Houston Astros start second half with spotlight squarely on them
Jul 18, 2025, 12:48 pm
The Mariners host the Astros Friday night. Composite Getty Image.
The Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners return from the All-Star break with no time to ease in. Instead, the two top teams in the American League West jump straight into a three-game clash at T-Mobile Park that could shape the tone of the division race as the second half gets underway.
Houston enters the weekend at 56-40, holding a five-game edge over Seattle and holding off a division that refuses to go quietly. The Astros stumbled into the break with a 1-5 homestand, but their body of work across the first half, especially offensively, still makes them the standard in the West. Friday marks the eighth meeting between the clubs this year, with Houston currently holding a slight 4-3 edge in the season series.
The Astros hand the ball to lefty Brandon Walter (1-2, 3.98 ERA), a name that’s quietly become more relevant in a rotation still trying to stabilize. Walter has walked just two batters across his first 40 2/3 innings and carries a tidy 1.008 WHIP into Friday’s matchup. With the Astros still without Yordan Alvarez, Jeremy Peña, and Jake Meyers, they’ll need pitching to hold serve until reinforcements arrive, or deals are made.
The Mariners will counter with their ace, right-hander Luis Castillo (6-5, 3.41 ERA), who has been Seattle’s most consistent arm. Castillo has 93 strikeouts and has historically pitched well at home, where the Mariners are 25-21 this season. He’ll look to neutralize a Houston offense that, while banged up, is still dangerous, particularly when the ball leaves the yard. The Astros are 21-6 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Jose Altuve has been on a tear, going 16-for-37 over his last 10 games with four homers and 14 RBIs. He’s part of an Astros lineup that ranks ninth in OPS and first in batting average on the year. Isaac Paredes continues to provide pop with a team-best 19 home runs, and the team as a whole is hitting .269 over its last 10 games. But pitching has wobbled a bit lately, posting a 4.60 ERA in that same span.
Seattle, meanwhile, comes in having won six of 10, outscoring opponents by 17 runs across that stretch. Cal Raleigh continues to be a force in the middle of the order with 38 home runs and 82 RBIs, while J.P. Crawford has quietly sparked the lineup with a .341 average and six RBIs in his last 10 contests. The Mariners are also getting healthier on the mound, and their rotation,once thin, is now a looming threat.
It’s only July, and the cliché says it’s just another series. But with the trade deadline two weeks away and the division gap sitting at five games, both teams understand what this weekend could mean. A Seattle sweep tightens the race dramatically. A Houston series win could widen the gap enough to change the calculus in the front office war rooms.
The stakes are high, the rosters aren’t at full strength, and the calendar is only getting shorter. That’s the recipe for a classic Astros-Mariners showdown.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Mariners -134, Astros +113; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
Editor's note: This article will be updated after 3:30 PM once starting lineups are released.
___________________________
*ChatGPT assisted.
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Late fireworks flip the script in thrilling All-Star showdown
Jul 16, 2025, 10:57 am
The Houston Astros entered the 2025 MLB Draft with limited capital but a clear objective: find talent that can help sustain their winning ways without needing a full organizational reboot. With just under $7.2 million in bonus pool money and two forfeited picks, lost when they signed slugger Christian Walker, the Astros needed to be smart, aggressive, and a little bold. They were all three.
A swing on star power
With the 21st overall pick, Houston selected Xavier Neyens, a powerful left-handed high school bat from Mt. Vernon, Washington. At 6-foot-4, Neyens is raw but loaded with tools, a slugger with plus power and the kind of bat speed that turns heads.
He’s the Astros’ first high school position player taken in the first round in a decade.
If Neyens develops as expected, he could be the next cornerstone in the post-Altuve/Bregman era. Via: MLB.com:
It’s possible we’ll look back at this first round and realize that the Astros got the best power hitter in the class. At times, Neyens has looked like an elite hitter who’d easily get to that pop, and at times the swing-and-miss tendencies concerned scouts, which is why he didn’t end up closer to the top of the first round. He was announced as a shortstop, but his size (6-foot-4) and his arm will profile best at third base.
Their next big swing came in the third round with Ethan Frey, an outfielder/DH from LSU who was one of the most imposing college hitters in the country.
He blasted 13 home runs in the SEC and helped lead the Tigers to a championship.
Filling the middle
In the fourth round, the Astros grabbed Nick Monistere, an infielder/outfielder out of Southern Miss who won Sun Belt Player of the Year honors.
If Kendall likes the pick, I like the pick. https://t.co/NQKqEHFxtV
— Jeremy Branham (@JeremyBranham) July 14, 2025
He doesn’t jump off the page with tools, but he rakes, hitting .323 with 21 home runs this past season, and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
They followed that up with Nick Potter, a right-handed reliever from Wichita State. He projects as a fast-moving bullpen piece, already showing a mature approach and a “fastball that was regularly clocked in the upper-90s and touched 100 miles per hour.”
From there, Houston doubled down on pitching depth and versatility. They took Gabel Pentecost, a Division II flamethrower, Jase Mitchell, a high school catcher with upside, and a host of college arms, all in hopes of finding the next Spencer Arrighetti or Hunter Brown.
Strategy in motion
Missing multiple picks, Houston leaned into two things: ceiling and speed to the majors. Neyens brings the first, Frey and Monistere the second. And as they’ve shown in recent years, the Astros can develop arms with late-round pedigree into major league contributors.
The Astros didn’t walk away with flashy headlines, they weren’t drafting in the top 10. But they leave the 2025 draft with a clear direction: keep the farm alive with bats that can produce and arms that can fill in the gaps, especially with the club managing injuries and an aging core.
If Neyens becomes the slugger they hope, and if Frey or Monistere climbs fast, this draft could be another example of Houston turning limited resources into lasting impact.
You can see the full draft tracker here.
___________________________
*ChatGPT assisted.
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!