One Glaring Issue That Stands Out From Seattle Mariners' Series Loss to Astros

The Seattle Mariners dropped three of four games in Houston over the weekend against the division-rival Astros. With the losses, the M's are 29-23 on the season. And though they still lead the American League West, the lead is down to just 1.5 games entering play on Monday.

The quick rush to judgment is that the Astros are better than the Mariners and that they are going to just bully their way into another division title this season, casting the Mariners aside, but I don't think that's necessarily true.

After losing Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker in the offseason, the Astros are diminished offensively. Furthermore, the continued arm issues for Cristian Javier, Luis Garcia and Hayden Wesneski are real problems and the pitching staff isn't complete as a result of it.

I don't really think the Astros are better than the M's, but what we did learn is that they are a bad matchup for Seattle.

One of Seattle's biggest weaknesses right now is the lineup it puts out against left-handed pitching. The more Mitch Garver and Donovan Solano lineups, and the fewer Jorge Polanco, Rowdy Tellez lineups, is an issue for Seattle. The Astros started two lefties in this series and have four lefties in the bullpen, all of which helps to neutralize the M's newfound offensive success. Now, Garver did have a two-RBI double on Sunday, and Solano had three hits in two games, but the M's have less power when they are in there.

If we learned anything this weekend it's that the Mariners need help against southpaws, and perhaps that comes from a Tyler Locklear promotion, and perhaps it comes from a future trade, but it needs to come from somewhere.

The Mariners are back in action on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. PT against the Washington Nationals.