Mariners v. Red Sox Game 1 – Paxton v. Rodriguez

ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 02: James Paxton
ANAHEIM, CA - JULY 02: James Paxton /
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As the Mariners enter a make-or-break series with Boston, they send James Paxton out to start game one. He will face the Eduardo Rodriguez who has had a solid season for the Red Sox.

For the Mariners this year, though seeing his season shortened by injury, Paxton has been stellar. 9-3 with a 3.05 ERA, he has undoubtedly been the most efficient, consistent pitcher on the Mariners staff this season.

After having a tough June spent trying to rediscover the magic he had cooked up to start 2017, he has dominated July. Posting an ERA of 2.05 over four starts, he’s gone 6.1, 7.0, 6.0, and 7.0 innings in each start, surrendering 1, 2, 2, and 1 runs respectively. He’s tallied 28 strikeouts in the month, and looks for more tonight against the Red Sox.

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On a Seattle staff that has struggled to find success, Paxton has been the rock that has anchored the rotation. Another solid start from him would be huge for the M’s chances of starting a critical series on a strong note.

Opposing him for Boston will be Eduardo Rodriguez. He is 4-2 on the year, with a 3.66 ERA and a WHIP of 1.21. He’s already pitched once against Seattle in 2017. That outing came on May 26, and he tossed six scoreless innings en route to getting the win. The only issue for Rodriguez, though, is that in his last two starts he has posted an ERA of 8.18, giving up 10 runs in just 11 innings of work.

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Seattle will hope the later season Rodriguez shows up Monday night, and the bats will come alive to propel them to victory. A weak performance from the M’s could result in a devastating loss that would drop them to three games under .500 and push them further back of the leaders in the wild card race.