Seattle Mariners Probable Pitchers & Starting Lineup vs. Milwaukee Brewers, April 17

It's funny how fast people's reactions can change, whether it's for the positive or the negative. It wasn't that long ago that Mariners fans had quit on Jarred Kelenic, and had even quit on the 2023 season. Yet, here we are, sitting at 8-8 coming off of a sweep against the Colorado Rockies. The Milwaukee Brewers are coming to town, and it's possible that we will be seeing some familiar faces while they are here.

If you're old enough, you'll remember that the Mariners and Brewers used to be regular opponents. It's been a while, but when I was growing up, the Brewers were in the AL Central and moved to the National League in 1998. If you're even ol... more experienced, you'll remember that they started off as the Seattle Pilots.

Just some fun storylines to be aware of as we kick off the series. Let's get to it.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Corbin Burnes vs Chris Flexen. After easily having the advantage in every matchup during the series against Colorado, the Mariners are at a massive disadvantage here against Burnes. Flexen can be good, there is no doubting that, and it's evidenced by his 3.66 ERA in his first two years in Seattle. However, Burnes is a different animal entirely. 6th, 1st, 7th is how he has finished in Cy Young voting over the last three seasons with a combined ERA of just 2.62, with a FIP of 2.40.

Burnes is a strikeout machine, doesn't walk people too often, and rarely gives up the longball. This harkens back to the opener against the Guardians. The Mariners will need to strike at any opportunity that presents itself, or they are likely to be on the wrong side of the score come the end of the game.

Seattle Mariners Starting Lineup

Pretty standard. The bottom has been looking better lately, and they will need to keep it up in order for this team to climb above .500. Watch for Julio to break out in this series. His average has been dropping, but he has had plenty of hard hit balls over the last week.

A (not so) warm welcome to some familiar faces

Jesse. Winker.

The Mariners traded him to Milwaukee with Abraham Toro in exchange for Kolten Wong. Maybe this is the time that Wong was waiting for, and he is going to have a massive breakout of a series against his former team. Winker has been doing alright in Milwaukee this year, hitting .300, with a few walks and low strikeout rate, albeit without any homers. I'm interested to see if fans boo Winker, or just ignore him with indifference. He's in the midst of a 4-game hitting streak, so Seattle should still be wary.

There was almost another former Mariners player that we were going to see, but he won't be making a start this series. Freddy Peralta is on the Brewers, and has firmly entrenched himself as one of their better pitchers. Since 2020, he has a combined 3.18 ERA and 3.02 FIP while striking out 11.6 per game. I'm glad we won't be seeing him this series.

How do I watch and listen to the Seattle Mariners game?

You can catch all the Mariners games on Root Sports, while listening to them on ESPN 710. They're also available on the MLB.TV app for those that are subscribed, as well as FuboTV. However you can manage, make sure to tune in and see if the Mariners can keep the winning streak going against the Milwaukee Brewers and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball