Stellar outings outing from both starters leads to lack of offense, especially on the Astros side
Despite a late-game comeback, the Astros (4-6) offense continues to struggle.
In one of the most impressive pitching outings of the season so far, Hayden Wesneski held the Mariners to only one hit over the first four innings of the game in just his second outing of the season. It wasn’t till the fifth that the Mariners were finally able to get something off of him.
After retiring the first two hitters of the inning in quick fashion, a first-pitch sinker left over the middle of the plate to Dylan Moore was sent to left for a single for just the second hit of the night for the M’s. That got in Wesneski’s head, somehow, because the next pitch he threw to Ryan Bliss was another fastball over the plate that was sent over the left-center fence for the first two runs of the game, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
After these two hits, Wesneski settled down again, finishing the game with the longest outing he’s had since April 17, 2022 when he was with the Cubs.
Final line:
7 IP, 3H, 2ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 82-58 TP-S (Total pitches-strikes)
On the offensive side, the Astros bats, yet again remain cold. Through the first five innings of the game, the Astros were getting no-hit by Mariners starter Logan Gilbert, with only two runners reaching on a walk and an error. Seattle’s no-hitter was ended though after the Mariners finally got on the board themselves, and Jose Altuve took that personally.
After a groundout from Mauricio Dubón started the top half of the sixth, Altuve came up and sent the first Astros hit of the game over the left field wall, putting the Astros on the board. That turned the game in the Astros favor all around. After Wesneski finished off the M’s in the sixth and seventh, he was replaced by Taylor Scott.
Following those two innings, the Astros offense was able to get something going for the first time all game. After a leadoff single from Jake Meyers and sacrifice bunt from Dubón, walks to Altuve and Yordan Alverez loaded the bases for Chrsistan Walker with one out.
After getting ahead in the count, Walker took the opportunity to unload on a handing slider down the third base line that went right through the glove of the third baseman, scoring two and giving the Astros a 3-2 lead. Going in as an error on the Mariners third baseman, Walker finishes the game 0-4 for the fifth time this season already. This lowered his season average to .175.
This would only last so long, though. Scott came in in the eighth after Wesneski and started the inning off with two walks and a sac bunt, putting runners on second and third with just one out. This led to Astros manager Joe Espada turning to his bullpen again, this time handing the ball off to Bryan Abreu. After starting the outing off with a strikeout of Julio Rodríguez, Abreu would make a mistake on the next batter when he left a hanging slider to Jorge Polanco, who sent it into center for a two-RBI single, giving the Mariners a 4-2 lead, one that they would hold the rest of the game.
Both teams struggled to produce the entire game, with only six hits between the two teams. It was the Astros that got the shorter end of the stick, only managing two. Despite this, they managed to score their runs by taking advantage of the free passes they were given, with four walks.
One of the biggest surprises so far of the 2025 season has been Yainer Diaz. Today sums up how he has started the season, going 0-4 with three strikeouts. The Astros catcher, who finished last year with a .299 average and 48 extra base-hits, is arguably one of the worst hitters on the roster to start the 2025 season. Through the Astros first 10 games, he has played in eight of them and only has two hits, both of them singles, two RBIs, two walks and a .067 AVG. While it is still very early in the season, the Astros can only give him so long before they start to worry.
The Astros will continue their series against the Mariners starting at 8:40 p.m. CST on Tuesday.