Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview versus Houston Astros

Mar 20, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher

(50) throws the ball against the Chicago Cubs at Cubs Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Initial Thoughts:

Ever heard the song Free Fallin’? It’s been covered by lots of famous musicians like John Mayer. It’s a catchy song and, at this juncture in the young season, could very well be the anthem for these Seattle Mariners.

We as fans were all on top of the world when the M’s started the year 3-0. If you take away the 5-1 record against the LA Angels this season, the M’s are 2-11 against everyone else. And that everyone else includes the Miami Marlins and the Houston Astros.

I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever seen confidence shoot so high then get cut down so quickly. The hope has to be that when the starting pitchers return from injury, this team will start to stabilize.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners (7-12) – losers of 7 straight.

Houston Astros (6-14)

Time of game: 7:10 PM Pacific. Location: Seattle, Washington.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Mariners: Erasmo Ramirez RHP (1-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Collin McHugh RHP (0-0, -.– ERA).

EDGE: I really can’t say. Pocket Rocket has been awful since his first start of the season– he couldn’t even get through three innings in his last start against the Texas Rangers. McHugh was just called up from Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City to replace starter Scott Feldman, who was placed on the 15-day DL with bicep tendonitis). When it comes down to it, Ramirez has been bad and McHugh had a 4.50 ERA in Triple-A. Flip a coin if you want.

Probable Lineups:

Mariners:

Abraham Almonte 8

Dustin Ackley 7

Robinson Cano 4

Corey Hart DH

Justin Smoak 3

Michael Saunders 9

Kyle Seager 5

Mike Zunino 2

Brad Miller 6

Of note: After all his adamant talk about keeping Ackley and Zunino at the bottom of the lineup for a whole season, skipper Lloyd McClendon dropped Miller to the nine-hole and moved Ackley up to the two-slot. The team batting average is plummeting; this team needs to collectively start hitting again.

Astros:

Jose Altuve 4

Dexter Fowler 8

Jason Castro 2

George Springer 9

Marc Krauss 3

Alex Presley 7

Matt Dominguez DH

Marwin Gonzalez 5

Jonathan Villar 6

Of note: If it’s any consolation, the Astros’ offense is almost as bad as the Mariners’ offense. It’s like two inept kids trying to beat each other up by slap boxing. There’s a reason so many teams picked these two teams to finish 4th and 5th in the AL West.

Keys to Mariner Victory:

1) Patience at the plate. Last night Mariners hitters struck out 14 times in nine innings. And walked once. That’s no good for a Major League baseball team. If that cannot be rectified tonight, look for another check in the loss column for these floundering Mariners.

2) Fundamental baseball. The Mariners have been fielding too many errors of late. Felix Hernandez gave up 6 runs in 7 innings last night– only 2 of them earned because of costly errors in the field. It’s one thing to lose a game when the other team outplays you. It’s another when you play yourself out of the game with stupid mistakes.

Final Thoughts:

The bandwagon that was being built the first week of the season has been dismantled and scrapped for parts. Dedicated fans were saying ‘I told you so’ after the first week; now their heads are buried deep in the sand. If the M’s cannot come back and win this series against the Astros, the chorus of  ‘when do the Seahawks start?’ will only get louder.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 5, Astros 3.