Mariners are faced with a prime opportunity to build AL West lead over Houston

The Mariners are enjoying a rare off day while at home after taking the homestand opener against the Phillies. Normally off days come as travel days, and this seems to be one of the few occurences when the Mariners actually get to enjoy an off day in Seattle in between home series. Next up on the docket are the Tigers, who the Mariners will actually be seeing in six of their next nine games.

It's a two-pronged conversation that needs to happen when looking at the Tigers. Jack Flaherty is gone, meaning that the Tigers staff is significantly worse now than it was a week ago before the deadline. Instead of the possibility of seeing Skubal and Flaherty twice (which looks like it would've fallen that way), the Mariners will still face Skubal twice, but three of the other four spots are up in the air. The only known is Keider Montero as the opener, and he comes into the game with a 6.18 ERA.

The Mariners need to tame a Tiger

So, even though the Tigers are 53-60, losing a sub 3.00 starter in Flaherty drops them a solid peg below what their record shows as they head into the second half.

Meanwhile, we have seen a new and invigorated Mariners team after making the additions and adjustments to their lineup, and that's without JP and Julio, their DeFacto leader and best player. The Mariners have shown an ability to really work coutns well and force starters into high pitch counts. For a team that doesn't really know who they are going to be throwing, it could spell early trouble for the Tigers.

The Mariners enter Tuesday with a 1.5-game lead over the Astros. The Mariners go Tigers-Mets-Tigers while the Astros are going Texas-Boston-Tampa. Tampa is always feisty no matter what, and we just saw what the Red Sox can do a team if they are given any sort of window... whether the opposing team gives it to them or the umpire does.

The Skubal games are going to be brutal. He's a stud and the arguable Cy Young favorite for a reason. 12 wins, 2nd in WHIP and ERA, and 3rd in Ks. If the Mariners can get him out of the game before the 7th inning, it's a "win" for them as they can try and do work against a hopefully taxed bullpen. With 49 games left on the season, the Mariners have a great chance to build a little buffer against Houston over this next week and a half, and it all depends on how they play against the Tigers.