The Seattle Mariners ended July in first place, capping off a stretch of play not seen in the last 21 years of team history.
The Seattle Mariners enter the month of August at 57-53 overall and tied for first place in the American League West.
According to @MarinersPR, this is the fourth straight month that the M’s have had at least a share of the division lead. That is the first time that’s happened since 2003, when the M’s closed April, May, June and July with that distinction.
Though the M’s have a solid position in the standings, they enter August with a ton of questions. Will the offense step up and rectify its issues from the last four months? Will the elite starting pitching staff be able to keep up its great work? Will Julio Rodriguez and JP Crawford come back to make meaningful contributions to the stretch run? And will the Houston Astros scuffle enough to give the M’s a chance to win their first division title since 2001?
The M’s will begin to answer some of those questions on Friday night when they return home for a nine-game homestand that kicks off against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies come in with the best record in all of baseball, but they are dealing with some woes of their own. They’ve lost seven of their last 10 games and have placed left-hander Ranger Suarez on the injured list recently.
First pitch of the series is Friday at 6:40 p.m. PT. Bryan Woo will get the ball for Seattle against Tyler Phillips. Woo is coming off a short start against the Chicago White Sox last weekend. He aggravated his hamstring issue but was still cleared to start.
