Mariners Opening Series vs. Houston Astros: 3 Up, 3 Down

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After the heavy anticipation of the 2017 season, the Mariners dropped their season opener, and the 4-game series, to the Houston Astros.

The first series of the season didn’t go as hoped, losing three of four games to the Houston Astros. The Mariners are currently in fourth place in the AL West with a record of 1-3.

Opening day disappointed many Mariner fans as the team fell 3-0 in Houston and Felix Hernandez was forced to leave the game early with a groin injury. The next game resulted in another loss, 2-1, in a game started by Hisashi Iwakuma who allowed just four hits over six innings.

James Paxton was on the bump in game three and was phenomenal, but his six scoreless innings were squandered by a 13 inning marathon ending 5-3 on a George Springer walk-off home run.

The three-game losing streak was snapped on Thursday with a 4-2 victory behind a strong start from Arial Miranda.

Sure, I guess 1-3 is better than 0-4, but this is supposed to be the season that the Mariners finally make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

It’s safe to say everyone is a little disappointed in the slow start, but hey, look at the bright side. There are still 158 more games to be played this season and the team hasn’t even played a home game yet.

There is a lot to take away from the Mariner’s opening series in Houston, besides their record. This article looks at the pros and cons from the series performance, three of each to be exact, in what we call, 3 up, 3 down.

Apr 3, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura (2) dives for a ground ball during the first inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

3 up

With the team entering the season with high playoff hopes, a 1-3 start is tough to swallow. But keep your head up, there is a lot more baseball, and hopefully winning baseball, to be played! In fact, let’s take a look at some of the positives from the four-game series.

The Bullpen

Other than Chase De Jong giving up the walk-off home run to Springer in game three, the bullpen was lights out in Houston.

As a unit, they gave up 6 runs in 15.2 innings while racking up 11 strikeouts. That stat doesn’t sound too overwhelming, but they only gave up one run over nine innings of work besides the 13 inning game.

James Pazos and Edwin Diaz were the highlights on the pen. Pazos totaled 3.2 scoreless innings pitched with a strikeout.

Diaz earned his first save Thursday night after totaling three scoreless innings of work with four strikeouts in the series. Also in Thursday’s game, Dan Altavilla snagged his first major league win.

The Rotation

Yes, Felix hurt himself in his first outing. And yes, the team is 1-3. But each of the four starters who appeared in this series had strong performances.

The starting rotation only allowed six runs in four games, that is 1.5 runs per game. With those performances, the team should have won three of the four games if it weren’t for the weak offense.

Between Felix, Kuma, Paxton and Miranda, they totaled 22 innings of work while surrendering 16 hits and striking out 17.

The only thing that hurt the starters was the long ball. ALL six runs these guys allowed came as a solo home run. Given the Astros strong offense, giving up only solo dingers is a huge accomplishment.

Jean Segura

The Mariner’s new shortstop is the lone bright spot in the lineup. Segura went 6-for-20 over the four games with a home run while driving in three and stealing a bag.

His .300 batting average is by far the best in the rather lackluster lineup thus far. The next best average on the team? .188, shared by Mitch Haniger and Robinson Cano.

Apr 6, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros third baseman Marwin Gonzalez (9) rounds the bases after hitting a home run off of Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Ariel Miranda (37) during the third inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

3 Down

Unfortunately, though, where there is good, there is bound to be some bad as well. And there was plenty of it to go around in the opening series. Here are three things that particularly stood out during the first four games.

The Offense

Let’s just start this off by saying, the offense was awful in the first four games of the season. Besides Segura’s .300 batting average, nobody else is above the .200 mark.

The team only mustered eight runs over four games. Despite having 23 hits in the series, the team also struck out 41 times and left a man on base 73 times. It’s a safe bet to say this lineup will turn things around, but the slow start is disappointing.

For this team that has plenty of strong hitters in the lineup, that turnaround could come as quickly as tonight. This should end up being the strength of the team moving forward, and hitters like Cano, Cruz, and Seager are nearly guaranteed to improve.

3-36 RISP

This was the root of the problem right here, the team just flat out couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position. This stat is even padded by the 2-9 RISP performance on Thursday, before that, the team was 1-27.

With a stat that bad, it’s hard to say the team can’t improve on that rather easily in the team’s next series against the Angels. That team isn’t as talented as the Astros, and we can only hope the offense has settled in a bit more.

BB Allowed

This stat wasn’t all that impactful on the series, but it could become a problem if it continues. Felix didn’t walk anyone and Paxton only walked one in his outing. But Miranda and Kuma each handed out three free passes.

It would be nice to not see this trend continue, especially for Kuma. As long as they can control damage effectively, the walks won’t kill you, but pitchers can only do that for so long before it catches up to them.

Kuma should be able to ease up on the walks and only allow one or two a game. But this is still something to keep an eye on. If he does continue to issue walks, he will end up giving up a lot more runs than we want this season.

Next: Mariners Bullpen Review After Opening Series

Sure, the 1-3 start to the season wasn’t what many had hoped for, and some fans may even be in panic mode. But the series wasn’t very bad at all.

In fact, it was a solid four games that easily could have seen the team at 3-1 had the lineup produced a few more hits with runners in scoring position. This isn’t the end of the world or the season. Stay true to the blue, and go, Mariners

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