TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (77-79) will begin their final road trip of the regular season with the first game of two-game series against the Seattle Mariners (73-83) at T-Mobile Park.
RHP Cristian Javier (2-6, 5.31 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros, opposite RHP Logan Gilbert (12-10, 3.69 ERA).
EL REPTIL: RHP Cristian Javier is making his 12th start and 17th appearance of the season tonight. In his last three starts, he’s recorded a 2.20 ERA (4ER/16.1IP) with 15 strikeouts, a 0.98 WHIP
and a .161 opponent batting average. Has also had success against the Mariners in his career, posting a 2.87 ERA (12ER/37.2IP) with 37 strikeouts, a 1.09 WHIP and a .165 opponent batting average.
THE POSTSEASON CHASE: The Astros and Rangers are locked in a tight race down the stretch for the AL West with the two teams separated by just one game with six left to play. The Astros own the tiebreaker over the Rangers with a season series victory (9-4 record).
VS. THE M’S: This is the final series between the Astros and Mariners this season, with the two clubs last seeing each other from Aug. 14-16 at Daikin Park. The Astros have gone 2-9 vs. Seattle this season. The Astros also own an overall regular season record of 134-106 against the Mariners, including a 64-48 record at T-Mobile Park.
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the first game of a six-game road trip for the Astros. Since going 1-9 on the first road trip of the 2026 season, the Astros have gone 37-28 (.569) on the road since April 14, which ranks third in the AL in that span.
SUNDAY RECAP: The Astros were defeated the Braves, 4-2 at Daikin Park on Sunday afternoon. RHP Hunter Brown allowed three hits and two walks with a season-high tying 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings. DH Jose Altuve (2×4, HR, RBI) and C Yainer Diaz (2×4, HR, RBI) provided the offense for the Astros with both of them recording a solo home run.
GOIN’ DEEP: The Astros have hit 209 homers as a team this year and have hit 200-plus homers in a single season for the 10th time in franchise history (last, 222 HR in 2023). The Astros rank second in the AL in home runs this season behind only the Yankees (217).
TWO-OUT MAGIC: The Astros lead the American League in two-out runs with 307 on the season, trailing only the Cubs (329) in the Majors. 3B Isaac Paredes has led this effort, as he is tied for the Major League lead with 44 two-out RBI, with CHC CF Pete Crow-Armstrong.
FOR THREE!: 2B Jose Altuve went 3×4 on Saturday night for his 226th career three-hit game, which is the Astros franchise record. He surpassed Hall of Famer 2B Craig Biggio (225 three-hit games).
THE CASE FOR THE MVP: DH Yordan Alvarez is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award. Alvarez leads the American League in OPS (1.027), slugging percentage (.597), OBP (.430), batting average (.313), total bases (324), walks (105), IBB (32) and extra-base hits (73). He also ranks second in home runs (40), second in RBI (99), third in hits (170), tied for fourth in runs (98), and tied for fourth in doubles (32).
ROSTER MOVES: OF Jorge Barrosa has been outrighted to Triple A Sugar Land. He was designated for assignment on Saturday. Also RHP Mike Burrows was returned from his rehab assignment yesterday.
THE FIREMAN: LHP Josh Hader has converted 26 consecutive save chances to open his season, which is the Astros record. Should Hader finish the season without a blown save, he would become the seventh pitcher in MLB history to post 26-plus saves without a blown save. The last Major Leaguer to do so was RHP Ken Giles in 2018 (26 SV).
RACKING UP K’S: RHP Bryan Abreu has posted 527 career strikeouts, which ranks fourth among relievers in Astros history. He’s closing in on third-place RHP Dave Smith (529), needing only two strikeouts to match the Astros reliever from the 1980s. LHP Billy Wagner (694) and RHP Brad Lidge (557) sit atop that all-time list.
MOVIN’ ON UP: On Sunday, C Yainer Diaz went 2×4 with a solo home run. Marked his 57th career home run as a catcher, surpassing C Martin Maldonado for the third-most home runs as a catcher in Astros franchise history.
STRONG SEPTEMBERS: 3B Isaac Paredes has a .950 OPS this month to go along with a team-leading 17 RBI, which ranks tied for second in the AL. C Yainer Diaz is also having a strong September, as he’s hitting .357 (20×56) with three homers, seven RBI and a .961 OPS in 17 games (14 starts) this month.
TUVE VS. THE MARINERS: 2B Jose Altuve has hit .312 (255×818) with 49 doubles, 21 homers, 99 RBI and an .827 OPS in 201 career games against the Mariners. He already ranks third all-time in hits vs. SEA, trailing only Cal Ripken Jr. (261) and Michael Young (259).
STARTING STRONG: In the Astros 18 games in September, their starters have combined for a 2.90 ERA (28ER/87IP), which is the third-lowest ERA in the American League for the month behind only the Yankees (2.64 ERA) and Rays (2.81 ERA) rotations.
POSTSEASON CREDENTIALS: All media who wish to cover potential Astros postseason home games in the Wild Card Series and ALDS must apply for credentials on MLB’s credentialing system. The events are now open with a deadline set for Sunday, Sept. 27. ALCS and World Series credential applications are also live online.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!: The Astros would like to wish IF Carlos Correa and IF Jeremy Peña a Happy Birthday today.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – The Astros clinch their third straight AL West division title on a Sunday afternoon with a 13-5 victory over the Angels at Minute Maid Park. CF George Springer (3×5, 4RBI) led the way, as he smashed his way to just the 14th three-homer game in club history. RHP Justin Verlander picked up his 20th victory of the year by tossing 5.0 innings, allowing just two runs.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, September 22, 8:40 p.m. CT
Location: T-Mobile Park, Seattle, WA
TV: SCHN
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
