Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview at the Texas Rangers

Apr 14, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) hits an rbi single during the sixth inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Initial Thoughts:

After the Seattle Mariners bats woke up in last nights 6th inning, the M’s won handily 7-1 behind a great starting effort by Roenis Elias.

Tonight, with spot-start call-up Blake Beavan on the mound, the M’s may need a repeat strong offensive output for back-to-back victories.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners (7-5)

Texas Rangers (6-7)

Time of game: 5:10 PM Pacific. Location: Arlington, Texas.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Mariners: Blake Beavan (0-0, -.– ERA) vs. Robert Ross Jr. (0-0, 1.74 ERA).

EDGE: Push. Beavan has been up and down between Triple-A Tacoma and the Mariners the last few seasons. Ross, now a converted reliever, is pitching in a starting role because the Rangers are more depleted than the M’s at the starting pitcher position. It’s hard to say who will show up and how; though there is potential for Beavan to have a good outing.

Lineups:

Mariners:

Abraham Almonte 8

Brad Miller 6

Robinson Cano 4

Justin Smoak 3

Corey Hart DH

Kyle Seager 5

Michael Saunders 9

Dustin Ackley 7

Mike Zunino 2

Of note: Zunino smacked his 3rd home run of the season last night, and is being a productive run producer with Ackley getting on-base ahead of him. If these two continue playing hot, and guys like Almonte and Hart continue to struggle, they could be moved up in the lineup sooner than later.

Rangers

Shin-Soo Choo 7

Elvis Andrus 6

Adrian Beltre 5

Prince Fielder 3

Alex Rios 9

Michael Choice DH

J.P Arencibia 2

Leonys Martin 8

Josh Wilson 6

Of note: Fielder, now batting .176 on the season, is the only Ranger with more than one hit against the M’s last night. The team managed only 7 hits, though they did walk on four occasions.

Keys to Mariner Victory:

1) Beavan keeping the ball down. Simple statement: if Blake Beavan keeps the ball down the M’s have a chance to win this game. If he doesn’t, the Mariners could be pouring gasoline on a run-fire as early as the first inning.

2) No more Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde offense. The last five or six games have gone back and forth between big scoring outputs and near to legitimate shutouts. The M’s will need to stay alive, be patiently aggresive, and put at least 5 on the board for the win.

Other Notes:

Hector Noesi, everyone’s favorite Mariner to hate, pitched against his former team last night. And of course, in 2.1 innings of work he allowed on 1 hit and no earned runs. What are the odds of that?

Final Thoughts:

Runs will be scored on both sides tonight with uncertain starting pitching on the hill. The question will be which squad can limit the damage the longest, and delay that dreadful call to the bullpen.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 5, Rangers 4.