This Sunday the (82-68) Seattle Mariners and the (62-89) Kansas City Royals will play the final game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 2:10 PM EST inside Kauffman Stadium. These two teams haven't matched up since April, as the Mariners were able to sweep the Royals at home. The Royals did take game one of this series, though.
The Seattle Mariners are coming into this one after losing their previous series to the Oakland Athletics. The Mariners struggled at the plate, as they only scored two combined runs in their two losses. They will have to warm up at the plate if they want to challenge the Royals on the road.
The Kansas City Royals are entering this one after sweeping the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series. The Royals pitching and fielding were incredible, as they only allowed three combined runs in the final two games. They will have to stay hot on the mound if they want to finish this series strong.
This game was written/published before last night's results.
The Seattle Mariners are currently 3-7 in their last 10 games played, but they have still been able to hold onto the third and final AL Wild Card spot. Seattle is also stuck in second place in the AL West, as they trail the Houston Astros by 16.0 games. They need to focus on remaining a Wild Card team.
At the plate, the Mariners are scoring 4.21 runs per game and they are hitting .228 as a team. This is the 22nd most runs scored per game and the third lowest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently reach base over the past two weeks, which has made it much more difficult to score. They do have a serious amount of home run power littered throughout their lineup. Seattle is hitting 1.23 home runs per game, which is the ninth most in the league. I would recommend watching Eugenio Suárez, as he has already hit 31 home runs this season. I would also expect the Mariners to play it safe once the y reach base safely. They have only stolen 76 bases this season, which is the 17th most.
According to MLB.com, the Mariners will be starting Luis Castillo on the mound. He is currently 7-6 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In his last start, he pitched for 4.2 innings, but he gave up six hits and four earned runs to the A's. Castillo has been decent on the road this season, as well. He is currently 4-5, but he has a 2.90 ERA. The Mariner's bullpen has also held their own this season, as they are allowing the sixth least amount of runs per game. As a team, Seattle is allowing 3.76 runs per game, which is the fifth least in the league.