Mariners Game Preview: Iwakuma takes on Halos

Apr 17, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma (18) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma (18) pitches against the New York Yankees during the first inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kuma will be on the bump for the Mariners in place of King Felix on Friday against the Halos.

The Seattle Mariners (7-8) will start a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (7-9) on Friday night in Anaheim. The M’s enter town fresh off a series win against the Cleveland Indians. Hisashi Iwakuma (0-2, 4.50 ERA) will make the start for the Mariners, and Nick Tropeano (1-0, ERA 0.84) will take the ball for the Angels.

Kuma pitched into the seventh inning in his last start against the New York Yankees, but ended up taking the loss, thanks to a run-scoring wild pitch in the 5th. The early season has not been great for Iwakuma, but his track record tells us that it’s nothing to worry about just yet.

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Tropeano has spent much of his career in the minor-leagues, and thus he’s only had limited major league experience. However, he has posted some impressive numbers in his two starts this season. In an extremely small sample size, he has pitched 10.2 innings, with nine strike outs, four walks and only 1-run allowed.

Here are today’s lineups announced my Mariners skipper Scott Servais and Angels manager Mike Scioscia:

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The Mariners will send out a typical, left-handed heavy lineup against the right-handed Tropeano. Also have to give a shout out to left-hand hitting backup catcher, Steve Clevenger for getting on the board with his first home run of the season yesterday. He had not had a ton of luck coming into yesterday’s game, and ended up going 2-for-4 with a home run, single and a walk.

Although the usage has been curious, I’ve been really excited about the performance of most of our bullpen thus far. After a rough first couple outings, Steve Cishek has been phenomenal the last three outings. Tony Zych earned his first career win yesterday in the extra-innings contest against Cleveland, and he has had a great start to the season.  Nick Vincent has had some unlucky home runs hit against him, but has been good overall.

Next: Felix Hernandez Scratched from Start due to Illness

You can catch the game on Root Sports, or if you’re out of the area, you can stream it on your MLB.tv connected devices. Pacific Northwest fans can listen to the game live on 710 ESPN. And be sure to follow SoDo Mojo on twitter for live updates throughout the game, and check back after the game for a full recap. Go Mariners!