It’s hard to expect much from this Mariner team although that doesn’t mean they can’t play spoiler now and then. They took three games in Detroit and they followed that up with a win in their opener against the Red Sox. 12-15 isn’t great, but in 2011, that puts the Mariners just 3 1/2 games back of the Rangers and Angels.
Justin Smoak has been rock solid this year despite missing a little time. He’s hitting .300 with four home runs and seventeen RBIs. Ichiro is his usual self with a .319 average, sixteen runs and eight stolen bases. He has yet to get his a triple or a home run so his OPS is down but at this pace, he could come close to the 56 steals he picked up in his rookie year.
Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda have a made a nice one two punch and at least so far, Pineda has been the better pitcher. Hernandez has a few more strikeouts, but Pineda has a better ERA and more wins. Doug Fister also has some nice numbers even though his record is only 1-3.
Two more against the Red Sox this weekend. Maybe these Mariners aren’t as bad as we thought.
