexen has limited the Astros to only seven runs in 24.2 innings this season and is 1-6 with a 4.87 ERA in eight career starts against the foes.
The Mariners rebounded from last weekend’s sweep against the Astros by sweeping the Rangers this week and continue to deliver on the mound. Seattle enjoyed a remarkable winning streak this month to catapult them into a Wildcard spot. Thursday's defeat marked their first road loss this month.
Julio Rodriguez is already proving he is going to be a star. The 21-year-old slugger has accumulated a remarkable 11 RBIs in his last seven games and now has 18 homers and 56 RBIs on the season. Rodriguez is hitting .213 with two homers and five RBIs against the Astros this season.
Seattle is scoring an average of 4.08 runs per game, ranking them 23rd overall. The pitching staff has posted a 3.58 team ERA, good for fifth in the big leagues.