Astros Return Home to Face Mariners After Tough Series Loss

The Astros kick off their series with the Seattle Mariners on Monday after coming off a series loss on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.

The 2026 season has been riddled with injuries and pitching struggles and the Reds series was a microcosm of that. The series opened on a high note with a dominant 10-0 blowout win over the Reds.

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Mike Burrows had a standout game possibly the best of his career and four home runs highlighted the night as the offense finally looked like the dangerous lineup Houston knows it can be. It was a reminder of what this team is capable of when everything clicks. Unfortunately it was short lived as the Astros dropped the next two games and lost the series.

The second game Spencer Arrighetti pitched and so far this season has been the rock of the pitching staff as the injuries piled up. However Arrighetti broke his winning streak in Cincinnati.

Despite taking a 3-1 loss Arrighetti pitched well just like he has all season. He allowed only 1 earned run over 5.2 innings with 5 strikeouts maintaining a 1.88 ERA on the season but was let down by an error and a lifeless offense behind him, per MLB.

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The third and final game of the series, Kai-Wei Teng was on the mound. He threw three scoreless one-hit innings as an opener before allowing three runs in the fourth and Houston was shut out 5-0 to give Cincinnati the series.

For the series opener against the Mariners Peter Lambert will be the starting pitcher. Lambert has had some outstanding moments in the 2026 season and if he can maintain control and command of the game the Astros could start their series against the Mariners on a high note.

The Mariners are struggling too so this is far from an unwinnable series for Houston.

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The injury list is growing but the lineup still has plenty of bite. Jose Altuve leads things off with Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker forming a dangerous middle of the order. The series opener against the Reds showed the depth goes beyond just those names too with Zach Dezenzo, Zach Cole and Christian Vazquez all going deep alongside Alvarez in the 10-0 win.

The offense has the pieces, it just needs to put it together. If everything goes right the Astros could take this series but if things begin to unravel they will just add to their losing streak.