The Mariners came into the Yankees series needing a win, possibly two. They travel to NL East leading Baltimore Orioles after this three game set in the Bronx. The Mariners could really settle with a 6 game split with these two ball clubs, and considering the Yankees have been in a struggle the past two weeks without Judge, this would be a great opportunity for the Mariners to pick up 2 in New York.
The M’s failed to get off on the right foot in game one, losing 3-1 ending a 4 game skid for the Yanks. On top of that, Gold Glover JP Crawford got injured in the second with a right shoulder contusion when he collided with Harrison Bader. Doesn’t look promising, so Dylan Moore is going to need to add a spark to this offense that has been average for the majority of the season. Crawford is hitting .239 this season with four homers and 24 RBI. He’s also stolen one base. He been a major part of the Mariners rebuild, winning a Gold Glove in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He’s also emerged as a team leader and was a big part of the M’s making the playoffs in 2022. Without Judge, the Yankees are hitting a dismal .199, and with the Mariners pitching staff, winning 2 isn’t as far fetched as in Prior years. Castillo pitches on Wednesday with Woo going on Thursday. Mariners put together 4-hits in game 1, but are going to need to put some consecutive at bats together to propel the M’s and give them that spark we saw last season. The Mariners are a game under .500 and really haven’t put it together as of yet, so we know it can be done, just a matter of the boys coming together and getting it done. They are still better than they were at this time last season, but that was before the big 17-game win streak before the All-Star Break that boosted them into the post season. The Mariners have been needing a series win against winning teams, so this would be a huge confidence boost competing with two top teams, even if one is hobbled. Come Sunday, we could be looking at a team on a roll or in a serious need for a win-streak. The M’s entered play at 35-35 and in fourth place in the American League West and are likely to fall to 35-36 after this game. They can’t afford to lose their lead-off hitter and starting shortstop for this critical stretch, so hopefully Crawford doesn’t need to miss any time.
