The Mariners head to Miami carrying a little momentum and a pretty big road problem.
Seattle just handled Toronto in back-to-back shutouts after dropping the opener, first with an 11-0 win and then a 4-0 victory. That came after a 2-0 loss on July 3, and the whole set fit the way this team has been winning lately: sharp starting pitching, strong bullpen work, and not much breathing room for the opponent.
Now the Mariners are back in first place in the AL West at 47-44, a game and a half ahead of the Rangers, and they open a six-game road trip with three games against the Marlins at loanDepot Park. That’s where things get tricky. Seattle has never won a series at loanDepot Park, and its last road series win against the Marlins franchise came in 2011, back when Miami was still the Florida Marlins and playing at Sun Life Stadium.
The three-game set begins Tuesday, July 7, at 3:40 p.m. PT with Bryan Woo facing Max Meyer.
George Kirby is scheduled for Wednesday, July 8, at 3:40 p.m. PT, with Miami’s starter listed as TBD.
Bryce Miller is set for Thursday, July 9, at 3:40 p.m. PT, also against a TBD starter.
The opener is the one that jumps off the page. Woo gets Meyer, and Meyer has been one of the tougher arms in the league this year.
He enters at 9-1 with a 2.53 ERA and hasn’t allowed more than two runs in an outing since May 29, when the Mets scored five against him. Since then, he’s been rolling.
In June, he went 4-0 with a 1.78 ERA across five starts, and he comes in off a tough-luck loss to the Rockies on July 1 after giving up just one earned run in six innings.
There’s also a reminder from last season that Meyer can be vulnerable in this matchup. When Miami came to Seattle, he had just struck out 14 over six shutout innings against the Reds, but he couldn’t carry that over against the Mariners. Seattle chased him with four walks, five hits and five earned runs over four innings.
Woo’s challenge looks different, but no less important. At home, he’s been excellent.
On the road, the numbers swing the other way. He’s 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA at T-Mobile Park, but 1-6 with a 6.38 ERA away from it.
Seattle has had some success in the overall series, but only just. The Mariners lead the all-time matchup 14-13, while going 6-9 on the road against Miami and 5-7 at loanDepot Park.
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For Fairchild, it is another chance to position himself for a return to the majors after a brief previous stop with Seattle in 2022. The Mariners know what they are getting in a player whose value comes from versatility and speed, and his path back to the roster now runs through Tacoma, where the next decision on his future will start to take shape. [Read more 🡒]