For the Seattle Mariners, Houston pitching is a problem.
The Mariners offense was nearly helpless Saturday against the Astros pitching staff, as Houston dominated Seattle’s hitters to clinch its spot in the ALCS with an 18-inning 1-0 win.
Houston pitching was in control nearly the entire game, as eight Astros pitchers combined to strike out 22 Mariners, with no runs and just seven hits allowed, six of them singles.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, the overpowering Astros pitchers of 2022 aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Houston finished this season ranked second in baseball in team ERA, WHIP and opponent batting average, while striking out the fourth-most batters and allowing the second-fewest hits in MLB. The vast majority of the staff is set to return next season, as former Mariner Rafael Montero and Justin Verlander are the only pitchers not currently under contract for 2023.
ALDS Game 3:
Astros 1, Mariners 0 (18 innings)
Montero is the only Astros pitcher who will hit free agency, while Verlander could exercise a $25 million player option or hit the market.
Left-hander Will Smith could also be a free agent, but the Astros hold a $13 million team option on him for next season.
Every other Astros pitcher is set to return next season, to further torture the Mariners and the rest of the league.
With so many of their pitchers coming back for another year, the Astros are primed for yet another season as the unquestioned favorites to win the AL West and perhaps earn a spot in the ALCS for a seventh consecutive season.
“We’ve got a great team, and we have a young team,” pitcher Lance McCullers said. “We’ve got guys who are not even in arbitration, and guys who are just breaking into [arbitration]. These windows, you never know how long they are going to last. We’ve done a great job as an organization bringing in the right people to help continue the success we have.”
McCullers started Saturday’s game for Houston and pitched six shutout innings. He was followed by Hector Neris, Montero, Ryan Pressly, Bryan Abreu, Ryne Stanek, Hunter Brown and Luis Garcia.
Only twice did the Mariners put more than one base runner aboard in an inning, as McCullers walked two batters in the second, and three Seattle hitters reached in the ninth.
“Our pitching staff did a heck of a job here,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “[Seattle’s] did a heck of a job, especially tonight on us. It’s hard to hold somebody scoreless for that long on both sides. This is some team. These guys they grind and grind and grind, and sooner or later, we broke though.”
Mariners pitchers also put up an outstanding performance, with 20 strikeouts and just one earned run and one walk allowed over 18 innings. But when Jeremy Pena’s homer in the top of the 18th sailed over the center-field wall, Seattle’s offense couldn’t muster a response.
“The pitching did a really good job,” Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez said. “We did our best, we never gave up, but it is what it is. … We are so proud of both sides, you know. Houston did a really great job, and we did a really good job, too.”
Luis Garcia got the win for Houston, striking out six batters and allowing just two hits over five innings of work.
Houston’s bullpen allowed just three hits over the final nine innings of the game.
“None of this or that would be possible if our pitching staff didn’t keep us in the ballgame,” Pena said. “They dominated all game, [Seattle’s] pitching staff dominated all game, and yeah, these guys have done it all year.”
Frame after frustrating frame, the Mariners offense was sent packing by a Houston pitching staff that had all the answers. For a Seattle team that came through with late-inning dramatics so many times this season, Houston’s lockdown pitching spelled the end of the line in 2022
“We weren’t able to get anything going offensively; their pitching was phenomenal today as well,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said. “We kept putting the zero up there and putting the zero up there, and you think we’re going to be able to break through, because we have so many times.
“We’re accustomed to playing those tight games and finding a way, but there were no errors made in that game. That is a big-league game, the pitching and the defense that was firing out there, we just weren’t able to put anything together. Not for lack of effort, and you’ve got to give the other team a lot of credit. They pitched great, and they played a good series. They beat us.”