There are six games left in the Astros’ regular season, and their season could come down to every one of them.
Houston begins its final road trip Tuesday night with a two-game series against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Astros enter the series 77-79, one game behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West after being swept by the Atlanta Braves in their final three home games of the season.
Houston still has a path to the division title. The Rangers are 78-78, but the Astros own the tiebreaker over Texas. If the teams finish with identical records, Houston wins the division. Texas hosts the Mets for three games beginning Tuesday before finishing the regular season with three games at Minnesota.
The Astros, meanwhile, have two games in Seattle before traveling to West Sacramento for four against the Athletics.
Seattle Has Been a Problem All Season
The Mariners are 73-83, but their record hasn’t mattered much when they’ve played Houston. The Astros are just 2-9 against Seattle this season, including a three-game sweep at T-Mobile Park during Houston’s first road trip of the year.
Houston also arrives in Seattle in a deep late-season slump. The Astros have lost 10 of their last 14 games, including sweeps by the Tampa Bay Rays and Braves. They are 3-7 over their last 10 games.
The Astros have actually been better away from Daikin Park this season, going 38-37 on the road compared with 39-42 at home. That road record looked considerably worse after Houston began the season 1-9 away from home.
Tuesday: Cristian Javier vs. Logan Gilbert
Cristian Javier gets the start for Houston in Tuesday’s opener against Seattle right-hander Logan Gilbert.
Javier enters the game 2-6 with a 5.31 ERA and 57 strikeouts. He has pitched better recently, going 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA in three September starts.
Gilbert is 12-10 with a 3.69 ERA and 194 strikeouts. The right-hander also faced Houston on April 12, when he struck out seven and allowed one run over seven innings.
First pitch is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Park. The game will air on Space City Home Network.
Wednesday: Astros TBD vs. George Kirby
Houston has not announced its starter for Wednesday’s series finale. Seattle is scheduled to start right-hander George Kirby, who is 9-11 with a 4.24 ERA and 143 strikeouts.
First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Park. The game will air on ESPN and stream on the ESPN App.
Six Games to Decide the Season
Houston’s final week is straightforward in one respect: the Astros need to make up one game on Texas over the final six. Because they own the tiebreaker, they do not have to finish ahead of the Rangers; matching Texas’ final record would be enough to win the AL West.
How many wins Houston needs depends entirely on what Texas does. If the Rangers go 6-0, the Astros cannot catch them. If Texas goes 5-1, Houston must win all six. Each additional Rangers loss reduces the number of wins Houston needs by one.
The Astros have spent much of September making their situation increasingly difficult, and now they begin the final six games against a team that has beaten them nine times in 11 meetings this season.
Two games in Seattle won’t decide everything. But with four games against the A’s waiting after that, they will determine what kind of chance the Astros have left when they get to Sacramento.
