Seattle Mariners Make Interesting Lineup Decisions For Game Against AL Cy Young Candidate
The Seattle Mariners are coming off arguably their most impressive series win of the season after sweeping the New York Mets to complete a nine-game homestead.
The Mariners are following up that extended stay at home with a nine-game road trip that will start at 3:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers.
Seattle will face American League Cy Young candidate Tarik Skubal for the second time in a week. George Kirby — the Mariners' own AL Cy Young hopeful — will be the other starting pitcher.
But it's not Round 2 of the pitching heavyweights that's getting people's attention — it's Seattle's lineup.
The Mariners released their starting lineup at 12:30 p.m. PT and there were some interesting decisions.
Julio Rodriguez will get his second start at designated hitter since returning off the injured list with a high ankle sprain. He went 0-for-5 in his first game back on Sunday. Not only that, but he had five strikeouts.
Catcher Cal Raleigh and second baseman Jorge Polanco were not listed in the lineup. Raleigh went 3-for-5 with two home runs on Sunday against the New York Mets and Polanco went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run in the same game.
Both Raleigh and Polanco are switch-hitters — so the matchup against the left-handed Skubal doesn't seem to be the problem.
Our colleague at Mariners on SI, Brady Farkas, offered a couple thoughts as to why Seattle might have gone with sitting Raleigh and Polanco for Wednesday's game.
Oh, and Polanco is out day after an off-day? Day after a great game? Knee must be bugging badly. They would NEVER play Rojas against Skubal if they could avoid it.
— Brady Farkas (@WDEVRadioBrady) August 13, 2024
Polanco has been dealing with a nagging knee injury for several weeks and Raleigh has been dealing with his own nagging ailments according to Seattle manager Scott Servais.
Tuesday will also be the 10th time in the last 13 starts for Kirby that Mitch Garver has caught for him.
Whatever the reason for the lineup decisions — it will be interesting to see how this lineup does against Skubal. The Tigers beat the Mariners 6-2 during Kirby and Skubal's last head-to-head on Aug. 7.
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