Seattle Mariners Gameday Preview versus the Braves

Felix Hernandez was very ‘Felix’ last night– tonight it’s Chris Young‘s turn to be the man on a Safeco mission during today’s game. Young is looking for that elusive 10 wins, while hoping to continue his hot pitching in the confines of Safeco Field.  Young (9-6, 3.19 ERA), is facing off against righty Julio Teheran who has been lights out this year despite little run support. His 10-7 record is not reflective of his supremely impressive 2.69 ERA.

General Game Details:

Seattle Mariners (58-54). Last 10: 5-5.

Atlanta Braves (58-55). Last 10: 3-7.

Game Time: 3:40 pm. Location: Seattle, Washington. Safeco Field.

The Mariners are currently 1.0 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the second Wild-Card spot in the American League. They have a series against Toronto starting Monday, and it will be imperative that the M’s are at least tied record-wise with the Blue Jays before the series starts.

That means today’s game against the Braves is key for this team. The lineups for today’s game are as follows:

Mariners:

Austin Jackson 8

Dustin Ackley 7

Robinson Cano 4

Kendrys Morales DH

Kyle Seager 5

Chris Taylor 6

Logan Morrison 3

Endy Chavez 9

Jesus Sucre 2

Of Note: Chris Taylor continues to hit and flash the leather in his short stint with the Major League team. He seems to be sticking quite well. If it continues, he may be slowly forcing Brad Miller out of a job.

Braves:

Emilio Bonafacio 7

Tommy La Stella 4

Freddie Freeman 3

Justin Upton DH

Jason Heyward 9

Chris Johnson 5

Evan Gattis 2

B.J. Upton 8

Ramiro Pena 6

Of Note: The Braves lineup was held to just 6 hits in last night’s contest, only 2 of them extra-base hits. Felix was stifling, and the Braves could stand to do some damage to Young tonight if he doesn’t get strikeouts.

This game is a toss-up. Young could do what he has done well at Safeco this season, or he could find himself getting shelled like he did his last start. It will be hard for the Mariners to score runs against Teheran, but fortunately the Braves are just as bad at scoring.

Score Prediction: Mariners 2, Braves 3.