Can the Mariners Increase Their Ferocity to Defeat the Tigers?

The Mariners will need to bare their teeth on offense to defeat the Tigers. Detroit has achieved a similar win/loss record as Seattle. The Tigers’ Win/Loss record is 17-19. Detroit has had the same success in series they have both played with the Astros, Blue Jays, Guardians (second series), and Cardinals. The Tigers swept the Brewers while the Mariners won one game.

Pitching

Statistically, the pitching matchups are in Seattle’s favor. The hitting percentages slightly favor Detroit.

The Mariners’ LHP Marco Gonzales will pitch tonight against LHP Matthew Boyd, a Seattle-area native, who threw briefly for the Mariners last year. Boyd has an ERA of 5.28 and five pitches: a four-seam fastball at about 91 mph, 41.7 percent of the time; a slider, 27.3 percent; a changeup 19.3 percent; a curveball (7.3%), and a sinker (4.5%). He gets the highest percentage of batters out with his slider

Tomorrow, May 13, RHP Bryce Miller will pitch against Detroit’s RHP Alex Faedo who has an ERA of 3.86. He has a four-seam fastball of 93 mph that he pitches 46.5 percent of the time; a cutter, 25.5 percent; and a changeup 15.6 percent. He strikes out more batters with his curveball.

In the final game of the series on Sunday, RHP Logan Gilbert will pitch against LHP Joey Wentz who has an ERA of 6.09. He throws a fastball at around 94 mph, 46.5 percent of the time; a cutter, 25.5 percent; a changeup, 15,6 percent; and a curveball 12.5 percent. His most successful pitch for strikeouts is his curveball.

Our starting pitchers are coming into the game with stronger past performances, statistically, so I anticipate that they will dominate the strike zone.

Hitting

The Mariners have struggled in the batter’s box, more some games than others. Detroit does not have the very high batting averages of the Rangers, the Astros, the Blue Jays, and the Phillies, so this should be a more evenly matched game. Currently, Jarred Kelenic has the highest average for the Mariners at .294, followed by Jose Caballero at .282, and Ty France at .270.

Looking at their lineup against the Guardians earlier this week, I anticipate that these players will be in the lineup though not necessarily in this order. Positions and batting average are noted.

• Zach McKinstry (2B) .272

• Riley Greene (CF) .262

• Javier Báez (SS) .256

• Miguel Cabrera (DH) .188

• Specer Torkelson (1B) .241

• Akil Baddoo (LF) .253

• Matt Vierling (RF) .239

• Andy Inbañez (3B) .314

• Jake Rogers (C) .179   

Weather can be an issue for games in Detroit. Today, it should be 78 degrees and cloudy. Tomorrow, they forecast a high of 73 degrees with a 50 percent chance of rain. Sunday looks like a high of 65 degrees and cloudy.

If you have a chance, look up Ernie Harwell who was the Tigers’ announcer for over forty years. He sounds like a character.

Go, Mariners!