Mariners lose tight contest 4-2 to Astros in Houston

The Mariners keep pace with the Astros in an intense game on Thursday night, but still come up short against their divisional rivals.

The Mariners traveled to Houston with renewed confidence, after sweeping the Rangers and with Julio Rodriguez back in the lineup. In the end though it wasn’t enough, as they lost their fourth consecutive game to the Astros.

If there was one theme to take away from the 4-2 loss on Thursday night for the Mariners, it would be not taking full advantage of certain opportunities. The main example of this was another excellent outing from Logan Gilbert.

Gilbert pitched six strong innings in Houston, as he allowed just five hits, two earned runs and a couple of walks. He also had six strikeouts, but it was all ultimately not enough.

The 25-year-old has now proven himself on all four occasions he has started against the Astros this season. In many respects he is similar to Rodriguez, in that they both step up when the stakes are raised.

This alludes to Gilbert’s (and Rodriguez’s) mental fortitude. Another example of this came on Thursday, with his response to allowing a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning.

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The righty did not not allow any more runs in the following five innings, with only one runner even reaching scoring position. Overall, he continues to arguably be the Mariners’ most effective starter in the rotation.

In this respect, Gilbert is only the second pitcher in franchise history at age 25 or younger, to post 10+ wins, 100+ strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA in his first 20 starts to a season. The other is a certain Felix Hernandez, who achieved this feat in 2009.

The only potential issue regarding Gilbert is that he has now thrown 123 innings this season, surpassing the 119.1 he pitched last year. If the Mariners are genuinely concerned about his innings count, they’re better to rest him sooner than later, because they’ll need him come September.

One of the many things teammates and fans alike love about Gilbert is his passion, which was on display when he struck out the final batter he faced on the night. Speaking to the media afterwards, he said:

“The whole night was a battle and a grind. (It was) one of those fun ones, where they played great and we played great. I think just the culmination of six innings of hard work, I really wanted to get that strikeout.”

Offensively, the Mariners only produced five hits but still had their chances, including loading the bases with no outs in the top of the third. They did go on to tie the game with two runs in the inning, but there was still a sense of not taking full advantage of the opportunity.

The Mariners’ last genuine chance to score came in the top of the seventh, when Adam Frazier hit a hard line drive to left field with a man on base. Nine times out of 10 it would have resulted in a run, but Chas McCormick made a tremendous leaping catch to end the half inning.

What made this more frustrating, was what happened in the bottom of the eight inning, when the Mariners’ usually reliable bullpen had a letdown. More specifically, Andres Munoz, who has been extremely consistent of late.

Unfortunately for Munoz and the Mariners, his sequence of not allowing a run in 15.1 innings ended, as he gave up two scores for a lead the Astros would not relinquish. He had issues with his command from the word go and could not get on track.

It’s tough to be critical of Munoz though, with manager Scott Servais admitting the Mariners have used him a lot recently. It didn’t help that the bullpen was also without Diego Castillo, who was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation earlier in the day, retroactive to July 26.

Ultimately though, it’s the offense which needs to improve for the Mariners, if they are to have any hope of winning in the remainder of this series in Houston. Being swept again would not be good, especially with a three-game series in New York versus the Yankees coming up next.

Servais was objective when discussing the outcome on Thursday, albeit while lamenting the lack of good fortune in general when facing the Astros. He said:

“Another tight game with the Astros; the last four we’ve played have been very close. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to do a whole lot offensively. We had a few chances there, but a very tight game, a very well pitched game … six hits on their side, five hits on our side. It’s just one of those games which came right down to the end and unfortunately, the last few against the Astros haven’t been in our favor.”

Friday’s pitching match-up is theoretically an excellent one, with Robbie Ray facing off against Justin Verlander. However, Ray has struggled against the Astros throughout his career and will need to dig deep to find his best form.

How confident are you about the Mariners’ series in Houston following Thursday night? More specifically, how many of the remaining games do you predict they will win versus the Astros? Let us know in the comments section below.