8/31/21: Open Game Thread

Not sure if this is just me, but August this year has felt longer than any August in years past, and the last week or so has really driven the “dog days of summer” trope home. Miraculously, though, the Mariners enter the final day of the month at 14-13, a record which is approximately five games better than it’s felt like.

Lance McCullers, Jr. has had Seattle’s number all season, and tonight they’ll retaliate with one of the more left-leaning lineups of the season - Mitch Haniger and Ty France are the only righty bats tonight. José Marmolejos once again gets the start in left field, and Jake Bauers is manning the other outfield corner so Haniger can have a DH day. Look, no one loves having two ostensible infielders and a center fielder who should probably be in a corner patrolling the outfield grass, but with Yusei Kikuchi’s strong ground ball numbers, maybe they can get away with it tonight. After a brutal game last night where multiple defensive miscues directly led to Houston scoring all of their runs, it would be real nice to see a clean game tonight. Pretty please.

Game Time: 7:10pm PDT

TV: ROOT Sports NW, MLB

Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle, MLB At Bat