Seattle Mariners Release Pitching Plans for Series Against Philadelphia Phillies
The Seattle Mariners will be returning home for a nine-game homestead starting on Friday. The Mariners are coming off a six-game road trip in which they went 4-2 and pulled even with the Houston Astros in the American League West standings.
The first three of Seattle's nine games at home will be against the Philadelphia Phillies and will have multiple favorable matchups that can possibly pay dividends.
Here's the breakdown of the pitching matchups for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Aug. 2 (Friday) — Bryan Woo (Seattle) vs. Tyler Phillips (Philadelphia)
This might be one of the most interesting matchups of the weekend for both teams. Woo is three starts in since his return off the injured list and has had a mixed showing. He gave up nine hits and four earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched against the Los Angeles Angels, returned to form against the Houston Astros and exited his start against the Chicago White Sox with discomfort in the same hamstring that landed him on the injured list.
Phillips, a 10-year minor-leaguer, is in the middle of his first major league stint ever. He has a 1.80 ERA in four appearances and three starts with 19 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched. He's holding opposing batters to a .195 average.
Aug. 3 (Saturday) — Bryce Miller (Seattle) vs. Kolby Allard (Philadelphia)
Allard is another recent call-up for the Phillies. He was promoted on July 27 and made one start. He allowed six hits and four earned runs in 4.0 innings pitched. Allard has struggled in his seven years in the majors. His best season was in 2019 when he had a 4.96 ERA in nine starts for the Texas Rangers.
In the other dugout — Miller is currently on one of the best stretches of his career. He has three consecutive quality starts and has allowed no walks and no earned runs in two of his last three outings. He had a 1.80 ERA in four starts in July with 19 strikeouts.
Aug. 4 (Sunday) — Logan Gilbert (Seattle) vs. Zach Wheeler (Philadelphia)
Gilbert is coming off one of his worst starts of the year. He gave up seven runs (all earned) off seven hits in 2.2 innings pitched. That outing could have ended up a lot different if one pitch was called differently and there's no reason to assume that start is a sign of things to come.
Wheeler is similarly coming off a bad start. He let up seven earned runs on seven hits and allowed three home runs in five innings pitched against the New York Yankees.
Both these two pitchers are legitimate aces who are coming off bad starts. If their recent starts prove to be just off nights, then this will likely be a solid battle.
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