Gamethread: Mariners at White Sox

Today is re-Opening Day at Sox Park, and in the spirit of Opening Day, the fans will be wet and probably a little cold since all it has done in Chicago is rain. Hopefully, all our friends in the northern suburbs are safe post-tornado and able to do at least a little relaxing after the long week.

The Mariners snapped a five-game winning streak last night by falling to the Colorado Rockies by a score of 5-2. In their last 10 games, they’re posting an 8-2 record, but on the road, they’re 15-21 this season. They’re 10-12 against Central teams, so this weekend should at least be interesting.

Tonight is going to be Carlos Rodón facing off against Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi is 4-3 in 2021 with a 3.46 ERA. He’s 3-1 in his last seven starts, allowing 29 hits and striking out 47. He’s only given up 26 walks this season, so Grandal may be in some trouble. Kikuchi is 0-1 against the White Sox, last seeing them in September 2019 where he only went 2 ¹⁄₃ innings. He throws a 4-seam and cutter most of the time, followed by a slider and changeup. Something to note here is that Kikuchi is leading the Mariners in ERA (3.46) and strikeouts (81) so the White Sox offense is going to have be smart and not sleep. Rodón is 1-2 in his last seven and 6-2 overall this season. He has pitched 73 ²⁄₃ innings while allowing 16 runs, 42 hits, and walking 20. His strikeouts are still cruising high at 105.

Mariner Math:

• Batting Average: J.P. Crawford (.284), who is also leading in hits (76).
• Home Runs: Mitch Haniger (16)
• RBI: Kyle Seager (43)
• OBP: Tyler France (.355)

Team Rank (AL):

• Hits: 15th (525)
• HR: 9th (87)
• Batting Average: 15th (.215)
• OBP: 15th (.288)
• SLG: 14th (.375)

Here’s how we’re lining them up tonight:

For those going to the game, stay dry! For those of us watching from home, you can tune in at 7:10 p.m. CST to NBCSports Chicago and MLB.TV. For you old school listeners, ESPN 1000 will have the radio coverage. I’ll be back with the recap tonight, so if you like me, stick around!