Considering the season-long pursuit of the American League West title between Houston and Seattle, the Mariners’ 2-0 road victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday felt appropriate.
The Astros (84-69) will host the Mariners (84-69) for a three-game series starting on Friday with first place in the division on the line. Now tied thanks to Seattle’s win in Kansas City, the teams have split the first 10 games of the season series, meaning the winner of the upcoming set will not only enter the final week of the regular season in first place, they will also hold the tiebreaker should the clubs close the season tied.
The Astros have won the division in each of the last seven full seasons. They are accustomed to the chase and everything that comes with it.
“It brings the best out of a team when you’re playing for something so significant,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “It keeps the objective, the purpose (at the forefront). Every pitch really matters, and the guys are really into it.
“It makes you wake up in the morning and go to work more engaged because you’re actually playing for something very special and something really big.”
The Astros completed a critical three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers on Wednesday to take advantage of the Mariners’ lone loss over their last 12 games. Houston hopes it has built the necessary momentum to fend off Seattle.
“We don’t have that many games left, so we’ve got to play our best now,” Espada said. “This is it.
“It’s going to be a really fun weekend. I can’t wait.”
Right-hander Hunter Brown (12-7, 2.27 ERA) will start the series opener for the Astros on Friday. Brown leads the AL in adjusted ERA (185) and is eight strikeouts shy of recording his first 200-strikeout season. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk with two strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings in a 6-2 win over the host Atlanta Braves on Saturday. It marked the sixth consecutive quality start for Brown, who is 3-2 with a 1.42 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 38 innings in that span.
Brown is 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA in eight career starts against the Mariners. He did not factor into the decision of an 11-3 road win over Seattle on July 20 after he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts across four innings.
Right-hander Bryan Woo (14-7, 3.02) has the starting assignment for the Mariners. He has posted four consecutive winning decisions, including a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday when he allowed two runs on three hits and one walk with 13 strikeouts in six innings at home. Woo is 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA during that five-start stretch, but he did have his amazing streak of 25 consecutive starts to open the season with at least six innings pitched snapped on Aug. 27 against the San Diego Padres when he recorded 17 outs in a 4-3 home victory.
Woo is 1-2 with a 3.42 ERA in four career starts against the Astros. He took the 11-3 loss opposite Brown on July 20 after allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts across six innings.
The Mariners haven’t won a division title since 2001. They trailed the Astros by seven games on July 10 but used a late-season surge that featured a 10-game win streak snapped on Wednesday to erase the deficit and give their starved fans reason to believe their time is now.
“We do this for the fans,” Mariners closer Andres Munoz said after notching his 36th save on Thursday. “We are always going to do our best to make the fans proud of us, and we’re going to continue doing it.”