The Houston Astros are now three games behind the Seattle Mariners for the lead in the AL West. The Mariners went 5-8 in the last half of June, while the Astros went 11-2. That is...scary. Letting the Astros get hot and dawdling is what left the Mariners out of the fun last year. Plus, while the Astros get to play the Blue Jays and Twins this week, the Mariners have to play the Orioles and Jays. Decidedly, the M's get the tougher go, considering they have to play a 1st place team, and by the time they're done they might not even be a first place team anymore.
And so now, all of the criticism of the Mariners being an exceptionally great team for pitchers without having anybody hitting well will be put to the test. If the Mariners are a true 1st place team, they'll be able to snap into place and hit their way out of being lapped by the Astros again. If not...oof.
All of this shouldn't discredit the rotation, which has continued to be exceptional even as the bottom begins to fall out. George Kirby has now leveled himself, he's now 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA and 96 Ks. Meaning all of the top 4 Mariners starters have 90+ strikeouts, which is a pretty cool statistic. Kirby isn't the flashiest starter in the bunch, that's still Luis Castillo, but he's efficient and gets the job done. He's been lit up once or twice, but he's also had a ton of low-scoring starts recently, and that's given him a lot more support from the fans. There's a chance he makes a second straight ASG team, but Logan Gilbert will likely be prioritized.
The trick has been that fifth spot, especially since Bryan Woo is hurt again and Emerson Hancock is staying down. The plan now is Jhonathan Diaz, who used to be the auxiliary starter in Anaheim, and so far he's been...decent. He gave up 3 runs in 5 innings but struck out 4. We'll see if he evens out to the same quality of the other four, but he's not getting lit up like the guy they just traded to Milwaukee for a dollar.
The lineup, though, needs to be the difference maker. So many great players on this team, like J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodriguez, Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco, are refusing to do much at the plate. The guys who are hitting, like Josh Rojas, Dylan Moore, Cal Raleigh and now suddenly Luke Raley, aren't the central guys. Only one person on this team has over 40 RBIs, and only 2 people are hitting over .250. And though it may be difficult against the Orioles, the bats truly need to show up if they want to get anything done in this division this year.
You cannot pitch your way to October, you need to make it easier on them. Or else you'll be stuck with four dead arms and a lineup that couldn't give them an ounce of run support.
Coming Tonight: He may not have been a top choice to start in LA this year, but they probably can't imagine what they'd do without him.
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