7/28: Open Game Thread

The Mariners look to split the series with the Minnesota Twins today with Erasmo Ramirez taking the mound at 1:10 PM. On the mound for the Twins is Kyle Gibson, Minnesota's 22nd pick in the 2009 draft making his sixth-career start. SSS and all that, but Gibson has been okay this year, only allowing an HR/FB of 8%. He spent the last two years in AAA, where he sported obviously inflated K/9s of 13.5 and 7.67, so you can see why the Twins like him. But after 5 starts in the bigs he's also sporting a 4.62 SIERA and an xFIP of 4.59. His K/9 is down to a much more predictable 4.76. In short, he's only pitched 28 innings and it's either only a matter of time before he plays a team like the Mariners and starts to pick up speed, or the M's can join the fun and beat him up a little today. I got through that whole paragraph without typing "Kirk Gibson" once.

Michael Saunders gets the start in left field today, while the team trots Endy Chavez out in right again. There might be something snarky to say about this, but probably not, because think of all the available outfielders the Mariners have at the moment. Raul slides into the DH spot, even though he apparently went to the fortress of solitude and traded his superpowers for Lois Lane during the All-Star Break. Also, Kendrys Morales is at 1B for Justin Smoak. I'm sure somewhere, someone is writing that Wow, It's Almost The Trade Deadline And Look, The Mariners Must Be Showcasing Kendrys At First Base, as if all the other times he started on the field this year aren't available on archive, and as if general managers wait to close their laptops and actually watch baseball until three days before the deadline. Ugh. I am, of course, putting words in peoples' mouths. But don't tell me it would surprise you.

Mariners:

P. Erasmo Ramirez (R)

Twins: