NEWSLETTER
Cubs vs Mariners — The Cubs west coast trip continues tonight in Seattle, where they’ll open up the first of three games against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.
The Cubs are coming off a pretty frustrating series loss in San Diego, in which they blew a huge lead on Monday (in historic fashion) and we’re absolutely smoked on Thursday. However, the Mariners haven’t won a series all season, splitting their four-game opener with the Red Sox (2-2), before losing three straight against the Guardians (1-2), Brewers (1-2), and Blue Jays (1-2).
So far this season, Seattle’s offense is slashing just .207/.278/.324 (80 wRC+, 28th in MLB) with the highest strikeout rate in the league (29.2%). But be warned, their production against left-handed pitching is much better: 100 wRC+, 22.8%. And I bring that up, because two of the Cubs starters in this series, Shota Imanaga and Jordan Wicks, are lefties.
Of course, they’ve also both been really good through two starts this season. And so has Sunday’s starter, Javier Assad. In reality, these are the Cubs best three starting pitchers right now, with Justin Steele (injured), Jameson Taillon (injured), and Kyle Hendricks (struggling) all out or not producing. So … take advantage!
Working in the Cubs favor this weekend is the fact that the Cubs will not see Logan Gilbert, who’s off to a fantastic start this season. That said, Bryce Miller is coming off a fantastic start against the Brewers (7.0 scoreless innings) and Luis Castillo is still really good, even if he’s had a rough start so far (6.89 ERA through 3 games).
All in all, I like the Cubs chances this weekend. Let’s just hope the day off and long wait today helps shake the Padres series from their system. Time to get back to it. Go Cubs.
Cubs vs Mariners – Pitching Probables:
Game 1: Friday, April 12 at 8:40 CT at T-Mobile Park
Broadcast Info: AppleTV+, 670 The Score
Game 2: Saturday, April 13 at 8:40 CT at T-Mobile Park
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score
Game 3: Sunday, April 14 at 3:10 CT at T-Mobile Park
Broadcast Info: Marquee Sports Network, MLBN, 670 The Score
