Mariners vs Rangers: An early chance to control the division is at play in Texas

The Mariners have turned things around over the last two series, going from a team who hadn't won a single series on the young season to a team that is now 5-1 over their last six games with a .500 record. Cal Raleigh has played a big part in that success, hitting not just for the power that we expect but doing so with a good batting average as well.

While it's a step that many a fan wanted to see from Cal, and we all hope he can keep the batting average up around .250, it's the pitching (surprise, surprise) that has been the main factor in getting the Mariners back to .500. In fact, they've accomplished an impressive feat that has only been done once before in the history of the franchise.

It's wild, cause even though they've been utterly dominant, it seems like no one is really talking about them. Despite a 1.48 ERA over the last 10 starts, I haven't heard a ton of national noise about the run that the pitchers have been on. Sure, you expect it against Colorado with the level of talent that they have, but what they did to Cincinatti was incredibly impressive. They held an (at the time) top-3 scoring offense to just five runs in a three-game series.

I bring up the Reds because it is something that the Mariners are going to need to do again if they are going to find success against the Texas Rangers in this mid-week series that they are playing against them. The Rangers have scored the third most runs in the American League, so the Mariners are going to have their hands full. Who does the job fall to? Let's jump into and check out the pitching matchups from the series.

Mariners vs Rangers: Hitters to watch

This is the worry with the Rangers. Their offense is prolific, and one that puts fear into opponents deeper into the lineup arguably than any other team in the American League. Adolis Garcia has been leading the way for the Rangers, already having slugged six homers, stolen four bases, all the while slashing .326/.368/.616.

You can easily find trouble against the Rangers by giving up free passes, as so many of their hitters have done a great job at earning them this season and setting the table for the rest of the lineup. Evan Carter has an 11.9% BB rate, Corey Seager at 10%, Jared Walsh at 11.7%, Josh Smith at 11.1%, and Ezequiel Duran at 11.1%. The Mariners have been fantastic at limiting walks, and that could be the key to success against the Rangers.

Watch out for Evan Carter. Even though he is hitting just .211, 8 of his 15 hits this season are XBH. We all know that Corey Seager and Marcus Semien are dangerous bats, but I really want to keep an eye on Jon... the backstop for the Rangers. I'm afraid to say his name ever since the back-to-back walk-off wins against the Mariners a few years ago. I still shudder thinking about that.

Mariners vs Rangers: Final Thoughts and Predictions

I predicted that the Mariners would win the series, but not sweep, the Rockies. I was a little high on the projected runs scored, but was on the right path with the offense getting on track in Mile High. Can it continue in Texas? If anything, you would have to think that the team is going to be ecstatic to be out of the literal freezing cold and playing in about 80 degree weather this week.

It's wild, but this is the first AL West game the Mariners will have played this year. There are less of them than there used to be, as divisional teams play eachother just 13 times a piece instead of the prior 19 that was the case for so long. It makes the games that much more important. Variance plays out over time, so a shorter amount of games played can lead to a higher potential for odd outcomes.

I think the Mariners continue their winning ways. No, not a sweep, but another series win. They head to Texas trailing the Rangers by half a game, and they'll leave Texas with a half game lead. The offense will perform very similar to how they did in Colorado, going big in two games, and then scoring 2 or less in the other one. I'll take it, and look forward to the first divisional matchup of the season for the Mariners.