Mariners vs Diamondbacks: After taking down the World Series Champs, they look to take down the NL Champs as well

This is the week that the Mariners encounter both teams that played in the 2023 World Series. The Arizona Diamondbacks come to T-Mobile this weekend for a three-day series Fan favorite Eugenio Suarez will likely arrive while it is uncertain whether another former Mariners hero, Paul Sewald, will make it as he has been on the injured list.

Injury is an unfortunate reality these days for Arizona as you will see. Skipper Torey Lovullo told the media that he thought that his guys were tired in their last series against the Cardinals. They planned to rest yesterday in Seattle.

Who is Hot in the Diamondbacks Starting Lineup?

2023 National League Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll, is experiencing a sophomore slump. While Carroll used to be the lead-off batter, he has recently batted seventh. I expect he will improve as the season progresses and may snap out of the slump now that he is back home.

Who is In the AZ Lineup?

The Mariners will see the Diamondbacks World Series lineup with a few exceptions. Joc Pederson is the DH rather than Tommy Pham.  Corbin Carroll plays CF right now as Alek Thomas is on the IL. Randal Grichuk, Pavin Smith, or Jake McCarthy play RF for Corbin Carroll. Eugenio Suarez has replaced free agent Evan Longoria at third base.  Geraldo Perdomo, the regular shortstop has been on the IL. Blaze Alexander has stepped up.

That leaves 2023 players Gabriel Moreno at catcher; Christian Walker at 1B; Ketel Marte at 2B; and Lourdes Gurriel in LF.

The Mariners Need to Watch Out for These Players

Former Mariner and second baseman Ketel Marte’s batting statistics make 2024 one of his top three seasons. He has 32 hits to date including seven doubles and five home runs. He has a hard-hit percentage of 54.1% with a max exit velocity of 114.4 MPH. He strikes out only 14 percent of the time. Joc Pederson, at DH, has a BA of .326 and 1.024 OPS. He has struck out only seven percent of his times at bat. Lourdes Gurriel has a BA of .284 and has 27 hits, 4 doubles, and 5 home runs.

Two players who have been called up to help with the team's injuries have excelled. SS Blaze Alexander has the third-highest BA on the team. He has hit four doubles, three home runs, and has 15 RBIs. RF Pavin Smith played right field in Arizona's last series with the Cardinals. He hit a double and a grand slam, batting six runners in.

While the veteran players have good statistics and some of the replacements have impressed, the injuries to position players and pitchers have slowed the Diamondbacks.

Pitching

In an April 4th article from the Athletic, Jim Bowden ranked the thirty teams according to starting pitching. He ranked the Mariners second and the Diamondbacks fourth. The quality pitching from both teams will make these games competitive. (Batters, beware!) The Braves were first. Philadelphia ranked third and the Dodgers were fifth.)

Zac Gallen pitches tonight for Arizona and Emerson Hancock throws for Seattle. Zac Gallen has a W-L record of 3-1, an ERA of 3.00, although he has a WHIP of 1.296. Torey Lovullo has been giving Gallen extra rest with the hopes that he will last into the postseason. Zac strengthened himself during the offseason to keep his performance up should he have the postseason opportunity. Gallen had a rough game recently, allowing five runs.

As of Thursday night, the Diamondbacks had not listed who would throw on Saturday and Sunday. Given who pitched against the Cardinals and the injury status, I think Merrill Kelly's replacement from Reno, Slade Cecconi, may start one of the games. Brandon Pfaadt may pitch as well.

Slade Cecconi pitched six innings against the Giants, allowing a two-run home run, but otherwise pitching quick innings. He has a 4.58 ERA with the Reno Aces and a 2-2 record. Brandon Pfaadt has a 4.97 ERA and pitched to the Mariners in 2023.

Emerson Hancock will pitch tonight. George Kirby will be on the mound on Saturday and Logan Gilbert will pitch the day game on Sunday.

Mariners vs Diamondbacks: The Matchup

Both the Mariners and the Diamondbacks have excellent pitching. Some Seattle fans may have come to take this strength for granted. The Diamondbacks have strong hitting as well. Last week, they beat the Giants, 17-1, and the Cardinals 14-1. The good news is that the Mariners swept the series against the Diamondbacks in 2023 and just beat the Rangers.

The Diamondbacks strike me as being hot and cold, having a hard time scoring in some games, and then going wild in others. I hope that the Mariners catch the hitting fever or Arizona has lukewarm batting.