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There is more baseball today (for some reason), wherein the Mariners will look to avenge their extra-inning loss of last night (I guess). Walker takes the mound for the M's and will hopefully add to his current streak of five straight quality starts. During that stretch, Tai has a very respectable ERA (3.15) with good strikeout numbers (8.13 K/9) and limited walks (2.36 BB/9) and home runs (0.79 HR/9). Watching him develop and turn into a somewhat consistent starter has been one of the few bright spots for the M's this season. Keep it going, Tai.
Offensively, the Mariners are batting Kyle Seager in the six-spot for the first time all season. Lloyd is also starting Brad Miller against a lefty. Brad hasn't had a ton of starts this month (this is just his 12th start in the last 20 games) due in large part to the fact that the M's have faced a lot of southpaws in August. I love Brad and it's nice to see him in the lineup, but it would probably be nicer if he wasn't sporting a wRC+ of 26 against LHP this year (in 87 PA).
Today also marks the illustrious beginning of the Logan Kensing chapter of Seattle Mariners history. Kensing is a 33-year-old lefty who has thrown exactly 12 pitches in the big leagues since the end of the 2009 season (0.2 IP). However, he has been running a sparkly 2.23 ERA down in Tacoma, so maybe he'll prove to be somewhat of an asset. Regardless, there is very little chance that he'll be worse than the jokers Lloyd has been running out all season. Roenis Elias is also joining the team today and will be available out of the bullpen this afternoon.
Elias and Kensing aren't expected to arrive until game time. Elias in the pen for now as Nuno wouldn't be available today. Could switch soon
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) August 23, 2015