Mariners vs. Rangers: Texas comes to town as park re-opens

The Mariners are set to come back home after their short road trip against Chicago and Toronto. It was a good trip for them, and they come back to Seattle a few games above .500.

Meeting them there will be the Texas Rangers, looking to spoil the Mariners strong first half of the season. It doesn’t really matter what team you are, if you are above .500 and playing a team that has a bottom-five record in baseball, you are going to expect to win the series.

The Mariners will look to stay hot and win the series vs. the Rangers.

If you’re looking to get to a game, this is going to be your best chance of the season so far. The Mariners have opened their park to 100% capacity, with no restrictions on seating. Regardless of your thoughts on the reasoning, it’s going to be nice to go to what resembles a normal Mariners game.

Mariners vs. Rangers: Series history this season

This will be the third series of the year between the two teams. The first time was in Texas, and although the Rangers lost the first game, they would win the next two. Seattle was out for revenge just a few weeks later, as they swept the four-game series, holding Texas to just six runs. That puts them at 5-2 against them, outscoring them 30-29. They did win by two once, and one three times, while losing by eight, leading to the closer than it seems run differential.

Mariners vs. Rangers: Pitching Match-ups

Friday, July 2nd @ 7:10 PM: Logan Gilbert vs. Kyle Gibson

Saturday, July 3rd @ 7:10 PM: Marco Gonzales vs. Jordan Lyles

Sunday, July 4th @ 1:10 PM: Chris Flexen vs. Mike Foltynewicz

The story with Chris Flexen is how well he has done at home this season, as compared to his outings on the road. While in Seattle, Flexen has made eight starts, allowing just a .234/.266/.343 slash line with an ERA of 2.05 and a WHIP of 1.014. He’s faced Texas twice this year already, throwing 13.1 innings with an ERA of 2.70. One of them was his second-best start of the year, and an absolute gem.

Gilbert has been doing great as of late as well, with an ERA of 2.84 over his last five starts. His most recent one was cut short due to a rain delay in Chicago, so he will look to stretch back out against Gibson to open the series. Gibson could be a pitcher the Mariners watch extra close, as he is a prime trade candidate as the deadline approaches. He had a lights-out June, with a 1.52 ERA in his five starts for the Rangers.

Marco missed all of May but looked better in June after the rough start. He was roughed up a bit in Detroit but threw well against Tampa, where he gave up just two runs in 6.1 innings.

Mariners vs. Rangers: Players to watch

JP Crawford has been playing awesome as of late, and actually posted the best LHH batting average off of LHP during the month of June. He’s up to .286 on the season and is making noise to be a legit contender for an All-Star birth.

Shed Long Jr is the other guy to keep an eye on. He’s had some big moments so far for the Mariners, and how he plays over the next month could help dictate the team’s decision about finding another hitter.

On the flip side, Adolis Garcia is the man to watch for Texas. He leads American League outfielders in home runs with 20 and is hitting .270/.309/.533 on the season. He is joined by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has the odd combo of playing short and catcher. He’s their team leader in batting average and steals on the season. Like Garcia, he doesn’t walk much though, with an OBP of just .306.

Make sure to tune back in to the Mariners as they make their way home. They will be looking to start off the second half of the season on a strong note, and will hopefully do that in front of some good crowds over this holiday weekend. #SeaUsRise