Astros' Maldonado: Mariners Sweep A 'Slap In the Face'

The Houston Astros had a golden opportunity when their three-game series with the Seattle Mariners started on Friday, though they didn’t know it at the time.

The Texas Rangers — just 2.5 games ahead of the Astros at the start of the series — were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in Arlington, Texas, in a series that ended Sunday.

Opportunity knocked. But the Astros couldn’t answer the door.

They were too busy getting swept themselves.

Now, the AL West race is as tight as it has been this season. The Rangers still lead by 2.5 games over the Astros. But, now the Mariners — who were 7.5 games back at the start of the week — are three games behind.

After Sunday’s 7-6 loss to the Mariners, the Astros had a team meeting. One of the players that spoke up was catcher Martin Maldonado. He didn’t mince words when he spoke to the media, including MLB.com, afterward.

He called the weekend a “slap in the face” and a “wake-up call.”

Will the Astros answer this call?

The AL West is clearly different than a season ago when the Astros won it by 16 games on their way to a World Series title. The Astros won 106 games a year ago.

The Astros (70-55) struggled under the weight of injuries for much of the first half of the season. But, in the past two months, the returns of players like second baseman Jose Altuve, outfielder Yordan Alvarez and pitcher José Urquidy have bolstered the overall depth. Outfielder Kyle Tucker is playing at an MVP level, but he missed the entire Mariners series due to an illness.

The Rangers (72-52) have engineered one of the best turnarounds in baseball, even without pitcher Jacob deGrom, who has been out for the season since early June. The Mariners (69-55) have had their own issues this season, but they’ve won eight of their last 10 games to get back in the race.

As of Monday, all three would be in the playoffs — the Rangers winning the division and both the Astros and the Mariners earning Wild Card berths.

But the season is far from over. And from Maldonado’s standpoint he doesn’t like what he’s seeing from his teammates, especially after a lost weekend in which the only positive was Altuve passing 2,000 career hits.

“The key will be better energy in the dugout, not being satisfied after you lose,” Maldonado said. “I feel like every team that comes here and plays us wants to beat us, and we didn’t make them earn it. We feel like we’re giving it away.”

Giving it away isn’t an option for the Astros right now. The Boston Red Sox are coming to town beginning on Monday. Boston (66-58) is on a tear, having swept the New York Yankees and winning seven of their last 10 games. The Red Sox are now just 3.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. They have something to play for. And, Boston faces the Astros seven times in the next 10 games.

The Astros see this as a moment they can’t let slip away.

“We’ll see what we’re made of,” the Astros’ Alex Bregman said to MLB.com.

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