Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview at Miami Marlins

Sep 17, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(37) pitches in the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Initial Thoughts:

I don’t want to talk about last night’s game. Fortunately it started at 1 am here in Paris, so I only watched the first inning and a half before turning off my computer and going to bed. Not the most pleasant thing to wake up to on Easter morning though.

But alas! and thank God, today is a new day in the baseball world. The M’s play a day game in Miami in hopes of not getting swept out of the series by one of the worst teams in baseball.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners (7-10)

Miami Marlins (8-10)

Time of game: 10:10 AM Pacific. Location: Miami, Florida.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Mariners: Brandon Maurer RHP (0-0, -.– ERA) vs. Kevin Slowey RHP (0-0, 4.38 ERA).

EDGE: Wash. There just isn’t enough information yet on the 2014 versions of these players. Maurer will be on a pitch count. Slowey is just now being converted to starter because the Marlins’ rotation has been struggling so much. If Maurer looks like his 2013 self, uh oh. But if the M’s can drive up Slowey’s pitch count, the Marlins have a notoriously bad ‘Pen.

Lineups:

Mariners:

Abraham Almonte 8

Willie Bloomquist 5

Robinson Cano 4

Corey Hart 9

Dustin Ackley 7

Justin Smoak 3

Nick Franklin 6

John Buck 2

Brandon Maurer 1

Of note: Ackley and Zunino were the only two Mariners with hits last night… Henderson Alvarez was perfect until Ackley broke it up in the top of the 6th inning. This Mariners offense is floundering right now, already shutout in 4 of the first 17 games of the season.

Marlins:

Christian Yelich 7

Marcell Ozuna 8

Giancarlo Stanton 9

Garrett Jones 3

Casey McGehee 5

Jarrod Saltalamacchia 2

Derek Dietrich 4

Adeiny Hechavarria 6

Kevin Slowey 1

Of note: They are continuing to rake against Mariners pitching. And against pitching in general this season. These last five games for the Mariners have really exposed the lack of depth on the roster, a concern that will hopefully be alleviated when the three injured starters return to the rotation.

Keys to Mariner Victory:

1) Get on base. The Mariners are striking out way too much– see JJ’s sabermetrics saturday post on said topic. The team batting average is plummeting, the walks are down, and the strikeouts are concerning.

2) Break out of the funk. Too many guys in the lineup are in a funk right now: Seager can’t hit, Miller and Almonte are whiffing at the top of the order, and even Cano’s batting average is descending. If the M’s can manufacture a win today, it would go a long way psychologically for this young team.

Final Thoughts:

If there was a must-win game this early in the season, this would be one of them. After such a promising start to the season, a six game losing streak would wreck any confidence these guys had to start the year. And moreover, having a series at home against the Astros starting monday, a win today could be the start of a win streak going into the home slate.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 7, Marlins 3.