Series Preview: Mariners (46-56) at Twins (52-48)

At a Glance:

Date	First Pitch	Away Team	Probable Pitcher	Home Team	Probable Pitcher
Thursday, July 30	5:10 pm	Mariners	LHP J.A. Happ	Twins	RHP Phil Hughes
Friday, July 31	5:10 pm	Mariners	RHP Taijuan Walker	Twins	LHP Tommy Milone
Saturday, August 1	4:10 pm	Mariners	LHP Mike Montgomery	Twins	RHP Kyle Gibson
Sunday, August 2	11:10 am	Mariners	RHP Hisashi Iwakuma	Twins	RHP Mike Pelfrey

	Mariners	Twins	Edge
Batting (AVG)	.239 (15th in AL)	.252 (8th in AL)	Twins
Fielding (Fld Pct)	.986 (4th)	.985 (6th)	Mariners
Starting Pitching (ERA)	3.96 (7th)	3.86 (4th)	Twins
Bullpen (ERA)	3.80 (10th)	4.01 (12th)	Mariners

The Mariners travel to Minnesota for the first time since May of last year. Seattle has an all-time winning percentage of .512 against the Twins, but have just a 9-10 record at Target Field since it opened in 2010. Last year, the Twins beat the Mariners five times out of seven games, outscoring them 25 to 18.

Hisashi Iwakuma has enjoyed some success against the Twins with a 5-0 record and a 0.00 ERA. Jay Happ has also fared well against the Twins with a 1-1 record against them and a 3.60 ERA. Both Taijuan Walker and Mike Montgomery will be facing the Twins for the first time in their young careers; Walker owns a 4.32 ERA against AL Central opponents while Montgomery sports a 4.63 ERA against teams from the Midwest. The latter is a former first-round pick of the Royals, so he may be looking to exact some revenge.

The Twins:

The Twins have an 11-11 record in July and are in second place in the AL Central. They have lost four straight games and are 2-8 over their last 10 games. This year, they are 8-8 against AL West opponents.

Key Players

1B Joe Mauer – Joe Mauer has hit .336 against the Mariners during his eleven year career including six home runs and 37 RBIs. However, he has hit just .200 against Hisashi Iwakuma and has gone hitless against Jay Happ. Mauer is batting .321 in July with two home runs but only four RBIs. Fun fact: Mauer is owed nearly half again as many millions of dollars ($69, through 2018) as he's hit home runs in the six years since his MVP season (43).

RF Torii Hunter – During his long career, Torii Hunter has performed well against the Mariners. He has knocked in more runs against them than any other batter in team history. He’s also hit 23 home runs and is batting .288 against them. Hunter is also an important clubhouse leader for the Twins, and has played a large role in their turnaround this season.

CF Aaron Hicks – Aaron Hicks has been one of the hottest batters in the majors in July. His .323 batting average during this month is 27^th best in baseball and he’s added three home runs and 14 RBIs to his season totals. A former first-rounder, Hicks was selected three picks after former Mariner first baseman Justin Smoak.

Probable Pitchers

RHP Phil Hughes
W	L		ERA			CG	IP			SO		BB
9	6		3.93			1	130 2/3			75		12
Pitches
Fastball				Offspeed Pitch					Breaking Ball
90.9 mph; 82.4%				85.5 mph; 3.0%					77.4 mph; 14.6%
Mariners Batting Splits
Name		H			HR			RBI			AVG
S. Smith		5			0			0			.357
L. Morrison		2			1			1			.333
D. Ackley		5			0			2			.313
K. Seager		5			0			0			.313
A. Jackson		9			1			1			.300
R. Cano		2			0			0			.286
F. Gutierrez		2			1			1			.250
N. Cruz		6			2			3			.231
M. Trumbo		2			0			1			.222
B. Miller		1			0			0			.167
M. Zunino		0			0			0			.000

LHP Tommy Milone
W	L		ERA			CG	IP			SO		BB
5	2		3.58			0	75 1/3			53		23
Pitches
Fastball				Offspeed Pitch					Breaking Ball
88.3 mph; 67.0%				82.0 mph; 21.0%					73.7 mph; 12.1%
Mariners Batting Splits
Name		H			HR			RBI			AVG
L. Morrison		2			1			1			1.000
M. Zunino		3			2			3			.600
F. Gutierrez		5			1			1			.455
D. Ackley		4			0			0			.364
B. Miller		1			0			0			.333
K. Seager		5			1			4			.238
N. Cruz		3			1			3			.188
R. Cano		1			0			1			.125
M. Trumbo		2			1			3			.111
A. Jackson		1			0			1			.077

RHP Kyle Gibson
W	L		ERA			CG	IP			SO		BB
8	8		3.48			0	124			88		42
Pitches
Fastball				Offspeed Pitch					Breaking Ball
92.7 mph; 59.4%				84.7 mph; 18.4%					85.3 mph; 22.1%
Mariners Batting Splits
Name		H			HR			RBI			AVG
S. Smith		2			1			1			.667
B. Miller		4			0			0			.400
K. Seager		3			0			1			.300
R. Cano		4			0			3			.286
M. Trumbo		1			1			1			.200
A. Jackson		1			0			0			.125
L. Morrison		0			0			1			.000
D. Ackley		0			0			0			.000
N. Cruz		0			0			0			.000
M. Zunino		0			0			0			.000
J. Sucre		0			0			0			.000

RHP Mike Pelfrey
W	L		ERA			CG	IP			SO		BB
5	7		3.92			0	110 1/3			53		36
Pitches
Fastball				Offspeed Pitch					Breaking Ball
93.9 mph; 70.3%				81.8 mph; 17.2%					81.3 mph; 12.4%
Mariners Batting Splits
Name		H			HR			RBI			AVG
M. Trumbo		5			1			1			.625
S. Smith		7			1			1			.500
K. Seager		1			0			0			.500
J. Sucre		1			0			0			.500
A. Jackson		5			0			1			.385
R. Cano		3			0			1			.214
L. Morrison		2			0			1			.133
N. Cruz		0			0			0			.000

The Big Picture:

The AL West

Team	W-L	W%	Games Behind	Recent Form
Astros	57-45	.559	-	L-L-L-W-W
Angels	55-45	.550	1.0	L-W-W-L-L
Rangers	48-52	.480	8.0	W-L-L-L-W
Mariners	46-56	.451	11.0	L-W-L-L-L
Athletics	45-56	.446	11.5	L-L-L-W-W

The Wild Card Race

Team	W-L	W%	Games Behind	Recent Form
Angels	55-45	.550	+3.0	L-W-W-L-L
Twins	52-48	.520	-	W-L-L-L-L
Orioles	51-49	.510	1.0	W-W-W-W-W
Blue Jays	51-51	.500	2.0	L-W-L-L-W
Rays	51-52	.495	2.5	L-L-W-W-L

The Astros regained the AL West division lead by beating the Angels two times out of three earlier this week. The Rangers lost twice to the Yankees including a 21-5 drubbing on Tuesday. The Orioles have won five straight and vaulted themselves one game behind the Twins in the Wild Card race. A sweep of the Twins could bring the Mariners as close as three games back of the Wild Card as the teams head into August.