Game Forty-Five: Kansas City Royals at Seattle Mariners

The Battle for Grass Creek rages on.

The Kansas City A’s Royals will take on the Seattle Pilots Mariners this afternoon at T-Mobile Park with the series on the line. In a battle between strong pitching staffs and struggling offenses, 14 total runs have been scored in the series. Kansas City has already secured a winning road trip and can end this west coast swing on a high note with a win today.

Alec Marsh will start for the Royals. Marsh has had a weird season — his strikeout, walk, and home run rates have all dropped precipitously from last year. He’s been especially effective in his last three starts, totaling 15.1 innings with just one run allowed (which came on a solo homer). He struck out 14 and walked six in that span. Like with Seth Lugo, I have no idea what to make of Marsh’s season so far. He started twice against Seattle in a two week stretch last August, allowing four runs across 10.2 innings.

The Mariners will counter with Bryan Woo. Woo began the season on the IL and made his season debut just last week, throwing 4.1 shutout innings against Oakland. He threw just 62 pitches in that game so he may still be working on a limited pitch count. Woo leans heavily on heaters, throwing a four-seamer or sinker over 70% of the time throughout his career. As that implies, he has yet to develop a particularly effective secondary offering. Woo has never faced the Royals.

First pitch: 3:10 pm CDT

Royals lineup

Mariners lineup