The Boston Red Sox will continue their final West Coast road trip of the season by heading to Seattle to take on the Seattle Mariners for three games. The Red Sox are coming off a rough series loss to the San Francisco Giants, dropping two out of three games and losing both due to a walk-off from the Giants. With July ending today, the Red Sox are 15-7 this month despite the series loss to the Giants. The Mariners are coming in off their third straight series win, having taken two of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks and are 7-3 in their last ten; over that ten-game stretch, they have outscored their opponents 52-38. The Red Sox faced the Mariners in May, taking two out of three at Fenway Park.
Boston Red Sox (56-49) vs. Seattle Mariners (54-51)
Game 1:
Date: Monday, July 31
Time: 9:40 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Game 2:
Date: Tuesday, August 1
Time: 9:40 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Date: Wednesday, August 2
Time: 4:10 PM EST
Broadcast: NESN
Projected Starting Pitchers:
Game 1: Nick Pivetta (7-5, 4.11 ERA) vs. George Kirby (9-8, 3.49 ERA)
Nick Pivetta returns to the Red Sox rotation; it will be his 26th appearance and ninth start of the season. Pivetta has succeeded as of late as the bulk guy following an opener that Alex Cora has decided for him to return to the rotation. This season Pivetta posts a 4.14 FIP, a 1.17 WHIP, a 3.8 BB/9, and an 11.1 K/9. Pivetta’s last start came against the Mariners back on May 16, and he picked up the win going 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits; he walked four and struck out six. In his career against Seattle, Pivetta has made two starts going 1-0 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Pivetta will be opposed by George Kirby, who is making his 21st start of the season. He posts a 3.30 FIP, a 1.07 WHIP, a 0.9 BB/9, and an 8.2 K/9. Kirby picked up the lone win in the last series against the Red Sox, going 6.2 innings, giving up one run on eight hits; he walked one and struck out six. In his career against the Red Sox, he has made three starts going 1-1 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.
Game 2: Brayan Bello (7-6, 3.66 ERA) vs. Bryce Miller (7-3, 3.96 ERA)
Brayan Bello gets the middle game making his 18th start of the season. Bello has turned into the Red Sox ace, and he proved that against an outstanding Braves lineup in his last start going six innings and giving up three runs on four hits, the three runs came on a three-run home run, and it was the only run the Braves scored in that game; he walked two and struck out four in that start. Bello posts a 4.44 FIP, a 1.20 WHIP, a 2.4 BB/9, and a 7.7 K/9. He faced the Mariners earlier in the season, picking up the win going five innings, giving up one run on three hits; he walked five and struck out seven; that was also Bello’s only start in his career against the Mariners. Bello will take on Bryce Miller, the Mariners’ young stud pitcher who has pitched well this season and is making his 15th start. Millers post a 3.97 FIP, a 1.00 WHIP, a 1.8 BB/9, and an 8.5 K/9. He has never faced the Red Sox in his career.
Game 3: Kutter Crawford (5-5, 3.86 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (9-5, 3.83 ERA)
In the finale, Kutter Crawford will take the ball and is making his 13th start of the season; in his last outing against the Giants, he picked up the win going 5.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits; he walked one and struck out seven. This season he posts a 4.11 FIP, a 1.09 WHIP, a 2.1 BB/9, and an 8.9 K/9; he has become a solid starter for the Red Sox. In his career against the Mariners, Crawford has made one start posting a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Crawford will face Logan Gilbert, who has been discussing being traded at the trade deadline. Gilbert is making his 22nd start and posts a 3.56 FIP, a 1.05 WHIP, a 1.5 BB/9, and an 8.7 K/9. In his career against the Red Sox, Gilbert is 0-0 in two starts posting a 3.46 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.
Red Sox vs. Mariners Batting Leaders
Series Prediction:
The Trade Deadline will take place on Tuesday before the Red Sox play the middle game of the series, and they are looking to add an arm and have also been rumored to be possibly trading Alex Verdugo; now, that may not happen, but time will tell. The Red Sox need to turn things around in this series as they face some tough pitching from the Mariners; who also knows if Gilbert will still be in Seattle to make a start on Wednesday, but I can see the Red Sox taking two out of three from the Mariners in this series and snapping the Mariners series win streak at three.
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