Projected Pitching Matchups For Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros Series

The Mariners could have a much-needed advantage on the pitching front against their American League West rivals.

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert throws during a game against the Detroit Tigers on April 1 at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners are only 10 games into 2025. But their season might already be at a crossroads.

The Mariners are 3-7 going into their second homestand of the season. They'll start that stint against the Houston Astros at 6:40 p.m. PT on Monday at T-Mobile Park.

And Seattle might get a couple breaks for the series against Houston. Let's take a look at the pitching matchups:

Monday, April 7 — Logan Gilbert (Seattle) vs. Hayden Wesneski (Houston)

Gilbert is off to a solid start to the season. Through two starts, he has a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings pitched with one quality start. He's tied for third in the league with 18 strikeouts and is holding batters to a .163 average.

Logan Gilbert's 9th and 10th Ks. pic.twitter.com/8x1YUq81nl

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2025

He'll take on Wesneski, who'll make his second start of the season. Wesneski was one of the three players the Astros acquired in the Dec. 13 deal that sent outfielder Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs.

In his one start so far, Wesneski threw five innings and struck out six batters. The reliever-turned-starter allowed three earned runs on two hits (one home run). The Mariners will need all the offense they can get with outfielder Victor Robles' injury, and they might have an opening against Wesneski.

Tuesday, April 8 — Luis M. Castillo (Seattle) vs. Framber Valdez/TBA (Houston)

Seattle's three-time All-Star pitcher will take the mound Tuesday coming off his first quality start of 2025. He threw seven innings and struck out five batters against the Detroit Tigers on April 2. He walked two batters and allowed two earned runs on three hits (one home run).

Luis Castillo, Filthy 87mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/bibh2WywSD

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 2, 2025

If everything goes as planned, Houston will send out left-handed Framber Valdez to start. But that's still not certain. According to a report from The Athletic's Astros' beat writer Chandler Rome, Valdez and Hunter Brown are dealing with an illness.

Asked why the Astros’ starting pitchers are TBA for Tuesday and Wednesday in Seattle, Joe Espada said the Astros have some guys “under the weather.” Framber Valdez’s turn in the rotation is Tuesday and Hunter Brown’s is Wednesday. Both of them are at Target Field today.

— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) April 6, 2025

Valdez has a 3.75 ERA this season in two starts. He's struck out 13 batters in 12 innings pitched and has allowed five earned runs on eight hits (two home runs).

Wednesday, April 9 — Luis F. Castillo (Seattle) vs. Hunter Brown/TBA (Houston)

The second Luis Castillo in the Mariners rotation made the first major league start of his career against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. He showed promising stuff, but wasn't able to put together a clean outing. He struck out two in three innings pitched, walked two and allowed three earned runs on six hits.

Brown is the second Houston starter aside from Valdez dealing with an illness that makes his status for the series uncertain.

Brown has a 3.00 ERA through his pair of starts this season. He's fanned 15 batters in 12 innings pitched and has allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits (one home run).

Seattle is 3-7 going into Monday and is yet to win a series this season. Without Robles and possibly Jorge Polanco for at least a game, the pitching staff will have to be almost perfect in order to right the ship.

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