College football has come and gone – at least for the first week. We were able to go 1-1 and open the year with a fairly average day. The Trojans, as expected, didn’t keep their foot on the gas, but won with ease. The UNC and TCU game was much more interesting, but TCU apparently left their offense in America instead of taking it over to Ireland, as they didn’t get much offense going yesterday. We have plenty of Saturday football to make up for it. Before we get there, we have some more baseball to focus on as the Seattle Mariners take on the Toronto Blue Jays.
It is desperation time for the Seattle Mariners. They need to get it into gear and find a way to take the American League West, because the hole they’ve dug themselves into seems like it has eliminated the Wild Card as any possibility. The good news for them is that despite being almost 10 games under .500, the team is just four games back of the American League West division leaders. If they are going to get there, it won’t be up to just pitching or hitting individually; it will need to be a combination.
On Sunday, the Mariners should have a good shot at getting a win as they send out Logan Gilbert to the hill. Gilbert has been one of the better pitchers for Seattle this season. Not every start has been fantastic, but he is 11-7 for the season with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He also has 162 strikeouts, putting all of those numbers at 21st or better in the Majors. One reason to be encouraged in today’s game is Gilbert’s outstanding road numbers. He has allowed just two homers and has a 2.49 ERA in 11 road starts. The Blue Jays hitters are batting just .259 against him over 116 at-bats.
The Blue Jays knocked out the Mariners in the American League Championship Series last year. Both have had struggles and frustrations this year. The Blue Jays turned into sellers at the trade deadline, but they have somehow turned it around since then.
Maybe that’s an overstatement, as the team is just about four games over .500 since the deadline, but they are back in the Wild Card race, just a game and a half behind Cleveland for the last spot. So are the Rangers and Orioles, though.
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In hopes of keeping their roll going and getting them closer to that final spot, it is Max Scherzer.
I almost feel bad for Mad Max. He has dealt with injury much of the season, and you have to wonder if that is why he has such rough numbers. For the year, he is 1-7 with a 7.02 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Is it injury-related, or has time finally caught up with him? The optimist sees that Scherzer has thrown four starts of two or fewer earned runs in his past five outings. The pessimist looks at his start against Tampa where he allowed seven earned runs in four innings. Mariners hitters are batting just .255 against him.
This should be a fairly low-scoring game. The Mariners have only scored four runs in the two games, and really don’t have a great offense anyway. The Blue Jays are not exactly lighting the world on fire on offense, either. I do think this is a game where you want to back Gilbert, though. His road numbers are excellent. Scherzer has been solid, but I also think a little shaky. I’m backing Seattle to avoid the sweep here. One final note, if you do want to bet on anyone in the Toronto lineup, it should be Vlad Guerrero Jr. He is hitting .300 off of Gilbert with three homers and two doubles.
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