Mariners Open Final Week With Two-Game Set in Houston

Seattle closes its season with a two-game series against the Astros, who are chasing the Rangers in the AL West standings.

The Mariners begin the last week of the regular season with a two-game series in Houston against the Astros. Game 1 is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:40 p.m., with Game 2 set for Wednesday at 7:10 p.m. FanGraphs gives Seattle a 61.9% chance of winning the opener and a 60.8% chance in the finale.

Logan Gilbert starts Tuesday for Seattle, while George Kirby takes the ball Wednesday. Houston counters with Cristian Javier in the opener and Ethan Pecko in the second game, and the Astros have used an opener ahead of Pecko in each of his last two turns through the rotation.

Houston enters the series a game behind the first-place Rangers in the AL West and holds the tiebreaker between the two clubs. The Astros were swept by Atlanta over the weekend, a result that knocked them out of the top spot in the division, and their offense has topped four runs just once in the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez, who has carried the Houston lineup along with the injured pitching staff this summer, sits second in the AL in home runs and RBIs and trails Pete Alonso by six in the RBI race. The designated hitter has been dealing with an ankle issue during his late-season slump, while Jeremy Peña has warmed up with 10 hits and three home runs last week.