Well, after whatever last night was, the Mariners today take to the field for the rubber match against the A's, bringing Chris Young to the mound with them for his first start in a Mariners uniform. It's a bit of a bummer to see the starting pitching hop on the sled of uncertainty and rocket down Mt. Rainier into the rest of the season, but I guess that happens every year in a way. Erasmo unraveled a bit last night, Blake Beavan is going to get a start next week, and today, the M's starting pitcher will probably fail to throw a ball faster than 88 miles an hour.
But you know what? We may be laughing at all this in May when Paxton and Taijuan are back, so lets buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Game info:
- Mariners, Athletics 1:10 PM PST
- TV: ROOT Radio: 710ESPN
- LLoyd has decided to sit Dustin Ackley and get Willie Bloomquist the start in left field today. This is baffling for a number of reasons: one being that it's not a good platoon split if the left handed hitter you are sitting against a lefty has hit lefties fine all year, and another is that well, Dustin Ackley is the best hitter on the team right now. I guess if you are going to try and get WFB some good reps in the field it might as well be against a division rival in a game where your starting pitcher might get knocked around a bit, making run support paramount to winning the ballgame. Right?
Speaking of platoons, this game looks like LLoyd's RHB platoon specialty, with Stefen Romero and Corey Hart in to give the M's only three left handed hitters for the day. Which, again, they've been hitting lefties pretty well so far so...
Lineups
Mariners
Athletics