The Seattle Mariners came into the second half of the 2022 season red-hot, having won 14 consecutive games to end the first half.
But they ran into a bit of buzzsaw when their division rivals, the Houston Astros, came into town.
The defending American League champions swept Seattle and padded their lead in the AL West division, extending it to 13 games.
After the game, Astros reliever Ryan Pressly was asked about the significance of sweeping the Mariners after they had gotten to within nine games of Houston.
But Pressly said that it was inconsequential and that the Astros show up each day expecting to win, regardless of their opponent.
Astros insider Chandler Rome tweeted Pressly’s response.
Astros Focused On The Present
This is a smart take by Pressly.
He’s right that it really doesn’t matter who a team is playing, but that it’s important to show up every day with the expectation to win regardless of their opponent.
That’s a good mindset to be in for the Astros, who have held all the cards in the AL West for a long time.
If a team is going to win the AL West, they’ll have to go through Houston.
But it’s clear that Pressly and the Astros have that good competitor’s mentality about playing games, knowing that it’s important to play your best each day and beat whoever you’re playing.
And it’s not like the Mariners ever got that close.
Things can change, but it’s looking very likely that the Astros will once again take home the AL West title this year, which would be their fifth in the past six years.
Another World Series run is all that is on Pressly and his Astros teammates’ minds right now.
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