Mark Trumbo to Make M’s Debut on Thursday Night

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The Seattle Mariners (24-29) will host the Tampa Bay Rays (28-26) in the opener of a 4-game weekend series Thursday night at Safeco Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave. Roenis Elias (2-2, 3.07 ERA) will get the ball for the Mariners tonight. Erasmo Ramirez (3-2, 5.53 ERA) will make his return to Seattle when he toes the rubber for Tampa. Ramirez was dealt to the Rays this spring in exchange for southpaw, Mike Montgomery.

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Thursday’s game can bee seen locally on Root Sports Northwest, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch on connected devices.

Mariners’ skipper Lloyd McClendon and Rays’ manager Kevin Cash have released the following lineups for tonight’s series lid lifter:

Welcome to Seattle Mark Trumbo

The Mariners pulled off a controversial trade yesterday with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Seattle sent Welington Castillo, Dominic Leone, Gabriel Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer to the desert in exchange for Mark Trumbo and Vidal Nuno. Personally, I feel the Mariners got hosed in this deal, but I hope Trumbo in particular proves me wrong. He will get his first chance to impress the Mariners’ faithful tonight, as the 29-year-old is hitting 5th and will serve as the designated hitter. I expect to see plenty of Trumbo at DH moving forward. He is widely considered a sub par defender, and is in the Major Leagues solely because of his bat. Hopefully, Trumbo can become a force in the middle of Seattle’s lineup.

Justin Ruggiano DFA’d, Jesus Sucre Recalled from Tacoma

The Mariners needed a new backup catcher following the departure of Castillo, and today they announced that Jesus Sucre has been recalled from Tacoma. Sucre has appeared in 6 games this season with the M’s, hitting .067 with 0 home runs and 0 RBI’s. In a corresponding move, Justin Ruggiano was designated for assignment. The veteran outfielder was hitting .214 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI’s and 3 stolen bases.

This move makes zero sense to me. Ruggiano has posted a .321 on base percentage, which is tied for 3rd best on the club. Ruggiano is also one of the best defensive outfielders the Mariners have, as he is capable of playing all 3 outfield spots. Rickie Weeks is having an awful season at the plate, and is barely getting by defensively in left field. Losing the versatile Ruggiano makes Seattle slower and weaker on defense.

May 14, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Roenis Elias (29) throws the ball against the Boston Red Sox during the second inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Pick to Click

The Mariners are all in, and are throwing caution to the wind. It is do or die time for Seattle, and Jack Zduriencik and company think they have found the missing ingredient to a productive offense in Mark Trumbo. I’m skeptical, but hopefully the addition of Trumbo will lead to more runs being scored tonight for the M’s. However, I am going to go with tonight’s starting pitcher as my pick to click. Roenis Elias has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy season. Elias beat these very same Tampa Bay Rays a little over a week ago, pitching 6 innings of 1 run ball. I expect a similar performance tonight from the southpaw. Look for Elias to allow 2 runs across 7 innings of work on Thursday night.

Final Score Prediction

The Mariners enter tonight’s game losers of 5 in a row, and 6 of their last 7. It is safe to say that the last week has been frustrating, and combined with the recent roster moves, there is dark cloud hanging over Seattle. Hopefully a win tonight will help ease the fears of M’s fans. The good news is that the last time the Mariners played well was against the Rays. Seattle swept Tampa at the end of May, and I think they will make it 4 wins in a row against the Rays on Thursday night. I predict the Mariners will take game 1 by a final score of 4-2.

Be sure to check back after the game for a full recap of tonight’s Mariners’ victory over the Rays. (Fingers crossed!)

Next: Lloyd McClendon to Coach in All Star Game

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