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: Pitching matchups

Tuesday, April 23rd @ 5:05 PM - Logan Gilbert vs Dane Dunning
Wednesday, April 24th @5:05 PM - Bryce Miller vs Jon Gray
Thursday, April 25th @ 11:35 AM - Luis Castillo vs Andrew Heaney

After three straight outings in which he gave up three earned runs, Dunning is coming off of his best performance of the season when he limited the Tigers to just one earned run. He's had a bit of a walk problem so far, with 13 free passes in 23 innings. Not just that, he has already given up five homers. Big potential here for the Mariners to work counts and wait for that high fastball mistake from Dunning. There is a real opportunity here to score four runs off Dunning in 5 innings, and force the bullpen in to action early.

It's a wierd situation with Jon Gray. He didn't make it out of the fourth inning in the first two starts of the season, and then he turned it around and looked much better, even if it was against the Tigers and Athletics. However, it's his most recent appearance that stands out. Yes, appearance. He entered in relief last time out against the Braves. Could we see an early hook here? It seems possible.

In the series finale, the Mariners will see Andrew Heaney. He made it through the fifth inning for the first time all season in his last outing, and has struggled to limit baserunners all season. The battle to watch will be to see how the Rangers pitchers try and attack the zone, and if the Mariners can take advantage. If the Rangers are too cautious, they could have to call on their bullpen early and often in the series with how Gray and Heaney have pitched lately, and the Rangers and their bullpen that is ranked 23rd in ERA could be in trouble.

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.