The Seattle Mariners embark on the biggest series of the year this weekend when the Houston Astros come to T-Mobile Park for a three-game series.

After once leading the American League West by 10.0 games, the M’s lead is down to one heading into Friday night’s contest. The Mariners have slumped over the last month while the Astros have gotten hot, leading these two teams on this collision course.

The Mariners have played well against the Astros this year, going 5-2 thus far, but this is a different Astros team than we saw earlier.

The M’s will need to do a lot right in order to take the series against Houston, namely delivering on knocking in runners in scoring position. But in addition, they’ll need to make sure that they don’t let Astros’ slugger Yordan Alvarez beat them.

Alvarez is one of the most feared hitters in all of baseball and he’s done massive damage in his career against the Mariners. While it would be painful to let anyone beat you in a series with these high of stakes, it would be exceedingly poor decision-making if the M’s allowed Alvarez the chance to hurt them.

The 27-year-old Alvarez just made the All-Star Game for the third time this past week and is hitting .297 with 19 homers in 341 at-bats. Though he doesn’t have Kyle Tucker around him in the lineup right now, he’s incredibly dangerous.

In his career against the M’s, he’s hitting .303 with 14 home runs. He also had two crushing home runs against Seattle in the 2022 ALDS, helping end the M’s season.

We discussed the Alvarez-effect and much more about this series on the latest episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast, which dropped on Friday morning.

NEW PODCAST EPISODE IS OUT: The fourth episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast is now out! In this episode, we discuss how the Mariners can beat the Astros, what they need to not do in the series, Andres Munoz not getting in the All-Star Game and more, including our interview with Bryant Robinson, who directed the Julio Rodriguez documentary that recently aired on FS1. CLICK HERE:

BACK TO THE FUTURE: Thursday was the anniversary of the famed “Turn Ahead the Clock” game in which the Mariners played a futuristic contest against the Kansas City Royals. Here’s how it looked. CLICK HERE:

MOROSI ROASTED: MLB Network Insider Jon Morosi was roasted by Mariners fans on social media over a recent “report” ahead of the trade deadline. CLICK HERE:

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE:

LAFC at Seattle Sounders

Saturday, July 20 at 7:30pm PT

Dave and Bob talk about Devon Witherspoon cracking ESPN’s Top 10 list of best cornerbacks in the NFL and analyze what it would mean for the Seahawks if Tariq Woolen is able to return to the type of player he was during his rookie season. Do the Seahawks have the best cornerback duo in the NFL?

Listen to The Wyman & Bob Show weekdays from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports App, or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts.

More info on The Wyman & Bob Show here: https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/wyman-and-bob/

More Seahawks coverage on SeattleSports.com here: https://sports.mynorthwest.com/category/seahawks/