The Houston Astros will be taking on the Seattle Mariners for a three-game weekend series.
This should be a fun matchup between the two teams from the American League West, setting up some nice playoff discourse. Houston is five games ahead of the Mariners in the division, giving both sides a chance to make a statement here.
Jose Altuve Decision Announced
As the team gets ready for the series, the Astros have announced the lineup for the game. Within, star Jose Altuve will be back in the lineup after missing time due to injury.
Altuve exited Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants after being hit by a pitch on the left foot. The veteran missed the team’s game on Wednesday, having Thursday’s off day to help rest.
The Astros star will be hitting in the No. 5 spot for Houston in the series opener.
Astros 8/14
J. Peña SS
Y. Alvarez DH
I. Paredes 3B
T. Trammell LF
J. Altuve 2B
D. Varsho CF
C. Walker 1B
C. Smith RF
C. Vázquez CP. Lambert SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 14, 2026
The Astros took two of three games from the Giants in the previous series, and they will be looking to keep things going against Seattle. Houston has a chance to somewhat bury their division rivals if they can take multiple games in the series.
Having Altuve back in the lineup should help Houston, with the veteran hitting .240 with 13 home runs and 35 RBIs, while posting an OPS of .695. Altuve may not be the MVP-caliber player that he was years ago, but he remains a productive member of this team.
Houston owns a record of 62-60 on the season, with the team holding onto a slim two-game lead over the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West. The Astros are attempting to hold on to get back to the postseason after missing last year.
Seattle Mariners Playoff Outlook
As for the Mariners, the 2026 season has been a struggle since Opening Day. After going on a deep playoff run last year, the Mariners have completely falterted thus season.
This has led to questions around the future of manager Dan Wilson going forward. While there is still time for the Mariners to turn the season around, the urgency needs to start right away.
Seattle entered 2026 with high expectations, but the team hasn’t been able to live up to the hype at all. The Mariners ‘ biggest problem has been putting together a consistent offensive attack, with multiple key players struggling this season.
Slugger Cal Raleigh has been at the center of the problem, with him completely underperforming this year. Overall, Raleigh has a slash line of .159/.267/.564 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Raleigh opened up about his ongoing issues this season.
“We’re not playing well. That starts with me,” Raleigh said to the Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish. “I’m awful. I’ve got to find a way to be better and to help bring the guys along. We just gotta play better. We’re just playing very, very, very bad baseball in every facet of the game.”
This series with the Astros could help spark something in the Mariners, but the clock is ticking on Seattle getting it together this year.
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