Mariners Game Notes: Start Time, Lineups and Weather

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The Seattle Mariners (15-17) will go for the sweep tonight against the San Diego Padres (17-17) in the finale of their 2-game mini series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave. Taijuan Walker (1-3, 8.13 ERA) will be on the bump for Seattle on Wednesday night. The Padres will turn to James Shields (4-0, 4.25 ERA) tonight. Root Sports Northwest will broadcast the game locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch on connected devices.

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The Mariners have now tallied 4 consecutive wins, and their standing in the American League West has improved dramatically over that stretch. After last night’s huge 11-4 win, the M’s sit in 3rd place in the AL West. Seattle is just 4,5 games back of the division leading Houston Astros.

Mariners’ Manager Lloyd McClendon and Padres’ skipper Bud Black have released the following lineups for tonight’s game:

The Mariners are going with a near identical lineup to last night. The lone change in the M’s starting 9 is Dustin Ackley and Mike Zunino flip-flopping in the order. Zunino is worthy of the bump up in the lineup after clubbing a pair of home runs and tallying 3 hits in last night’s win. Brad Miller has been getting steady at bats as Seattle’s everyday designated hitter. Miller will bat 2nd in the lineup again tonight.

Thankfully, the Padres are without Wil Myers for the second consecutive night as he deals with an injured left wrist. Former Mariner headache Abraham Almonte gets the nod in center field with Myers unavailable.

Austin Jackson Will Begin Rehab Assignment Soon

Austin Jackson was placed and the 15-day disabled list after rolling his ankle on May 3rd in Houston. AJ appears to be progressing well from the injury, and is said to be nearly ready to be sent out on a rehab assignment. However, Greg Johns of MLB.com writes that Jackson running the bases yesterday did not go perfectly.

The important thing to note is that there were no setbacks for AJ. Things may not have gone as well as originally hoped, but Jackson is still on schedule to be back in the Mariners’ lineup sometime next week.

Pick To Click

May 12, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners first baseman

Logan Morrison

(20) runs around the bases after hitting a solo-homer against the San Diego Padres during the third inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

The Mariners had contributions from everyone in the starting 9 last night, combining to hit 6 home runs and score 11 runs. I think it will be hard to duplicate such an explosive performance, but I expect Logan Morrison to stay hot tonight. LoMo is on a tear over his last 12 games, hitting .356 with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs and 8 RBI’s. I think Morrison will be key for the M’s tonight, recording at least 2 hits, 1 home run and 2 RBI’s.

Final Score Prediction

The Mariners annihilated the Padres on Tuesday, but the pitching matchup tonight indicates Seattle will be hard pressed to duplicate last night’s success. James Shields is one of the better pitchers in baseball, and Taijuan Walker has had a miserable first month in 2015. However, Shields has allowed 5 earned runs in each of his last 2 outings. The Mariners’ bats were hot last night, and I expect that trend to continue as they go for their 5th straight win. It will all come down to the performance of Tai Walker. He has shown glimpses of what made him so hard to hit this spring recently, and I think tonight could be his coming out party. I predict Seattle will sweep the Padres, winning 5-3 in tonight’s series finale.

Next: Mariners News: M's Promote Top Prospects Edwin Diaz & Stephen Landazuri

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