Preview of the Mariners' 156th game: September 22nd in Texas

Since the five-game losing streak to the Tigers and Pirates in mid-August, I've more or less been uncommitted to the Mariners for 2024. And I still think they're done. Still, I found myself watching the scoreboard this weekend. FanGraphs still says the Mariners' chances of making the playoffs are less than 10%, but close races often see big swings in probability in the final week.

As a reminder, here is the current status:

Every team ahead of the Mariners has the tiebreaker over Seattle (except KC, which will likely have the tiebreaker).

• The Tigers are playing against the Orioles and had only announced their starting pitcher shortly before the start of the game.
• After last night's game was canceled due to rain, the Twins have a doubleheader at Fenway Park today.
• The Royals face (sleeper agent?) Blake Snell and the Giants.

Lineups

At 3:26, yesterday's game was the longest of the year, including all the games that went into overtime. And now they're about to turn around and play a day game. So it's not surprising to see Mitch Garver behind the plate, even though they still have Cal's bat in the lineup as the DH. Bryan Woo takes the mound for the Mariners, looking to rebound from allowing seven runs to the Yankees on Tuesday.

Andrew Heaney will pitch for the Rangers. If it looks like the Mariners are going to face him often, that's because they are. Today will be his 24th start against Seattle, which is more than an eighth of his career. The Mariners have credited him with a 4.40 ERA in those games, which fits his career number perfectly.

News

• Either Luis Castillo is on the mend or the Mariners seem ready to play the season with a four-man rotation, as Emerson Hancock has been optioned. This will likely end his season, the first in which he played a significant amount of time in the major leagues and played 55 ¹⁄₃ innings with a 4.72 ERA. That was a decent performance from the sixth starter, and while the drop-off between the top five and Hancock is pretty big, I think we're all pretty happy with his performance for a No. 6 starter.
• In a corresponding move, Gabe Speier was recalled. It was a difficult season for him, but the Gabe Babes are still happy to have him back.

Game info

First pitch: 11:35 a.m. PT
TV: ROOT Sports (Sims and Hyphens)
Radio: ALARM, ALARM the Seahawks take over 710 today, so the Mariners are transferred to 770 (Rizzs and Goldy)

This day in the history of the Mariners

• 2021: Kyle Seager hits his final home run, his 35th of the season, and his 100th RBI for the first and only time in his career. May the Mariners channel his Ranger-destroying energy this afternoon.