Mariners News: Happ Takes Hill Looking For Series Win

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The Mariners take on the Tigers today at 12:40 PM looking to take the series from the perennial AL Central contenders. After last night’s thrilling win, the Mariners are 9.0 back in the AL West and 6.0 back in the Wild Card. The M’s are doing just enough to remain relevant heading into the All-Star break, but the upcoming 4-game set with the Angels will really make or break the M’s season.

The M’s are doing me a great personal service by playing a near-complete lineup on a “getaway” day game. The Mariners are known to constantly frustrate me by using games like this to give starters rests, but today the M’s run out every starter except Logan Morrison and Mike Zunino against Anibal Sanchez.

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My thoughts:

1. J.A. Happ takes the ball for the Mariners. He needs to keep the ball down, work quick, and limit his pitch count. The Mariners used Carson Smith for two innings, rendering him unavailable today in all likelihood. Fernando Rodney threw an inning, so did Mark Lowe, and so did Charlie Furbush. The Mariners bullpen isn’t completely spent, but it could use a lighter load today.

2. Mark Trumbo is playing first base today. Trumbo’s versatility comes in handy here to give LoMo a day off.  And hey, Mark Trumbo even had two hits yesterday.

3. Robinson Cano is hot, folks. This is what the Mariners were supposed to be getting this season. Cano went 2-6 last night with a homer and a walk-off single and has four multi-hit games so far in July.

4. Anibal Sanchez is on the mound for Detroit. Another Tigers starter with a high ERA. Can the M’s offense stay hot after averaging 6 runs a game this series?

5. The ball has been flying out of Safeco the last two nights. Check out this stat:

Go M’s!

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