Seattle Mariners Probable Pitchers & Starting Lineup vs Houston Astros, 5/5

Seattle Mariners v Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners v Oakland Athletics / Thearon W. Henderson/GettyImages

The Mariners are back in town! Even though things have seemed rough lately, the Mariners did well enough over their recent jaunt on the road. They still managed to go 8-7 over those 15 road games, which is something you would take nearly every time.

Mariners vs Astros: Probable Starting Pitchers

Big time matchup in the opener. Luis Castillo is going for the Mariners, and will be opposed by Cristian Javier. Both pitchers have had great starts to the year. Castillo enters with an ERA lower than his weight, sitting at just 1.82. Javier is nearly double that, but don't be fooled. He's a dangerous pitcher that can easily put up an outing with 10 K's, 1 ER, and a handful of baserunners through 7 innings.

Castillo owns a career slash line against the Mariners of .172/.308/.253, with a 2.08 ERA across 26 IP. The Mariners have not hit him well, tallying just 15 hits. However, they have made him work for it, as they have drawn 15 walks as well. Patience and possibly some well-timed aggression could be the key to an opening win to start the series.

Seattle Mariners Starting Lineup

When will the Mariners All-Stars start acting like it?

The top of the Mariners order has been bad lately. Don't believe me? Check out some of the averages of the Mariners "best hitters" lately, as we look back over the last 15 days.

Julio - .139
France - .077
Geno - .163
Teo - .170
Dumper - .176

That's embarrassing, and there really isn't a nice way to try and frame it. I did the math, and they are hitting a combined .146/.251/.317 over those 15 days. A large part of that is the fact that Two and Dumper have 7 HR. If not for that...

These guys need to pick it up. It's gross, and hardly any of them even look right. Geno has always been streaky, but the other guys need to start doing something productive, or that win % is quickly going to fall.

How do I watch and listen to the Seattle Mariners game?

You can catch all the Mariners games on Root Sports, while listening to them on ESPN 710. They're also available on the MLB.TV app for those that are subscribed, as well as FuboTV. However you can manage, make sure to tune in and watch the Mariners back at home as they look to get started on the right foot against the Houston Astros.