The Mariners come to Daikin Park at 21-22, the Astros sit at 16-27, and Seattle has won 8 in a row against Houston dating back into last season. That is a franchise record against the Astros, and the way these two rosters look right now, it is hard to see the streak ending tonight.
Bryce Miller makes his 2026 debut after missing the entire season to this point with a left oblique strain suffered back in spring training. The 0.00 ERA next to his name is a cosmetic — this is essentially a spring start dropped into a division game. Seattle will be on a short leash with him and a thin bullpen behind it, with Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Jose Ferrer all unavailable.
On the other side, Lance McCullers Jr. carries a 7.41 ERA into this start and has been a big reason Houston is buried in the AL West. He has not pitched deep into games, the walks are stacking up, and the rotation has been chewing through a bullpen that was already running on fumes before Hunter Brown landed on the 60-day IL.
The injury sheet in Houston is its own story. Carlos Correa is done for the year after ankle surgery, Jeremy Pena is rehabbing a hamstring, Jake Meyers and Yainer Diaz are out, and Josh Hader is still on a rehab assignment. That is a lineup and a bullpen missing most of its load-bearing pieces, against a Seattle team that just keeps finding ways to beat them.
- Day-To-DayTeddy McGraw SP — McGraw is working his way back from right elbow issues, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
- 10-Day-ILPatrick Wisdom 1B — The Mariners placed Wisdom on the 10-day injured list Friday due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to Wednesday.
- 10-Day-ILVictor Robles RF — Robles (pectoral) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.
- 10-Day-ILWill Wilson 3B — The Mariners placed Wilson on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a fractured left thumb.
- 15-Day-ILMatt Brash RP — Brash (lat) will throw a bullpen session Monday, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.
- paternityJose Ferrer RP — The Mariners placed Ferrer on the paternity leave list Monday.
- 15-Day-ILBryce Miller SP — Miller (oblique) will return from the injured list to start Wednesday's game against the Astros, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports
- 15-Day-ILGabe Speier RP — The Mariners placed Speier on the 15-day injured list Monday with left shoulder inflammation, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
- Day-To-DayWalker Janek C — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Janek on its 7-day injured list Sunday due to an unspecified injury.
- Day-To-DayLucas Spence OF — Double-A Corpus Christi placed Spence on its 7-day injured list April 22 due to an unspecified injury.
- 10-Day-ILJeremy Pena SS — Pena (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday, likely at Double-A Corpus Christi, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJake Meyers CF — Meyers (oblique) is slated to begin a rehab assignment this week, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILCarlos Correa SS — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILJoey Loperfido LF — The Astros announced Monday that Loperfido (quadriceps) has started light running and light baseball activity, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILTaylor Trammell CF — The Astros announced Monday that Trammell (groin) has begun a running progression in addition to taking part in light baseball activity, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
- 10-Day-ILYainer Diaz C — The Astros placed Diaz (oblique) on the 10-day injured list Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
The one card Houston can cling to: Cal Raleigh just finally snapped an 0-for-38 nightmare in this series, and the rest of the Mariners lineup has not exactly been mashing. If McCullers gives them anything close to a clean 5 innings, this becomes a coin flip. The problem is McCullers has not given anyone a clean 5 in weeks, and Seattle has already taken the first 6 head-to-heads this year. Mariners until proven otherwise.