MARINERS: Toronto Blue Jays preview

A shocking resemblance.
Courtesy SeattleSportsNet.  

Once again, the Mariners can’t score runs with consistently. Big surprise there. I mean, we didn’t expect the M’s to be some kind of offensive juggernaut after a historically bad 2010 campaign, but we at least expected them to muster up enough runs to back up solid pitching performances by their starters. That has not been the case, as the Mariners have been on a 7 game losing streak while only averaging 2.57 runs a game.

Oh, and if you haven’t heard it already, listen to Chone Figgins pull an epic fail in the locker room while getting asked a few questions after Saturday’s 2-1 loss.

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Anyway, the M’s can now look forward to the Toronto Blue Jays coming to Safeco in hopes of getting their first home win. My preview for the Cleveland Indians series was bogus (I only gave you the starting pitching matchups), so instead of doing that, I’ll just tell you some useful info about the incoming team. The way NSS will cover the Mariners is still a work in progress, so bear with me…

Toronto Blue Jays

5-4, 3rd in AL East. On a 2 game losing streak.

MLB Ranks: Offense: 8th in runs, 15th in AVG, 17th in OBP, 9th in homeruns.

                         Pitching: 2nd in ERA, 2nd in strikeouts, 7th in batting AVG, 6th in innings pitched.

Best Hitter: Not even a debate. Jose Bautista mashed 54 homeruns last season along with a .260 AVG and 124 RBI. Ridiculous. You should expect a “drop off” from Bautista this season, maybe something along the lines of a 35 homer, 100 RBI, .260 AVG campaign. All I’m saying is when Jose is up to bat, cover your kid’s eyes because it could get ugly for Mariners pitchers.

Best pitcher: Kind of a toss up between Kyle Drabek and Ricky Romero. They both had good ERAs in 2010, 3.62 for Drabek and 3.73 for Romero, but Romero wins this battle because of his 210 innings pitched and 174 strikeouts as opposed to 151 IP and 107 SOs for Drabek.

Mariners probable pitchers (in order of appearance): Felix Hernandez (moved up a spot in the rotation in order for him to keep throwing every 5th day), Michael Pineda, Jason Vargas.

Blue Jays probable pitchers: Jesse Litsch, Ricky Romero (Why Ricky? Why not list him as Rick? He’s 26!), Kyle Drabek.

Interesting tidbits: The Jays lead the league in homeruns last season; Ex-mariner Brandon Morrow was primed to be the Jays’ #2 starter to begin the season, but is now on the DL; Rodger Clemons played with the Jays in the 1997 and 1998 seasons;

Reach Nathan Parsons at nathanparsons98@yahoo.com