7/9: Open game thread

Well today the M's will look to capitalize off their 3-2 win last night by sending Wade Miley to the mound to face off against one Edinson Volquez and the rest of the reigning World Series champs who currently sit....only a half game up on the M's. To his credit, and with the exception of a bizarre meltdown against the Astros last month, Volquez has been throwing the ball pretty well as of late. Which is a little unfortunate because holy shit, what a meltdown it was. By some metrics it rates as the worst start in the history of the live-ball era, if not all time: Volquez is the first pitcher to ever wear 12 runs on his line without getting an out in a game he started. I mean, I can throw about 54 miles per hour and my curve probably looks more like an underhand slow-pitch ball, but I wonder if in some universe I could escape the first two innings with a less moribund fate.

But alas, from the looks of it we are back in the real world this afternoon, and its our second-to-last chance to get a good look at this team before it heads into the All-Star break with some serious contemplation to do. What will be contemplated? Your guess is as good as mine, but if someone told you we could get a Jon Lester and then fix him in the middle of the season back in September, methinks you would be feeling a little better about this team's chances as we head into the fall.

Game info

• Mariners @ Royals, 1:15 PM PDT
• TV: Root
• Radio: 710 ESPN
• Online: mlb.tv

Lineups: