The Mariners have a bunch of spot starters taking the hill in these matchups, although the White Sox don’t have a strong pitching staff either, so runs could be plentiful in this series despite the games being played in a pitcher-friendly park.
Both Chicago and Seattle are trying to hang around in the playoff chase but need to play well in the next few weeks.
This series will be contested from Thursday, May 18 through Sunday, May 21, 2017 at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. Saturday’s matchup will be televised nationally on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The Thursday matchup will feature a pair of fringe major-league starters. The Mariners are scheduled to send Sam Gaviglio to the hill. He has only thrown two major league innings and is expected to make his first major league start in this one. The White Sox will counter with Dylan Covey, who is 0-3 with a 7.98 ERA. The runs could be rolling in if the batters can take advantage.
Friday will feature the best pitching matchup of the series. Seattle will start Ariel Miranda, who is 3-2 with a 4.79 ERA but does have a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio, which could portend better things ahead. The White Sox will counter with their best starter, Jose Quintana. He is 2-5 with a 4.38 ERA but has a career mark of 3.45 and has the ability to shut down Seattle.
On Saturday, Seattle will send out Yovani Gallardo, a former top starter who has fallen off in recent years. He is 2-3 with a 4.53 ERA on the season and his poor strikeout-to-walk ratio leads to concerns. Chicago will start Mike Pelfrey, who is 0-4 with a 5.70 ERA and is not really a starter-caliber pitcher.
The White Sox will wrap up the series with Derek Holland on the mound. He is 3-3 on the year with a 2.70 ERA and hopes to keep it rolling. However, he’s not an elite pitcher and the Mariners may be able to get to him. Seattle has yet to name a starter for this matchup.
Seattle’s Injury Woes
The Mariners’ pitching staff has been decimated by injuries early on this season, which is why so many questionable pitchers have needed to join the rotation. Felxi Hernandez, Drew Smyly, James Paxton and Hisashi Iwakuma are all on the shelf.
Hernandez has long been the team’s ace and even though he had a down 2016, is still very consistent and will give his team a chance to win nearly every time out. Paxton was dynamite early in the year and the team would love to get him back on the mound as quickly as possible.
The lineup has also been hit. Leadoff man Jean Segura missed a chunk of the season earlier and now star second baseman Robinson Cano has hit the disabled list. The Mariners can be a good team when healthy, but all of these injuries are severely testing them.
Key Stat
5. That’s the number of games that separate the first and last place teams in the American League Central, and the White Sox are smack in the middle. While the Twins currently lead the way, no team is more than a game over .500 and everyone still has a chance to emerge from the pack.
The Cleveland Indians are expected to win the division, but the White Sox are hoping to stick around and maybe try to make some moves to fortify their starting pitching. The more likely scenario is for Chicago to fall back in the standings as the talent may not be there. The White Sox could stay close to the teams ahead of them by doing well against a depleted Mariners team, even with the games on the road.
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