Who are starting pitchers for Mariners vs. Astros in ALDS?

The Seattle Mariners will take on the top-seeded Houston Astros in the American League Divisional Series in the 2022 MLB playoffs. The No. 5 Mariners took down the No. 4 Toronto Blue Jays in dramatic fashion on Saturday, coming back down 8-1 in the game to win 10-9. Seattle will now be tasked with dispatching the Astros, who finished first in the AL West and with the best record in the AL.

Let’s take a look at the starting pitchers for the best-of-5 series.

Mariners vs. Astros starting pitchers

Seattle

Game 1: Logan Gilbert
Game 2: Luis Castillo
Game 3: TBD
Game 4: TBD
Game 5: TBD

Update — The Mariners have announced Gilbert as the starter for Game 1, as expected.

The Mariners have yet to announce any starters for their series with the Astros. Seattle is, of course, coming off the Wild Card series win, so chances are they’ll take a little bit of time to figure this out. Chances are Logan Gilbert will start Game 1 and then the normal rotation will go from there. Luis Castillo would be ready to go for Game 2 while Robbie Ray would follow in Game 3. The M’s may be able to start Gilbert in Game 4 if the season is on the line. Otherwise George Kirby or Marco Gonzales would end up starting before going back to Castillo in Game 5.

Houston

Game 1: Justin Verlander
Game 2: Framber Valdez
Game 3: Lance McCullers Jr.
Game 4: TBD
Game 5: TBD

The Astros know that Verlander will pitch Game 1. Beyond that is undetermined at this point. It could be any combination of Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. The Astros also have Luis Garcia, who could end up starting. We may see Javier end up in the bullpen as the long reliever or in an opener role. If the Astros take care of business in three games, we won’t see Verlander twice. It’ll be interesting to see if Verlander would come back for Game 4 or Game 5. In the even Houston is trailing, Verlander definitely gets back in there for Game 4.