First pitch: Thursday, 8:10 p.m. ET
Line: Seattle +135, Houston -145, Total: 8.5

The Astros will be looking to complete a four-game sweep over the Mariners on Thursday.

Seattle is not off to the start that the team was hoping for this season, as the Mariners have dropped their first three games of the year. The Astros, meanwhile, are doing what many thought they would, as they made some significant improvements to their team in the offseason. Their young core is ready to compete at a high level, and they now have the veterans to help them continue to develop. On the mound in this game will be LHP Ariel Miranda (5-2, 3.54 ERA, 40 K in 2016) for the Mariners and RHP Joe Musgrove (4-4, 4.06 ERA, 55 K in 2016) for the Astros. Musgrove is one of Houston’s top prospects and the team is very excited about what he can add this season. He’ll hope to help the Astros continue their dominance over the Mariners, as they are 16-7 against Seattle over the past three seasons. One trend that favors the Mariners in this game is the fact that they are 22-12 against the money line in road games after two straight games without giving up a stolen base under manager Scott Servais. The Astros, meanwhile, are 59-29 against the money line in home games after three or more consecutive home games over the past three seasons.

The Mariners are hoping to get into the win column on Thursday and they will need a solid performance from Ariel Miranda in this one. In the lefty’s only start against Houston last year, he pitched seven innings and gave up only two earned runs. Miranda also struck out eight batters in that game, and the Mariners would surely sign up for another start just like that. Offensively, Seattle badly needs both 2B Robinson Cano (.298 BA, 39 HR, 103 RBI in 2016) and OF Nelson Cruz (.302 BA, 44 HR, 93 RBI in 2016) to wake up. The two of them are a combined 3-for-24 this season, and they need to start hitting soon. They combined to rack up 196 RBI last season, and the Mariners badly need them to start driving in runs. One positive note for Seattle is the fact that SS Jean Segura (.319 BA, 20 HR, 64 RBI in 2016) appears to be settling in nicely with his new team. He was 2-for-6 with a homer and two RBI against Houston on Wednesday, and it’s good that he is showing some of the same power from last year’s career year.

The Astros are off to a perfect start this season and OF George Springer (.261 BA, 29 HR, 82 RBI in 2016) has a lot to do with that. Springer drove in all of the Astros’ runs in a 5-3 win over this Mariners team on Wednesday. He was 2-for-7 with a double and a homer in that one, and he has already hit two bombs this season. Look for him to have another good game on Thursday, as Springer is better against lefties than he is righties. 2B Jose Altuve (.338 BA, 24 HR, 96 RBI in 2016) is also good against lefties, as he hit .306 with five homers and 23 RBI against them in 2016. As for the pitching, Musgrove would be doing just fine by turning in a quality start in this one. This offense takes a lot of pressure off the rotation, and Musgrove should be able to cruise here.