A frustrating series sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres has Seattle scuffling into an important homestand. The Mariners were swept down in Arlington a week ago, helping pump this Texas team into first place in the early days of the AL West. Those Rangers now provide a threat and an opportunity for Seattle similar to what the M’s had with their hosting of the Houston Astros last weekend: win and reset the division, lose and not only slide in the standings but likely cede the season series in a division where
tie-breakers have been hugely important in recent years.
While the bullpen has thinned with injuries to RHPs Luis Curvelo and Chris Martin, the Rangers look otherwise as they were a week ago. Time with the Dodgers and Athletics left them licked but not battered, and their series split with Sacramento left both clubs tied atop the AL West. Not yet standout, but stable, Texas looks like around a .500 club in the early going. That’s been better than the rest of the division, but without much ascension it keeps the M’s fully in range for resetting the table.
From a previous series preview:
The Rangers brought in Brandon Nimmo this off-season and so far he’s proved a valuable pickup, providing thump and on-base for the Rangers out of the leadoff spot. Wyatt Langford, hitting out of the two-hole, has been slower to get it going, but you know that, like with some of the Mariners’ own struggling stars, it’s just a matter of time. Corey Seager, batting third, has continued to be Corey Seager, and Jake Burger, with two homers on the year already (aka the same number Cole Young has), bats cleanup. The Nimmo-Langford-Seager-Burger set gives the Rangers, who are pretty evenly balanced handedness-wise (Must Be Nice), a nice L-R-L-R punch at the top of the lineup.
Beyond that things get a little murky: Evan Carter is off to a strong start, but buried in the bottom of the lineup for some reason. The two Joshes (Jung and Smith) and Ezequiel Duran are in a time-share among the non-Seager infield positions. Joc Pederson continues to exist to make Rangers fans Mad Online. So far, this is looking similar to Rangers teams of the past, but Nimmo at the top of the lineup is an x-factor, much like Donovan is for the Mariners. Hopefully the Mariners will be getting their x-factor back for this series.
Probable Pitchers
From a previous series preview:
Last year, Jacob deGrom made 30 starts for the first time since 2019 and crossed the 150 IP threshold for just the fifth time in his career. That health was the result of a conscious effort to pitch with a little less intensity. His fastball velocity was down about a tick from where it was at his peak, though it still averaged 97.5 mph. From a results standpoint, he ran his lowest strikeout rate since 2016 and the highest FIP of his career. Even in his diminished form, he was still one of the better pitchers in baseball, and as they say, the best ability is availability.
deGrom lasted five innings in his previous start against the Mariners, allowing just a single run on a hit and a walk with six strikeouts. He was lifted after throwing just 78 pitches, probably in an effort to keep his early season workload low.
From a previous series preview:
Nathan Eovaldi has also been forced to figure out how to do more with less (fastball velocity). Last year, he dropped the usage of his four-seam fastball by nearly 15 points, added a sinker to his repertoire, and increased the usage of his cutter and curveball. The result was a pitch mix that was a lot less predictable and a lot less dependent on his deteriorating velocity. Unfortunately, elbow and shoulder injuries derailed the success he was seeing with his new approach, and he spent most of the second half of the season on the shelf.
Eovaldi allowed two runs in six innings against the Mariners last week. He gave up six hits and two walks while striking out seven.
From a previous series preview:
MacKenzie Gore was the Rangers’ big offseason acquisition in January. After being included in the blockbuster Juan Soto trade (the first one from Washington to San Diego), Gore has established himself as a solid frontline starter over the last few years. His secondary weapons are all fantastic — he’s the only pitcher in baseball to feature four pitches with whiff rates north of 35% — but he’s often let down by an inconsistent fastball. When he’s locating his heater well, it can give opposing batters fits. But too often — and particularly during the second half of the season when he’s worn down significantly — his locations will leak into the middle of the zone and batters will punish the pitch.
Gore was dominant against the M’s last week, throwing five shutout innings, and allowing just a single hit with nine strikeouts.
The Big Picture:
For as annoying as getting swept was by a NL club, the consequence was a single lost game out of first place, albeit two clubs sharing that space. As noted, the Rangers and A’s share the top of the table, with Sacramento hosting the plucky-but-still-sucky ChiSox for three before jetting up to Seattle next week. Anaheim, meanwhile, takes their turn with the Padres in Orange County after a showcase series split in the Bronx that saw Mike Trout go slug for slug with Aaron Judge. Houston is back home as well, hosting the Cardinals in a former NL Central rivalry that always carries the front office edge of St. Louis’ data stealing scandal against the Astros over a decade ago. Those Redbirds are outdoing expectations in the early going, based heavily upon a breakout campaign from 24 year old OF Jordan Walker.
