Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview at the Braves

Initial Thoughts:

What a come from behind win by the M’s last night! Erasmo Ramirez, who replaced struggling Brandon Maurer in the rotation, provided the exact same poor-quality pitching we’ve become accustomed to from the number 5 starter in the rotation.

He gave up 4 runs in the 4th inning, but the Mariners clawed back, tied it, then took the lead on a John Buck 2-run homer late.

If the season ended today, the Mariners would be in a playoff for the second Wild-Card spot. Just saying.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners: 30-28.

Atlanta Braves: 31-26.

Game time: 9:10 AM Pacific time. Atlanta, Georgia. Turner Field.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Seattle Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (3-2, 3.09 ERA) v. Atlanta Braves LHP Mike Minor (2-3, 3.41 ERA)

Edge: ‘Kuma. Even though he gave up 5 runs in his 6 innings against the Tigers, ‘Kuma remains a formidable number 2 starter. Minor has been solid on the season, and this matchup could well shape up to a good ol’ fashioned pitchers duel.

Projected Lineups:

Mariners:

James Jones 8

Stefen Romero 9

Robinson Cano 4

Justin Smoak 3

Kyle Seager 5

Mike Zunino 2

Dustin Ackley 7

Brad Miller 6

Hisashi Iwakuma 1

Of Note: Saunders, Cano, John Buck, and Miller checked in with multi-hit games last night. Miller has been solid in the last 3 games, driving in runs in his last three contests and raising his average to .173, which is impressive considering he was in the .150s not too long ago.

Braves:

Jason Heyward 9

B.J. Upton 8

Freddie Freeman 3

Justin Upton 7

Evan Gattis 2

Chris Johnson 5

Tommy La Stella 4

Andrelton Simmons 6

Mike Minor 1

Of Note: the Braves scored 5 runs while stringing together 10 hits and 3 walks. However, true to their form, they struck out 13 times in the 9 innings of baseball. Freeman, who went 1-4 and now has a batting average of .296, is shaping up to be the franchise-type player the Braves invested in.

Other Notes:

Taijuan Walker had a rehab start yesterday:

The Mariners certainly shouldn’t be rushing him to the Majors. But, seeing how Ramirez and Maurer have pitched so far this season, almost anything Walker brings to the mound will be better than what the Mariners have been getting.

Final Thoughts:

Why not extend this winning streak to 5 games? Matt posted a great article about how the Mariners beat good teams and lose to bad ones, and Atlanta is a good ball club.

Iwakuma can only be bad so many starts in a row, so look for him to settle in early and deal against this Braves lineup apt to strike out frequently. Who knows, maybe ‘Kuma will check in with a bloop single to help out his cause too.

A low-scoring affair it will be, but one that falls in the Mariners favor.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 3, Braves 2.