7/1/21: SEA at TOR open game thread

Two things to never get involved in: a land war in Asia, and an offensive shootout with this iteration of the Blue Jays. But somehow the Mariners hung in there last night in a game more reminiscent of the California League (RIP) than MLB, ensuring they wouldn’t be swept this series, and I, personally, am pretty satisfied with that outcome. Today the two teams return to the field, likely bleary-eyed after last night’s long, drawn-out extra-innings affair, for the final game of the series before the Mariners hop on a plane back to Seattle. Here’s how the teams line up:

Kikuchi vs. Ryu should be an entertaining matchup, and once again the Blue Jays are favored by a significant amount, although as Jake noted in the series preview, Ryu is a pitcher that’s been on a bit of a dip this year while Kikuchi has been ascending all season. It’s a DH day for Haniger, and Shed Long Jr. is getting the start over Taylor Trammell, making it two out of three natural outfielders, which isn’t ideal but is admittedly better than some other configurations they’ve run out this season. For the Blue Jays, Cavan Biggio gets a day off, presumably to recover after the long and luxurious tongue-bathing he received at the hands of last night’s broadcast team.

You’ll be happy to hear, I assume, that the game is NOT free to watch on YouTube, because after what we were subjected to last night I think we can all agree that even something free can come at too steep a cost. Instead, cozy up with your radio (710 ESPN) or TV (ROOT Sports NW) or if you’re at work, follow along as best you can on Gameday or here in the game thread, and we’ll have a recap for you of all today’s action worth recapping after the game.