Mariners need everything to go right against Boston (Part 2)

Again, the Mariners find themselves standing at a critical point of 2017 needing to go out and play their best ball against the Boston Red Sox. They were in this same position on May 26th of this season.

Currently, the Mariners sit two games under .500, after dropping three-of-four to the New York Yankees and falling to 2.5 games back in the wild card race. It was a tough series, but they can bounce back in a big way on the continuation of the homestand against Boston.

Seattle will be sending out James Paxton on Monday, King Felix Tuesday, and Andrew Moore on Wednesday.

Paxton is the Mariners ace at the moment. Even if Felix is the face of the Mariners, boasts the King’s Court, and still is a serviceable pitcher, Paxton is the #1. His last start was good for a Mariners win in Houston to get the Mariners back to .500.

Felix appears to be finding his new self. He seems to be figuring out that he will never again be the fireballing pitcher who puts up gaudy strikeout numbers game in and game out, and he’s okay with that. His last three starts have been brilliant: 18 IP, 2 ER, 11 H, 5 BB. That’s good for a 1.00 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.

Moore had been phenomenal for a rookie pitcher in his first five starts. Then the wheels fell off in his sixth and seventh starts. In both starts he surrendered five runs. The question marks surround Moore simply because he is so young in the league. Who knows just what you’ll get from him.

Next: How the Mariners went from sellers to buyers

Honestly though, in a series like this, where the season could depend on a solid performance, the Mariners seem to be having their three best starters taking the hill. If the bats can come alive and the pitching does what it should, the M’s could gain some much needed ground in the wild card race and vault back to contention.