The O’s are back on the west coast as they look to improve on their current win streak.
Could 2025 be the year that the Seattle Mariners finally have postseason success? They are certainly due. The franchise has been to the playoffs just once since 2001, and they have never played in a World Series.
Through the season’s first two months, the M’s have shown promise. They enter this series leading the competitive AL West by half a game with a 32-26 record. But their position is tenuous. They led the division by 3.5 games just 10 days ago, fell to half a game behind the Astros over the weekend, and after two walk-off wins they are clinging to the slimmest of advantages.
Seattle is a solid offensive club. Their 111 wRC+ is fifth in the league. The 79 home runs they have hit are sixth in MLB. Cal Raleigh is responsible for 23 of those long balls, tied with Shohei Ohtani for the most in baseball. But this is far from a one-man show. J.P. Crawford (134 wRC+), Dylan Moore (131 wRC+), and Jorge Polanco (130 wRC+) are their three other most productive hitters, and in total the Mariners have six hitters with 140+ at-bats and an above-average wRC+.
In the bullpen, the M’s have a few solid options. Their closer Andrés Muñoz is 17-for-21 on save opportunities, has a 1.40 ERA, and 33 strikeouts over 25.2 innings. Lefty Gabe Speier might be their best reliever though. He has a 1.96 FIP, 33 strikeouts and only four walks over 22.1 innings. Carlos Vargas (2.79 ERA) and Eduard Bazardo (3.77 ERA) are two other good arms that will appear in close games.
Some familiar names you will not see in this series are Luke Raley (oblique), Victor Robles (shoulder dislocation), and Logan Gilbert (elbow flexor strain). And a newbie to keep an eye on his 21-year-old Cole Young. The middle infielder is the 43rd ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline and had an .853 OPS at Triple-A prior to his call-up a few days ago. He’s already got a walk-off single under his belt.
Game 1: Tuesday, June 3rd, 9:40 p.m., MASN2/MASN+
RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (4-3, 3.23 ERA) vs. RHP George Kirby (0-2, 11.42 ERA)
Sugano just keeps slinging it. Through 11 MLB starts he is yet to have a real stinker. At the same time, he has not earned a win since May 9, when he allowed one run over 7.1 innings to the Angels. In his three starts since then he has a 4.58 ERA and has coughed up four home runs. He’s due for a return to form.
Kirby is only two starts into his 2025 season. Shoulder inflammation delayed his debut until May 22. The outcomes in those two starts have not been good. He has allowed five or more runs in each of them, and is yet to pitch more than five innings. But he has shown good velocity and has the track record to suggest he will figure it out soon.
Game 2: Wednesday, June 4th, 9:40 p.m., MASN2/MASN+
LHP Cade Povich (1-4, 5.29 ERA) vs. RHP Emerson Hancock (2-2, 5.64 ERA)
In many ways, Povich pitched better in May than he did in June. He collected more strikeouts, allowed fewer hits and home runs, and saw his OPS against decrease by nearly 180 points. And yet his ERA rose from 5.16 at the end of April to 5.29 at the end of May. But his FIP decreased from 5.23 to 4.47. The 25-year-old has his moments of brilliance, especially when he avoids walks.
It’s been an up and down season for Hancock. His season debut was a disaster, he looked good in April (3.71 ERA over 17 innings), and May was mostly poor (5.00 ERA over 27 innings). Most recently he allowed two runs on two hits, three walks, and four strikeouts against the Nationals.
Game 3: Thursday, June 5th, 3:40 p.m., MASN 2/MASN+
RHP Zach Eflin (4-2, 4.46 ERA) vs. RHP Bryan Woo (5-0, 2.82 ERA)
Eflin turned in his longest and best start of the season against the White Sox. Over seven shutout innings he gave up just four hits and a walk while striking out six. The veteran needed that as his two starts before that were a struggle.
Woo is well on his way to a first all-star nod. Just recently he went on a run that saw him allow three runs over 19.1 innings from May 13th through the 24th. He wasn’t quite as good against the Twins in his last appearance (6.2 IP, three runs, six hits, one walk, three strikeouts), but still turned in a quality start.