THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Mariners will need all the 'It’ factor it can muster against Astros

“We have really deep pitching. And we have the ‘It’ factor.”

—Scott Servais

OK, pitching we understand.

Seattle has plenty, both in the rotation and the bullpen.

But what, exactly, could be this “It” thing that Servais has mentioned when explaining the Mariners’ confidence in the American League playoffs?

The manager doesn’t normally deal in mystical references when assessing baseball teams.

Servais is a straightforward guy, almost the last person who would be counting on an “It” factor to help him survive a postseason series.

Unfortunately, the skipper hasn’t offered any further explanation since his reference to “It” — which he brought up immediately prior to the Mariners waltzing into Toronto and sweeping the favored Blue Jays in two wildly different games.

Luis Castillo put the Jays completely to sleep in a 4-0 breeze, and then Seattle blew down an 8-1 deficit to win 10-9 on ninth-inning doubles by Cal Raleigh and Adam Frazier.

Ho, hum.

“Next stop, y’all know where we are going,” Servais bellowed at his celebrating players in the clubhouse.

“It ain’t going to be easy.”

UM, NO …

It ain’t.

Servais did not mention the city, nor the team, that pops up today in the first game of the AL Division Series.

It was utterly unnecessary.

The Houston Astros have basically pummeled the M’s over the last few seasons, and the beatings have been particularly brutal at Minute Maid Park.

Can you stomach the numbers?

Just this once?

Right, the Mariners are 49-102 against the Astros since 2015, which seems almost competitive compared to their nightmares in Houston over that same stretch (24-52).

What’s amazing is that the Mariners actually went 7-2 at Minute Maid in 2018, the last season before Seattle’s “step-back” plan.

Apparently, that ’18 season infuriated the Astros, who beat Seattle in all 10 games at home the following year.

Anyhow, you get the gist of this.

The Astros have been very, very good for a while now — and beyond all that success, they’re still despised by the rest of baseball for the garbage-can cheating scandal, plus a perceived arrogance and lack of remorse.

Nobody likes the Astros, and furthermore …

The Mariners’ displeasure with Houston goes even beyond all the obvious stuff.

These teams dislike each other on a personal level, and that’s a wild understatement.

Pitches have been thrown at hitters, some with scary accuracy, and ugly words have been exchanged in series after series.

There’s no reason to think the two clubs are going to like the other any more in a gut-check playoff matchup.

SO, MAYBE that brings us back to the “It” factor.

Perhaps Servais believes, in his heart of hearts, that the time has come for someone to knock the Astros — who are aiming for their sixth straight AL Championship Series — off their lofty perch.

Perhaps Servais is certain that this time, with THIS team, they can burn down Houston just as they did to Toronto.

If he’s right, logic suggests it will require the Mariners to beat Justin Verlander in today’s opener — no mean feat, since Verlander is 18-4 with a league-leading 1.75 ERA.

Oh, and no one has homered off the guy in 58 2/3 innings.

Seattle will counter with Logan Gilbert (13-6, 3.20 ERA), who hasn’t pitched in 10 days.

Gilbert had the most success of any Mariners starter against the Astros, holding them to a .228 batting average in four starts.

One wild card (pardon the phrasing) is Castillo, who has not faced Houston and gets the starting assignment in the second game on Thursday.

Servais’ “It” factor must surely be something to quiet a robust Houston offense that helped win 106 games.

We tend to think of the Mariners having had a successful and exciting season, which is true, but …

They finished 16 games behind the Astros in the AL West.

There were good reasons for that, and Seattle must now confront them again this week.

However it goes in the torture chamber of Minute Maid, the Mariners absolutely will host Game 3 on Saturday — the first playoff game in Seattle for 21 years.

Ah, do you suppose …

T-Mobile Park could be the “It” factor?

Yes or no on that one, the Mariners still must win in Houston to advance.

“We’ve played some crazy games down there,” Servais said. “They’ve had our number for a few years. We played a little bit better at times this year.

“They’re really good. We understand that. We are really good. We respect everybody in the game.

“I know I certainly do. I know how hard this is. But our club fears no one. I truly believe that.”

Let’s go, then.

Maybe Houston will have an “It” problem.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”