Toronto Blue Jays (53-43) vs. Seattle Mariners (47-48)
The 2023 MLB season goes on Friday, July 21, with the Toronto Blue Jays facing off against the Seattle Mariners in the American League showdown at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, and the first pitch is set for 10:10 PM ET.
Toronto and Seattle lock horns for the second time this season, opening a three-game series at T-Mobile Park. Back in April, the Blue Jays took two out of three home contests from the Mariners, who are undefeated in four straight home encounters with Toronto.
Thursday’s games have been excluded from the analysis, and the 53-43 Toronto Blue Jays hosted the San Diego Padres, hoping to avoid a sweep in a three-game interleague set at Rogers Centre. After a heavy 9-1 defeat in Tuesday’s opener, the Blue Jays suffered a tough 2-0 loss on Wednesday, mustering just six hits against Yu Darvish and the Padres’ bullpen.
The Jays are slashing .294/.362/.405 with nine doubles and three home runs since the All-Star break (163 at-bats). They hold a 106 wRC+ against right-handed pitchers and 101 wRC+ against left-handed pitchers in July. Whit Merrifield has homered four times so far this month, while Bo Bichette is 20-for-57 with a couple of dingers in his previous 13 games.
Yusei Kikuchi will toe the slab Friday in Seattle, and the former Mariner is 7-3 with a 4.13 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 100/30 K/BB ratio in 19 starts (98 innings pitched) in his second year with the Blue Jays. Over his previous three starts in July, the 32-year-old southpaw has allowed 11 runs (ten earned) on 17 hits and five walks across 14 innings of work. Last Sunday, Kikuchi tossed 4.2 frames of a two-run ball in a no-decision against the Arizona Diamondbacks.