Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview Versus San Diego Padres

Initial Thoughts:

And the Mariners are streaking again. Kyle Seager provided early offense in the form of a 1st-inning, 3-run homer that put the Mariners ahead for good in the game. Starter Chris Young pitched 6 shutout innings against his former team, and Padres were held to only 5 hits in a 5-1 loss. Today is technically the end of this two-game series, with the next two shifting down south to San Diego. For some reason Major League Baseball is really pushing this whole Padres-M’s rivalry.

Game Details:

Seattle Mariners: 36-34. Last 10: 5-5. San Diego Padres: 29-41. Last 10: 2-8. Game Time: 12:40 PM Pacific. Seattle, Washington. Safeco Field.

MATCHUPS:

Pitching:

Seattle Mariners LHP Roenis Elias (5-5, 4.13 ERA) v. San Diego Padres LHP Eric Stultz (2-8, 5.79 ERA) EDGE: Elias. Even though Elias allowed 6 runs in his shortest outing of the season against the Yankees, he has still be a bright spot in the Mariners’ rotation, providing good depth and a left-handed starter. Stultz has struggled mightily this season, and looks to be a guy the M’s can hit if they can manage against a left-handed pitcher with their lefty-heavy lineup.

Projected Lineups:

Mariners:

Endy Chavez 9

James Jones 8

Robinson Cano 4

Kyle Seager 5

Jesus Montero DH

Logan Morrison 3

Mike Zunino 2

Cole Gillespie 7

Brad Miller 6

Of Note: Mariners hitters are continuing to show more patience at the plate: despite the 8 strikeouts in last night’s contest, Mariners hitters also walked 7 times. Miller hit a solo-homer, his 5th dinger of the season, though his average remains a paltry .179. Aside from Cano and the recently hot Seager, though, this team still struggles mightily on offense.

Padres:

Will Venable 9

Seth Smith 7

Carlos Quentin DH

Chase Headley 5

Yonder Alonso 3

Yasmani Grandal 2

Cameron Maybin 8

Everth Cabrera 6

Alexi Amarista 4

Of Note: Seth Smith has been the only offensive bright spot this season for the Padres squad. Batting .286, the next highest average on the team is Maybin at .276. After that? It drops off to .255 then .223. If you thought the M’s were bad at offense, these guys are just as bad if not worse.

Other Notes:

Robbie Cano leads the All-Star Game Balloting in the American League. Justin Smoak is approaching a rehab start. Joe Beimel, a great addition to the Mariners bullpen this season, was tagged for Tony Gwynn‘s final home run of his storied Major League career way back in 2001, when Beimel was a rookie starter for the Pittsburg Pirates.

Final Thoughts:

Elias struggled last time out, but Stultz has been worse over a longer stretch of the season. The Mariners offense has decided to wake up– relatively– these last two games, and should continue solid offensive production today against the Padres’ lefty starter. Elias may get tagged for a few runs too, but I expect him to flash his brilliance again and bring the Mariners win streak to 3 games.

Score Prediction:

Mariners 5, Padres 2.