Texas Rangers' Josh Jung breaks his bat on a line drive against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, July 30, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
The Mariners are in a weird place right now. Do they have a 5.5 game lead in the division? Yes. Did they just take 3 out of 4 against the Chicago White Sox? Yes. Do they have a better record than the Atlanta Braves, who are World Series favorites? Also yes. But are the Mariners a favorite to win it all? No, they’re not. They are stacking up wins, which is good, but they are doing so in an unsustainable fashion. Coming back late in games and walk-offs. Something they could not do yesterday.
The Mariners have a legit problem on their hands. Everybody knows the offense is struggling, that is not breaking news. As a team, they struck out 19 times in last night’s game. 19! Yes, they added two in the tenth inning, but still. They now have the high watermark for strikeouts in a game for all of baseball with 19. They faced one of the nastiest pitchers in all of baseball in Garrett Crochet, who does lead the league in strikeouts, but still.
There is good news though. They still have a 5.5 game lead in the division. Houston continues to flounder, and the Mariners have a chance to pound the Rangers into submission this weekend. The Mariners bumped their starters back a game, and they will throw the Rangers their best in this series. Luis Castillo tonight, George Kirby on Saturday, and Logan GIlbert on Sunday.
Probable starting pitchers for tonight’s game, June 14
- The Mariners will send their ace to the mound tonight to face the Rangers. Luis Castillo (5-7, 3.35 ERA) has faced the Rangers once already this year. He went 6 innings, gave up two runs (both solo home runs) and struck out six. The Mariners are .500 when Castillo takes the mound, with a 7-7 record. Castillo’s underlying stats are a bit up and down. He ranks well in Chase percentage, Whiff perfentage and walk percentage, but he is getting hit pretty hard. He is in the 25th percentile in barrel percentage and 36th percentile in hard hit percentage. He will need to keep the ball in the yard against the Rangers tonight if the Mariners are to win this game.
