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At a Glance:
Date |
First Pitch |
Away Team |
Probable Pitcher |
Home Team |
Probable Pitcher |
Thursday, July 30 |
5:10 pm |
LHP J.A. Happ |
RHP Phil Hughes |
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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 27th 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 |
57-45 |
.559 |
- |
L-L-L-W-W |
|
55-45 |
.550 |
1.0 |
L-W-W-L-L |
|
48-52 |
.480 |
8.0 |
W-L-L-L-W |
|
Mariners |
46-56 |
.451 |
11.0 |
L-W-L-L-L |
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 |
51-49 |
.510 |
1.0 |
W-W-W-W-W |
|
51-51 |
.500 |
2.0 |
L-W-L-L-W |
|
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.