Mariners watch paint dry, abruptly start paint fight, triumph 7-5

“It’s early” or not (it is), this weekend series was huge, and we all knew it. First time facing the hated Astros at a time where they look mortal in the midst of a four-game winning streak - as ugly as it may have looked - while debuting their City Connect uniforms? The narrative wrote itself. Last night was undeniably deflating, what with TOOTBLANs, unfortunate pitching sequences, and offensive struggles stealing defeat from the jaws of victory, but tonight was a new game. Marco Gonzales may not evoke a ton of hope against a righty-heavy, power-loaded Astros lineup, but any time the grizzled veteran squares off against a guy making his big league debut (the already meme’d-to-death J.P. France), it should make for a compelling product - and it delivered right out of the gate.

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