Mariners seek to claim series against sputtering Astros

For the second time in as many games this series, the Mariners' bullpen produced a shutdown performance that cemented a 10-2 road victory over the Astros on Tuesday and the ninth consecutive series win for Seattle over Houston.

Alex Hoppe and Domingo Gonzalez, who made his major league debut, combined to work three scoreless innings of relief on Tuesday after four Seattle relievers allowed two hits and one walk with six strikeouts over four scoreless frames in the series opener. The Mariners already have earned at worst a split of the four-game series, which they can clinch with a win on Wednesday.

"A lot of our guys feel good out there on the mound," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

"We've got some confidence that we've built in this building. We've won some big games and had a huge series here at the end of last year. I think that's where we feel good when we come out here."

Right-hander Bryce Miller (4-6, 5.68 ERA in 2025) will make his season debut for the Mariners on Wednesday.

Miller started the season on the injured list with an oblique strain. Across four rehab starts between Triple-A Tacoma and High-A Everett, Miller went 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. He tossed five shutout innings, allowing two hits and three walks and posted two strikeouts for Everett on May 6.

Miller is 4-1 with a 2.55 ERA across six career starts against the Astros. In his previous appearance against Houston, Miller tossed seven shutout innings in a 6-1 road win on Sept. 23, 2024, allowing two hits and two walks while recording five strikeouts.

Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (2-3, 7.41) is scheduled to start for the Astros. He logged a season-low 2 2/3 innings in a 12-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 6, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts. McCullers has surrendered 18 earned runs over his last 18 2/3 innings and four starts.

McCullers is 10-3 with a 3.46 ERA in 21 career starts against the Mariners. He did not factor into the decision of an 8-7 road loss to the Mariners on April 11 after allowing six runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 4 1/3 innings.

Before Tatsuya Imai returned to the Astros rotation on Tuesday, the club took measures to ease what has been a bumpy transition for the Japanese right-hander. Even before Imai landed on the 15-day injured list with arm fatigue on April 12, he discussed the difficulty he'd experienced in making the move from Japan to the major leagues, noting struggles both on and off the field.

Astros manager Joe Espada was hopeful that Imai would exit his fourth start with something positive to build upon. Instead, Imai allowed six runs in four innings while issuing three walks and hitting two batters.

The Astros expressed a goal for Imai to gain comfort on the mound.

"We're trying to create an environment where he can be himself," Espada said. "We're trying to do those things for him just to be him. Just go out there, relax and have fun. That's just been our message."

-Field Level Media