Back Mariners In AL West Battle

Mariners vs. Rangers, 2:35 ET

It is Thursday and that means that this is getaway day for the clubs, and typically we get fewer games. However, today we have a pretty full slate and a lot of games to choose from. We get some good divisional matchups and a fair amount of strong starting pitchers to enjoy as well. Today, the Mariners take on the Rangers in the third game of the series. 

The AL West is going to be a battle ground most of this year if you ask me. There are three strong teams that could fight for the playoffs, and another that would need everything to break correctly for them to have a change. Then there is the Atheltics who are in the division. End of conversation about them. The Mariners have been hot lately and finally putting together some good baseball. This seems to be the style of the team as they are able to get hot and put runs together that catapult them into relevancy. The team collectively still needs to hit better as they are around the .230 mark and still haven’t scored 100 runs this season. Their pitching staff has been great and still has room to get better. They have an ERA of just 3.33 and a 1.07 WHIP. Both of those numbers are very impressive. Luis Castillo, the starter for today, is still not even as great as he can be. On the season, Castillo is just 1-4 with a 4.40 ERA. He is striking out a lot of hitters, but he is allowing a lot of hits as well – 34 in 28.2 innings. Castillo is coming off of two quality starts in a row, so perhaps he is settling in. He went seven scoreless, two-hit innings against the Rockies, and six innings of two earned run ball against the Cubs. Ranger hitters have been decent against him, going 20-for-64. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 28: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers in action against the New York Mets during a game at Citi Field on August 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

The idea of the World Series hangover is an interesting one. Is it simply because there is less of the offseason? Is it about a lack of focus or desire because you won a championship? I’m not really sure, but it does seem to be a real thing the next year for a lot of teams. The Rangers are playing pretty average baseball. Their offense has slowed down a bit, but is still good, hitting around .250 and scoring over 4.5 runs per game. Their pitching staff could improve with the 4.18 ERA, but even that isn’t exactly a terrible mark. In fact, as good as the Mariners pitchers have been, the Rangers are only allowing a slightly higher batting average to opponents. Today they send out Andrew Heaney to the hill. He is coming off of his best start of the season, going five innings and allowing just three earned runs (three hits, two homers) to the Braves. Prior to that, he allowed nine earned runs over 12 innings. He does have a bit of control issues at times, but it isn’t too alarming. The Mariners are 27-for-101 against him but he has struck them out about 25% of the time. 

This is a game the Mariners should be able to take. I will admit, I really like Castillo and think he is a solid pitcher. He should have a significant advantage over Heaney in this game. The Mariners are also playing good baseball right now. Back the Mariners to win this one.

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