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Every day is a great day for the first win of the season. James Paxton was by leaps and bounds the best starting pitcher for the Mariners last year, and should be again this year. Charlie Morton was a longtime Pirates starter and is somehow 33 years old. I had never heard of him until this season, when he was announced to be in the Astros rotation. Morton has never pitched against the Mariners but if you were hoping to see more fly balls than the previous two games you may be disappointed. Shaky control and subpar strikeout numbers have been countered by an extremely high groundball rate from Morton throughout his career. His velocity saw a nearly two MPH jump last season, but his control seemed to be a casualty.
The Mariners have made three fly ball outs so far this season, and to my knowledge the only particularly hard hit balls have been Robinson Canó's lineouts and a foul ball hit with home run distance by Mitch Haniger. That will need to change, and finding a way to get Morton to elevate, or simply get his pitch count up early, will be crucial for the M's to get in the win column.
Let's get some Paxton Klaxons going.
Game Info:
- M's @ Astros 5:10 PST
- TV: ROOT Sports
- Radio: 710 ESPN
- Online: MLB.tv
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