Mariners: 3 takeaways from 7-3 win which completes Astros sweep

As the Mariners complete a sweep which seemed unlikely ahead of the series, we take a look at what stood out from Sunday’s finale in Houston.

Don’t look now, but the Seattle Mariners are in position to not only win their first division title since 2001, but also claim a precious first round bye with the second seed in the AL. The latter is as a result of the Tigers being in free-fall with six consecutive losses, with the M’s now holding a two-game lead for that second seed as well as the head-to-head tiebreaker.

First things first though it’s about clinching that AL West title, which the Mariners could do as soon as Wednesday pending results. This is of course thanks to sweeping the Astros in Houston to end an impressive 5-1 road trip, as Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“What a ballgame, what a series. Those guys, what a great job they did this road trip, bouncing back after a couple of tough road trips. Just a great effort on this whole trip.”

There was plenty to like about Sunday’s 7-3 win, and we give credit to Carlos Vargas for bouncing back from his grand slam nightmare the previous night, with 1.2 innings where he only allowed the one run. Aside from that, here are three key takeaways from the series finale in Houston:

1) 60 now in reach for Cal

How can we not begin with Cal Raleigh, who just continues to take his season to levels no one — not even, or maybe especially, he — could have conceived. It’s been one home run record after another, setting new single-season highs for a catcher, switch-hitter and Mariner.

Raleigh set the latter mark on Saturday evening, with a solo blast taking him past the great Ken Griffey Jr. with his 57th home run of the campaign. And on Sunday Night Baseball he hit number 58 with a two-run bomb in the top of the second, which made it 7-0 to the Mariners and chased Astros starter Jason Alexander from the game after just 1.1 innings:

With the Mariners’ clubhouse leader sitting on 58 home runs, thoughts now turn to 60 with six games remaining to become just the seventh player in Major League history to reach this magical number. And whisper it quietly, but maybe … just maybe … he can still also take aim at Aaron Judge’s all-time AL record of 62, which the Yankees star set in 2022.

Despite all of his individual accolades, Raleigh is more concerned with the team’s success and this was evident as always when speaking to the media afterwards, while also not taking anything for granted. He said:

“Honestly you couldn’t ask for a better three-game set. There was a lot on the line and I give credit to everyone in this clubhouse. They never flinched, and had the same energy everyday, the same focus, We weren’t satisfied after one win or two wins, and we finished the job. But we’ve still got a way to go, some work to do at home and we’ve got to keep bringing that same kind of energy.”

2) Logan rounding into form for Mariners

It’s been an up-and-down season for Logan Gilbert, clearly not helped by missing time with a right elbow flexor strain. There were particular concerns during August when he produced a 4.60 ERA in six starts, which included a disastrous outing versus the Phillies which only lasted 2.0 innings.

Since September began however, Gilbert has looked more like the pitcher who was selected as an All-Star for the first time last season and was named opening day starter for the 2025 campaign. In four starts he has produced an impressive stat line which includes a 2.01 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 24 strikeouts and just four walks over 22.1 combined innings.

Arguably Gilbert’s best start out of the four came on Sunday evening, given the opponent, what was at stake and pitching under the bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball. He only needed 15 pitches to get through the opening two innings and went on to allow just three hits, one walk and one run in 6.0 tremendous innings.

Postgame, Gilbert was asked about his tough start to the season, but how he’s now finding his stride and trending towards hitting his peak come October time. He said:

“I think everybody is in a really good spot and that’s huge from every person right now. Hopefully it stays that way (and) hopefully we keep going up, but even after the beginning to the season I know there were different concerns from different people. I think internally we never really let that get to us too much, because we’ve seen what we do in the past. We felt like we’re able to reach that level and (now) hopefully we stay there.”

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3) J.P. puts exclamation mark on resurgence

Last year was a rough one for J.P. Crawford, who produced a .202/.304/.321 slash line and .625 OPS which were the worst of his time in the majors. This season started better, but then he went into a slump during July and August, as high (low)-lighted by a .231/.292/.328 slash line, .621 OPS and 81 wRC+.

Since the calendar flipped to September however, Crawford has rediscovered his bat and is hitting like a man possessed with a .313/.371/.516 slash line, .887 OPS and 154 wRC+. And Sunday Night Baseball provided the ideal opportunity for him to show all of America just what he can do in pressure situations.

The 30-year-old came to the plate in the top of the second with the Mariners leading 1-0 and the bases loaded with just one out. He proceeded to pounce on a 1-2 pitch off Alexander to hit his second grand slam of the season and the sixth of his career, to increase the M’s advantage to 5-0.

This result shouldn’t have really been a surprise, since Crawford has 85 RBI off 88 plate appearances during his Major League career, with 81 RBI and a 1.112 OPS for the Mariners specifically. Speaking about what the shortstop means to the team, Wilson said:

“We’ve talked about the leadership he’s had in that clubhouse. He knows what September’s all about and he’s just been quietly driving this club. He’s got such great leadership skills and his play here in the last couple of weeks and his grand slam tonight was a huge blow in a lot of ways and just a great at-bat. .. It just shows you, he’s one of the guys out there leading the charge. He’s a fighter and he doesn’t back down, and tonight was no exception.”

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

With the recent improvement of Gilbert and George Kirby, this would seem to make them favorites to be part of any Mariners’ three-man rotation for the postseason. Obviously allowing for Bryan Woo’s status do you agree with this, or do you believe Luis Castillo should be there in place of one of them? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.