Mariners Game Notes: ‘Kuma Gets the Ball for Seattle in Opener

The Seattle Mariners (57-67) will welcome the Oakland A’s (54-71) to town on Monday night at Safeco Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 pm from the corner of Edgar & Dave. The A’s are one of the few teams in baseball worse than Seattle right now, so hopefully the Mariners can come out strong tonight. Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live locally, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch worldwide on connected devices.

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Despite yesterday’s win, the Mariners were unable to make up any ground in the American League West. Seattle remains 11.5 games back of the Houston Astros. The M’s are currently 7.5 games back in the wildcard race.

Mariners’ skipper Lloyd McClendon and A’s manager Bob Melvin have released the following lineups for tonight’s series opener:

Pitching Preview

Hisashi Iwakuma (5-2, 3.74 ERA) will make his first start at home for the Mariners since pitching a no-hitter on August 12. The M’s are giving away special commemorative t-shirts this evening to honor his historic achievement. August has been very kind to the 34-year-old right-hander, as he enters play with a 3-0 record and a 1.71 ERA over his last 4 starts. I don’t expect another no-hitter, but look for ‘Kuma to find plenty of success facing a lackluster A’s lineup.

Felix Doubront (0-0, 2.70 ERA) will toe the rubber for the visitors on Monday. The 27-year-old southpaw will make his second start of the season for Oakland this evening. Doubront was very successful his last time out, allowing 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 8 across 6 innings pitched. However, he had big problems with command, issuing 6 free passes. That will have to change tonight if he hopes to earn his first victory as an Athletic.

May 14, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Mariners right fielder Nelson Cruz (23) singles against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Safeco Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Pick to Click

Nelson Cruz is my pick to click this evening. I’m not winning any points for originality, but it is hard not to pick Cruz these days. The 35-year-old enters play with a 33 game on base streak. That is the longest such streak in the league this season, and represents a career high for Cruz. Since the streak began on July 18, Cruz is hitting .358 with 16 home runs and 25 RBI. He is a career .455 hitter against Doubront, and I expect him to carry the load offensively tonight. I predict Cruz will come through with multiple hits and drive in a pair of runs on Monday night.

Final Score Prediction

It is hard to know what to expect out of the M’s these days. Inconsistency has been a way of life for Seattle this season, and the past couple weeks have been particularly hard to watch. The Mariners relied heavily on the best bullpen in baseball last season, and it is remarkable how bad that unit has been in 2015. McClendon announced Tom Wilhelmsen will get the chance to close tonight instead of Carson Smith if the situation aries. I like that move, and I think it will translate to the M’s second consecutive win. I predict Seattle takes the opener 5-2 on Monday night at Safeco Field.

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