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I feel as though this sentiment well-encapsulates the Mariners season so far.
I believe that was the M's 7th 'if they make the playoffs we'll look back at this game' win of the season
— Dan Gomez (@gomezdan) July 23, 2017
The team has flirted with competitiveness and flitted away from it more often than not. More likely than not they are too far behind already, but they seem unlikely to sell or buy significantly in one way or another for the rest of the season. That means the team on the field is likely the team we will see for the most part for the rest of the season. That also means, with Drew Smyly out and Hisashi Iwakuma trapped in an hourglass slowly filling with sand, Yovani Gallardo is back and in the rotation.
Gallardo’s results have been brutal through his first 14 starts as a Mariner, even as his process looks slightly improved over his abysmal 2016. His velocity is up, his walks are down, and everything in his peripherals points to him being a below-average but serviceable pitcher, which is to say a No. 5 starter. His FIP is 4.61 which is below-average, but would have been atrocious a couple years ago. In 2015, league-average FIP was 4.03. In 2014 it was a mere 3.81. This year "average" is 4.40, because dingers and definitely just people changing their swings nothing else no sir.
We don’t need much, Yovani, just be ~average.
Game Time: 1:10 PM PT
TV: ROOT
Radio: 710 AM
Online: MLB.TV