2023 MLB End of May - Real or Fake: Seattle Mariners

by Nelly's Sports

Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Seattle has overcome a slow start to post solid returns in the month of May, can the Mariners return to the playoffs? Now with two months of the MLB season complete the sample size has reached a meaningful level and the standings are taking form through all the adjustments for the 2023 season. Several teams have provided some recent momentum to emerge in the playoff standings, including the Seattle Mariners, darlings of last season’s playoffs. Is it a real run to relevance or a fake short-term boost for a mediocre squad?

Seattle has seemed to be an overachiever with close-game fortune the past two years, but the Mariners seemed to prove doubters correct with a 12-16 start to the season. Seattle has suddenly emerged above .500 however with a 16-10 run in May while +30 in scoring in that span. The Mariners are 3-5 in extra-inning games and 6-12 in one-run games in great contrast to the past two seasons, yet Seattle keeps closing the gap in the AL West, now just 6.5 games behind Texas. 

The Mariners do have three teams ahead of them in the division including the 2022 World Series champions. The Angels have played above .500 baseball as well and Seattle is 7-0 and +24 in scoring vs. Oakland, a team on a historically bad pace. Seattle’s schedule in June is very difficult as after they close the month of May with the Yankees, they have a three-stop road trip going from Arlington to San Diego to Anaheim. Late in June the Mariners will play in New York and Baltimore vs. AL East contenders as June is likely to take a toll on the record and placement in the standings for Seattle. 

Luis Castillo has lived up to his billing as the staff ace while Logan Gilbert and George Kirby have turned in solid results as well to make the Mariners a formidable rotation. Bryce Miller has also emerged as an impressive rookie to add to the pitching depth with Seattle still able to turn to Marco Gonzales as a change-of-pace starter in the rotation. Gilbert and Kirby can be questioned in their ability to be used for 200-inning seasons as starters while Miller has had some good fortune in his six starts as Seattle may not be able to maintain its elite pitching numbers all season long. 

The Mariners have one of the most strikeout-prone lineups in baseball and have been in MLB’s bottom six in batting average and OPS for the season despite the winning record. Recent injuries to AJ Pollock and Dylan Moore don’t help that situation while Eugenio Suarez and Jarred Kelenic have proven to be streaky at the plate. Seattle has four players already with 60 or more strikeouts as the Mariners have the fourth most strikeouts in MLB. 

The biggest red flag for the Mariners is going 7-15 vs. winning teams this season while the three other contenders in the AL West all have at least 14 wins against above .500 squads. Seattle’s lineup has had success vs. left-handers this season winning 60 percent of its games vs. left-handed starters but there are not that many lefty starters in the division and Texas, Houston, and the Angels have all had much better results vs. right-handers. Ultimately Seattle’s strong month of May would look rather ordinary without those seven wins vs. the Athletics, who they won’t face again until late August when it may be too late to make a run at the playoffs. 

Verdict on the 2023 Seattle Mariners start: Fake Contender

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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