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The Mariners started the 2017 season with seven of their first ten games against the Astros. They went 2-5 in those games.
In June, struggling to get their season back on track, the Mariners rebounded from a rough road trip where they suffered their worst lost of the season (7-20 at Minnesota). They came home and swept the Detroit Tigers, then took the first game of the series against Houston by a commanding score of 13-3. They then lost the next two games.
To open September, the Mariners swept Oakland at home. They were then were promptly swept by the Astros at home, in a series that felt like the final death knell for the season.
Seemingly every time the Mariners have tried to get some momentum going, they have run into a blue-and-orange buzzsaw (or buzzkill). The one series they’ve been able to win against the Astros was after the All-Star Break, on the heels of the White Sox (that series also featured the Correa injury). That series featured the same pitching matchup we’ll see today, where Paxton outdueled Morton in 7 innings, giving up just one run and striking out seven, while the Mariners touched up Morton for four runs over six-plus innings.
The Mariners aren’t mathematically eliminated, but it would take some Biblical-level plagues to knock out the teams ahead of them. I watched a little of the game at a sports bar last night and there were more people watching the Cleveland-KC game and the children’s puppet show that was the TNF game than the Mariners. I’m still watching and enjoying the games, but doing so very much with an eye towards next year. Effective performances from Felix and Paxton in their return to the mound will make things feel a lot less dire, regardless of the overall game outcome.
You know who I’m really sick of seeing? Cameron Maybin. Go away, Cameron Maybin.
Game info: 5:05 PT. TV (ROOT), radio (710 ESPN), web (mlb.tv)
ALSO! Tonight the Modesto Nuts return to their home field going for a sweep in the California League Championship. Robert Duggar will get the start for the Nuts. Modesto has consistently been the most fun team in the entire system, and they are playing some great baseball right now. Game time is 7:05 and you can listen here.