Mariners continue dominance over Astros that’s lasted 3 years

When the Seattle Mariners broke their long playoff drought in 2022, it was a familiar foe that showed them the exit from the postseason: the Houston Astros.

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Houston swept Seattle in three games in an American League Division Series, then went on to win its second World Series title that fall.

Despite the loss in the ALDS, the M’s made it clear they were coming for the Astros, as all three of those games were quite close. Then the Mariners showed the following season that were figuring out exactly how to beat Houston.

And now here in 2026 as the defending AL West champs, the Mariners just proved they’re the team the Astros need to worry about, not the other way around.

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By wrapping up an impressive four-game sweep at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park, the Mariners just took a big step toward taking the tiebreaker advantage over the Astros this season. Not only that, but the M’s just earned their third straight series victory over the Astros while extending their winning streak against Houston to seven games.

Seattle’s dominance against the Astros doesn’t stop there, though.

In the 3 1/2 years since that 2022 ALDS matchup, the Mariners have a combined 29-14 record against the Astros. They’ve won the season series against Houston in every year since 2023. And in that same period, the Mariners have won 10 separate series against Houston, where the Astros have only won three.

For a long time in the AL West, the Astros were the big bad wolf, and the Mariners never seemed quite up to the challenge against them. But clearly, something changed in 2023. It may not have immediately taken hold in the standings – the M’s missed the playoffs in both ’23 and ’24 while the Astros continued to reach the postseason. But last season, it all came together as Seattle won its first division title in 24 years while Houston didn’t qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

The start of this year may not have been great for the M’s, who are just 8-9 after Monday’s win, but it appears Friday was a turning point. That’s when they stopped a five-game losing streak. When they started a new winning streak that’s now reached four games. And when they matched up with a team that they’ve had the number of for over three years now: the Houston Astros.

More on the Seattle Mariners

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• Mariners Minors Check-In: Who’s off to hot starts
• Logan Gilbert dazzles in his deepest start in over a year
• J.P. ties Seattle Mariners record with another walkoff hit

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