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BASEBALL IS BACK! The Mariners kick off the 2024 by welcoming the Boston Red Sox to town
Baseball. Is. BACK! The Mariners are set to kick off the 2024 season as they welcome the Boston Red Sox to town. Now that it's finally here, let's preview the series
I feel like a happy little child walking into a candy store with a pocket full of money and no parent in sight to tell me no. That's how excited I am. If you have to ask why... well, maybe you're reading about the wrong sport. IT'S TIME FOR MARINERS BASEBALL!
For what seems like the 74th season in a row (sarcasm, obviously) the Mariners are opening the season at home. This year, they are welcoming the Boston Red Sox to town for a four-game series to kick off the 2024 season. Usually, we take a look at some hitters to watch as well as the pitching matchups. We will still do that a bit, but instead, we are going to look at some of the preseason expectations for each team as they start the year.
Most of you reading this are intimately familiar with the Mariners. You've spent the offseason dreading, welcoming, or flat out confused at their offseason moves. Are they better? Worse? Different but the same? Many people fall within those categories. However, it's not just the Mariners that we want to look at. Let's spend some time to meet the Red Sox, what they are projected to do, and some of the players that we need to look out for and keep an eye on to start the year.
Mariners vs Red Sox: Season Predictions
For the greater part of this millennia, the Red Sox have been a great team. You could argue that they have been the most successful team in baseball since 2004, having taken home four championships in that time frame. We all know about the Mariners, but I'm going to focus on the last three years instead that has seen the Mariners with the 8th most regular season wins in baseball in that time frame, even if it did lead to just one playoff berth.
So what is expected in 2024? Well, not much for the Red Sox it looks like. They have the 5th lowest projected win total in the American League, sitting around 77.5 games, which is also BY FAR the lowest in the AL East, with the Rays at 84.5 and in 4th place. Losing Lucas Gioloto didn't help, and you could easily hear the rumblings from Sox fans curious as to what the team was trying to accomplish.
For the Mariners, they are actually coming off their worst regular season record in the last three seasons, having gone 88, 90, 90 in that time frame. Another strong season, and it will easily become the second-best four-year regular season stretch in team history, trailing only the 91, 116, 93, 93 stretch from 2000-2003.
The Mariners are projected to win 87.5 games, but it varies depending on where you look, and a lot of places have the Mariners finishing ahead of Texas, but always behind Houston. That's good for the 5th best projection in the American League, and has the Mariners projected to make the playoffs.
Mariners vs Red Sox: Meet the starting pitchers
Now that we've taken a look at how wach team is "supposed" to finish this season, we can look at the ones who have the biggest impact on getting them there. This is all opinion and preference, as I know that some people are bigger into offense. I'm a pitching guy though, and it's what i always lean on.
Thursday, March 28th @ 7:10 PM - Luis Castillo vs Brayan Bello
Friday, March 29th @ 6:40 PM - George Kirby vs Nick Pivetta
Saturday, March 30th @ 6:40 PM - Logan Gilbert vs Kutter Crawford
Sunday, March 31st @ 1:10 PM - Bryce Miller vs Garrett Whitlock
It's the strength of the team, and you can easily see it here. There is a real argument to be made about whether you would rather have the Mariners #4 or the Red Sox #1. Who's better? Bello has been around a bit longer, and was just rewarded with a nice contract extension. Bryce Miller has been an offseason darling, one of the starters that every team in baseball seemed to be trying to trade for this winter.
Bello has faced the Mariners twice, pitching fine against them with a 4.09 ERA, but has walked 7 in just 11 innings. Pivetta has done similar, with a 4.34 ERA in three starts, but has impressed with a 1.018 WHIP. The Mariners have rocked Whitlock to the tune of a 8.44 ERA and a 2.438 WHIP across 5.1 innings, which we all hope continues. Then there is Kutter Crawford, who I left for last because he has dominated the Mariners, giving up 5 hits, 5 walks, and no runs across 10 innings of work.
Mariners vs Red Sox: Players to watch
Starting lineups for the day aren't out yet, and as Mariners fans we aren't as familiar with the Red Sox team, we can't give you what the lineup should be. As you scroll around, there is one name that you are going to notice (if you forgot he was now there) that used to be a Mariner, and has long been a topic of conversation amongst us as fans.
Tyler O'Neill now plays for the Red Sox, and is likely going to see a lot of time for them in Left Field this season. He's the one to watch for me. Before the Mariners acquired Raley and Haniger, there were a lot of conversations and thoughts about whether or not the Mariners should try and get O'Neill. Now, he gets to deal with the Green Monster (in Boston), and will be in a bigger spotlight in Boston.
Outside of that, I'm excited to watch Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida. Duran started to see consistent playing time last year, and really performed well at the plate with a 121 OPS+ while hitting .295/.346/.482 in 332 ABs. Now the full-time Center Fielder for the Sox, it'll be interesting to see how he does in a full season. The big thing to watch is his Batting Average. .295 sounds great, but he also had a .381 BABIP, meaning there is a good chance that BA drops into the 240-250 range.
Yoshida was a "rookie" for the Sox last year, coming from overseas for his age-29 season. He hit .289/.338/.445 with 15 HR, playing exceptionally well though his first 88 games, but struggled to the finish line in his last 47 games with a slash line of just .233/.255/.337 with only three homers. Which Yoshida will show up against the Mariners?
Oh, and I'm nervous about Trevor Story. Maybe you've tried to block it out of your memory banks, but back in 2022, the Mariners were swept in a four-game series by Boston, and it was punctuated by a historic game by Story that saw him finish with four hits, hit three homers, drive in seven, and steal a base. That would be a great series... and he did it in a game.
The game kicks off tonight at 7:10 PM, and the Mariners have a great chance to get off on the right foot against a Boston team that seems unsure about the direction it is taking. The 2024 season is finally here, and all I have left to say, is Go Mariners!