What Philosophy Should the Mariners Take With Them Against the Phillies?

Some of the Mariners’ fans have been struggling with the team’s first month of play but should feel good about Seattle winning the series against St. Louis and especially the performance of Jarred Kelenic who continues to amaze! The Mariners’ record is currently 10-12. Philadelphia has an 11-12 record. While some lament that the Mariners, as 2022 playoff contenders, should have a better record, think of the pressure on the Phillies, having been in the 2022 World Series!

This is a note from my days of studying ancient Greek. The city of Philadelphia"s name comes from two Greek words, one for love and the other for brother. It is often called the City of Brotherly Love. (Would someone communicate this to certain Eagles’ fans?) I had a true “brotherly love” experience many years ago. First, a city bus went out of its route to give my family something we had left on the bus. Second, I lost my purse near the liberty bell, and someone sent it to me back in Maryland. Impressive. May the Mariners receive a warm welcome.

How Did the Phillies Come to Be 11-12?

These results reflect the Phillies’ successes and struggles this season.

• The Rangers swept their 3-game series with the Phillies.  (0-3)
• The Yankees won their series, 2-1.  (1-5)
• The Phillies won their series with the Reds, 2-1.  (3-6)
• The Marlins came out ahead, 2-1. (4-8)
• In a four-game series again with the Reds, they split this time. (6-10)
• Against the White Sox, Philadelphia won, 2-1. (8-11)
• In a four-game series against Colorado, the Phillies lost one and won three. (11-12)

This record has put them 4th in the competitive National League East.

Possible Challenges for the Mariners

The Philadelphia Phillies are a team with strong batters. Their batters’ current cumulative batting average is .276, the third highest in MLB. The Mariners are 26th in MLB with a .226 team batting average. However, Seattle has some good company down near the bottom of the list, such as the Yankees, the Dodgers, and the Padres. Against the Cardinals, who have the fourth-best batting average, Mariners’ pitchers were able to keep the score down, apart from the final game.

If you followed the 2022 World Series, you will likely recognize some of their top batters.

• Players with BA over .300: Marsh, Stott, Sosa, Castellanos, Bohm, Pache.
• Players with BA over .250, Turner, Realmuto

Part of the Phillies Philosophy must include strategic pitching, quick defensive action for hits, as well as top-notch batting from the Mariners' lineup.

I observed that Philadelphia's scores to date have been inconsistent. They seem to either score below five runs or over ten. It will be interesting to see how they bat this week.

On Tuesday, Logan Gilbert (RHP) will start for Seattle and Bailey Falter (LHP) will start for the Phillies. On Wednesday, Marco Gonzales (LHP) will start for the Mariners and Taijuan Walker (RHP) will start. Thursday will be a matchup between George Kirby (RHP) and Matt Strahm (LHP).

Interestingly, when it comes to cumulative pitching ERAs, the Mariners are 10th and the Phillies are 24th. We will have to see which team makes better use of their players’ strengths!