The Mariners took 2 of 3 from the Astros in their home series in May. Now they travel to Houston where they have had very little success in the past. Left-hander Robbie Ray starts for the Mariners today. He has been consistently average this season. He still gets his strikeouts, but his ERA for May was 5.24. He has struggled on the road this year.

The Astros are 7-3, and very tough to beat at home. While they are surprisingly just average on offense this year, they are a very robust 14-4 vs. left-handers. Today’s starter, Javier, has only 6 starts this year. He had one poor outing, but otherwise has been exceptional, giving up just 2 runs in his last 3 starts. His only negative is that he doesn’t generally throw for length. No matter. The Astros have the best bullpen in the league, and it is in fine form at the moment.

The Mariners’ pen has struggled to an ERA of over 4.00 for the season and are just 4.23 over their last 10 games.

The Astros are very tough vs lefties, and Ray, this year at least, cannot be considered a premier starter. The Mariners have had no previous success vs Javier, little success in Houston, and there is no comparison between the two teams’ relief corps. Take the Astros to win today.