​SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 9: Yordan Alvarez #44 of the Houston Astros bats against the San Diego Padres during the first inning at Petco Park on August 9, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Meg McLaughlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Houston Astros haven’t played the Seattle Mariners since May 14. Seattle won 8-3. It clinched the season series for the Mariners, who have won 7 of the 8 games the two teams have played this season. That May 14 loss was significant on several fronts. Not only did the Mariners clinch the season series and hold the first tiebreaker between the two teams, but it sent Houston to it’s season low 11 games under .500. Houston was reeling, and in danger of crashing out of the season early.Embarrassed by their performance, the Astros rallied. They won 2 of 3 in the next series against the Texas Rangers, then took 7 of 10 on a road trip to get back to 6 under and stave off the Grim Reaper for the time being. Slowly but sure, the Astros would chip away at their record, getting closer to .500 without a sustained winning streak through the rest of May and through June. That Mariners series had a chance to bury the Astros. They were 11 under, losers of 5 of 6 and 7 of 10. The pitching was a wreck. Houston showed their tenacity and toughness, and fought itself out of the hole. Today, the Astros and Mariners will meet under very different circumstances. Houston now sits atop the division at 62-60, having gone from -11 to +2 over the three months since these teams last played. Seattle finds itself in 3rd place, 57-65. They are 8 games under and 5 out in the division. They are 6-15 since July 21, when they entered play at 51-50. Houston now has a chance to do to Seattle what the Mariners failed to do to Houston back in May. Bury them.On Hall of Fame Weekend at Daikin Park where the Astros will honor former players Alan Ashby and the late Phil Garner in to the Astros Hall of Fame, Houston can slam the door on the Mariners season. Send them to 11 games under .500, blast them 8 games out of the division with only 37 games left on their schedule. Drop them so far beneath the water it would take an Act of God for them to resurface.Yes, the Mariners would still be alive in the Wild Card race technically. They are currently 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot, but there are also 6 teams in between them and the 3rd Wild Card. Being swept this weekend would likely put the nail in the coffin for them there as well. It was after that loss to Seattle that the national media really started leaning in heavy to “the Astros are done” and trying to sell off the parts of the team to various contenders with mock trades. They underestimated the Astros resilience. As the creator of the phrase “No one gets off the mat like the Houston Astros”, I have learned to have nearly unwavering faith in Houston’s ability to rebound from hideous losses, losing streaks, slumps, etc. Even I lost enough faith in the