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After a brief successful run against the Tigers and bring-me-my-fainting-couch Rangers, the Mariners had a bucket of cold water thrown on them yesterday, although less in the fun “Gatorade bath” kind of way and more in the “hazing from a fraternity about to lose its charter” kind of way.
Today the Mariners will have their best chance of winning against the juggernaut Astros, as they send their best pitcher in Marco Gonzales out against Aaron Sanchez, who perhaps hasn’t fully finished being run through the Astros’ PitcherMatic4000. Side note: why aren’t more people talking about the Blue Jays getting fleeced in that trade? They gave up Sanchez and Joe Biagini AND a Top 30 prospect and got...Derek Fisher? I am happy to hear arguments to the contrary but it feels like a light return, especially for someone taking up a 40-man spot on Houston’s crowded roster who will be out of options next year.
Lineups:
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Today’s game is on at 4:10 Pacific, on ROOT NW and on radio via 710 ESPN.
Confidence in the Mariners’ rebuild has been mostly holding steady as we head into Week 20 of FanPulse voting.
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Last week I posited that the trade deadline would have some impact on how people felt about the team’s current direction, and while we won’t see those results until next week, with the deadline having come and gone, it seems like the Mariners did about as well as could be expected, considering the assets they had to sell off. According to the national poll this week, 77% of fans said they wanted their team to trade for the best available pitcher, reflecting the need for pitching among competing teams. The Mariners didn’t get any starting pitching, but they did pick up a couple of interesting arms, one of whom (Taylor Guilbeau) had an intriguing system debut last night:
New Tacoma relievers throwing gas: LHP Taylor Guilbeau hit 97 a couple of times, and RHP Brian Ellington was 97-99. Each pitched a scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
— Mike Curto (@CurtoWorld) August 3, 2019
Next week’s FanPulse poll will include a question about the trade deadline; if you’d like to be part of our voting body, sign up here (it’s fun! it’s free!).
No roster news for the Mariners today (is it a day that doesn’t end in y and someone didn’t tell me?) but some news on a former Mariner:
Edwin Encarnacion has landed on the IL with a right wrist fracture. Mike Ford was recalled from @swbrailriders.
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) August 3, 2019
Poor parrot. Get well soon, Edwing!