The Mariners fell one win short of their first pennant last year, and came into this season with high hopes for contention. Like the Royals, they have had a disappointing start. They seemed close to righting the ship a few weeks ago, nearly reaching .500. But a sweep at the hands of the Padres last week has set them back again.
Seattle Mariners (24-27) vs. Kansas City Royals (20-30) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Mariners: 4.12 runs scored/game (21st in MLB), 3.90 runs allowed/game (6th)
Royals:
3.88 runs scored/game (27th), 4.48 runs allowed/game (16th)
The Mariners’ lineup has suffered from a big drop off in performance by slugger Cal Raleigh, and now he is on the Injured List for the first time in his career. The team is also without Brendan Donovan, who is on the Injured List for a second time since the Mariners acquired him last winter from the Cardinals.
Luke Raley has helped fill the void with a team-high ten-home runs, although he also has a 35.3 percent strikeout rate, sixth-highest in baseball for anyone with at least 100 plate appearances. Randy Arozarena has been on fire lately, hitting .326/.404/.533 with eight doubles and three home runs over his last 26 games. Julio Rodriguez is hitting .394/.379/.667 with six home runs against lefties this year.
Josh Naylor has 42 steals in the last year and a half – he had 25 career steals in the five years prior to that. He’s a lifetime Josh Naylor has 42 steals in the last year and a half – he had 25 career steals in the five years prior to that. He’s a lifetime .310/.343/.520 hitter in 26 games at Kauffman Stadium. The Mariners called up top prospect Colt Emerson earlier this week, and his first MLB hit was a home run.
Mariners starting pitchers have the lowest walk rate in baseball. Logan Gilbert and Bryan Woo are both in the top ten in lowest walk rate among starters. Gilbert is coming off his worst start of the year, when he gave up seven runs and three homers against the Padres in a loss. He has a deep arsenal of pitches, and opponents are hitting just .186 against his splitter with a 38.8 percent whiff rate. Salvador Perez is a career .368/.455/.737 hitter against him with two home runs in 22 plate appearances.
George Kirby has never lost to the Royals in four starts, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA. He has a 2.92 ERA in four road starts this year. He throws a 96.7 mph fastball, as well as a swwper, sinker, curve, change, and cutter, and he has a 55.2 percent groundball rate this year.
Woo has only given up two runs in his last three starts, with 26 strikeouts in 18 innings. This will be his first career start at Kauffman Stadium. Randy Arozarena is 0-for-11 in his career against Seth Lugo.
The Mariners have a 3.10 ERA from their bullpen, fourth-lowest in baseball. Andrés Muñoz has struck out 39.5 percent of hitters, the third-best rate in baseball. He has eight saves, but suffered his third blown save of the year on Tuesday against the White Sox. Lefty Jose A. Ferrer has the fourth-lowest walk rate among relievers. Cooper Criswell has a 59.3 percent groundball rate. Longtime starter Luis Castillo is technically a reliever now, although he just “piggybacks” starter Bryce Miller.
The Royals swept the Mariners in Seattle at the beginning of the month, although that seems like a blip in an otherwise dreary May for Kansas City. For the Mariners, they are in a stretch where 17 of the next 25 games are against teams with losing records, so this is their chance to turn the season around. For the Royals, they desperately need to find the mojo from the last time they played the Mariners, or else their season will be over before Memorial Day.
