Will the Seattle Mariners Mess with Texas?

The Texas Rangers will certainly try to mess with the Mariners when they host Seattle for a three-game series. When Seattle hosted the Rangers earlier this season, Texas won the series with a win, loss, win over the three games.

The Mariners share the same record as the Rangers in their series with the Cubs, Astros, Braves, Rockies, Pirates, and Tigers. The Rangers won three games with the Yankees and the Mariners have won one more against the Athletics. While the Phillies swept Seattle, Texas swept the Phillies.

The Rangers are a strong team this year.  They are at the top of the American League West, third in MLB for pitching ERA, and first for cumulative batting average. If the Mariners can beat the Yankees, they can beat the Rangers.

Pitching

The Rangers acquired several new pitchers in the offseason.  Several are on the injured list. They have selected their best pitchers for the series. The first two pitched in their visit to Seattle.

Friday, Jon Gray RHP (2.81 ERA) On May 8, he pitched seven innings in a game against Seattle. He allowed one run which was a home run and had a game ERA of 1.29. RHP Luis Castillo (ERA 2.69) will pitch for the Mariners.

Saturday, Andrew Heaney LHP (3.76 ERA) On May 9, Heaney pitched 6.2 innings against Seattle, allowing four runs, with two walks and seven strikeouts. His game ERA was 4.05. LHP Marco Gonzales (ERA 5.22) will pitch for the Mariners.

Sunday, Nathan Eovaldi RHP (2.42 ERA) Last season, on May 22, 2022, when pitching for Boston, Eovaldi pitched for 6.2 innings, allowing two runs, one walk, and striking out 11 players. His ERA for the Game was 2.70. RHP Bryce Miller (ERA 3.0) will pitch for the Mariners.

Hitting

This is a likely lineup for the Rangers with positions and batting averagse.

Jonah Heim (C) .281

Nathaniel Lowe (1B) .273

Marcus Semien (2B) .295

Josh Jung (3B) .289

Corey Seager (SS) .322 (Note that Seager was on the IL during the first series)

Robbie Grossman (LF) .241

Leody Taveras (CF) .308

Adolis Garcia (RF) .261

 Potential players:

Josh Smith .216

Bubba Thompson .157

Travis Jankowski .299

Mitch Garver .263

Ezequiel Duran is on the IL.

On the one hand, the Rangers are a familiar team that the Mariners faced many times in the previous years. On the other hand, they have added firepower to their pitching and hitting, making them a hot opponent. The Mariners’ pitchers will try to keep the score down. I hope that the Mariners’ batters are feeling good at the plate to keep up with the Rangers.

Go Mariners!