The Seattle Mariners left home with a renewed spirit. They’ll embark on a nine-game road trip riding the high of a four-game winning streak.
The Mariners will begin their journey with three games at the Detroit Tigers, beginning on Tuesday night.
Detroit took two of three from the Mariners last week in Seattle. The Mariners won the last game of the series, then swept a three-game series against the New York Mets.
The last of those games was nationally televised on Sunday night. It turned into a 12-1 rout, capping a series in which the Mariners outscored the Mets 22-1.
“Fun day for our guys,” manager Scott Servais said. “Our guys were enjoying it, having a good time, and they should. We’re playing good baseball. And with the off day, we head over to Detroit, and that series with them didn’t go well last time, so we need to pick it up there. But I’m excited about where we’re at.”
Seattle hadn’t hosted a “Sunday Night Baseball” game for more than 20 years.
“I don’t know what (ESPN’s) schedule is, but I think it’s great anytime they can kind of mix it up and get different cities in there,” catcher Cal Raleigh said. “We’ve been playing well for the past couple years and it’s the first time it’s happened. Hopefully, we can do that and grow this team and this city … get people more aware of who guys are on this team and this city. It’s a really cool place.”
The Mariners and Houston Astros are battling for American League West Division supremacy. Seattle’s road swing could be pivotal. The Mariners will also visit Pittsburgh, then head to the West Coast to face the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Right-hander George Kirby will start the series opener in Detroit after the Tigers handed him his eighth loss of the season on Wednesday. Kirby (8-8, 3.13 ERA) pitched five innings and gave up three runs and seven hits while throwing 97 pitches. Kirby is 1-3 with a 6.16 ERA in four career starts against Detroit.
The Tigers wrapped up their road trip by losing two of three in San Francisco. They salvaged the series finale with a 5-4 win on Sunday.
“It was a pretty good road trip,” Matt Vierling said. “We played a first-place team in Seattle and won two out of three and then we bounced back after a couple of tough losses here. It was one of those trips where you were 3-3 and you take that.”
After missing two games due to back spasms, Vierling homered, doubled and drove in two runs. The versatile utility player served as the designated hitter.
“It was real weird (being the DH),” Vierling said. “It’s different. You have to stay in the game, at least I do. Some guys can kind of talk in the dugout and check out a little bit. I can’t. I have to get moving and stay in the game.”
Detroit will start its ace, left-hander Tarik Skubal, on Tuesday. Skubal (13-4, 2.57) defeated Kirby and the Mariners on Wednesday while holding the Mariners to two runs and three hits in seven innings.
“From the first inning on, I thought my stuff was pretty crisp,” Skubal said.
Skubal has won both his career starts against the Mariners, pitching to a 3.00 ERA.
–Field Level Media
