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Hisashi Iwakuma makes his second start since returning from the DL. Hopefully he's a bit less rusty/broken/terrible tonight than he was against the Tigers earlier this week. The Mariners really can't afford to punt a bunch of games figuring out whether or not Kuma is still a MLB-caliber pitcher. He needs to pitch well tonight.
Offensively, Austin Jackson is back in the lineup after missing two days with back spasms. This is a Good Thing because Jackson has hit lefties particularly well this season with a wRC+ of 140 (in 60 PA). Alternatively, a thing that is a Bad Thing is the fact that Brad Miller is starting. I'm not sure why Chris Taylor isn't in the lineup with a lefty on the mound, but Miller has a wRC+ of just 7 (in 55 PA) against lefties this season... so that could be a little rough. Finally, Jesus Montero gets his second start in a row. After last night's game, Lloyd commented on Montero, saying "He looked like he's moving better. He looked a lot more comfortable at the plate. We'll see how it plays at this level. He's going to get an opportunity to play against some left-handers and we'll see what happens." So yeah. It'd probably be neat if he got hot and was able to help the M's moving forward.
Game info:
- Mariners vs Angels, 7:10 PM PST
- TV: ROOT
- Radio: 710 ESPN
- Online: MLB.tv