Mariners vs. Tigers preview: Why Seattle's Bryan Woo should dominate Detroit's struggling offense

We’ve completed more than enough baseball games at this point to make some accurate conclusions about the teams. As with any season, some are underperforming, and others are overperforming. Then there is a group in the middle that will be most interesting down the stretch, and they have to make a decision on which direction they intend to go at the trade deadline. Tonight, we have the Mariners taking on the Tigers, two teams that will make important decisions very soon.

The Seattle Mariners were within outs of making it to the World Series last year, but came up short. Since then, they’ve gone just 33-30. The offseason wasn’t filled with a ton of moves, and it probably didn’t need to be. Why tinker with a team that proved successful? They haven’t been great to start this season, though, and I think they will need to bolster the club with something at the deadline. The good news for them is that no one has performed well in their division, and the Mariners are still the favorites to win it.

What can the Mariners do to improve? Their pitching staff is solid, so it is likely their offense that will need to get a boost. I don’t want to break my arm patting my back, but there is no surprise here that Cal Raleigh is terrible this season. In slight defense, he has been injured since May 13, but he was still really bad before the injury. There aren’t a lot of areas to upgrade. Maybe guys, like Raleigh, just need to hit closer to their average. One guy who has been great is Bryan Woo, and throwing the way he has won’t require him to need much help offensively. He is 5-3 for the year with a 3.44 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Woo has seen his worst performances on the road this year, but the truly bad ones are few and far between. Tigers hitters are also just 6-for-35 against him.

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The Detroit Tigers are one of the bigger disappointments of the season. They are in one of the worst divisions in baseball, but they have the means and the talent to deliver a strong season. They were actually ousted by the Mariners in the playoffs last year. The expectations were high for Detroit, but the offense has been low this season. Additionally, they lost Tarik Skubal from their rotation, and he was the main guy keeping them from prolonged losing streaks.

The other arm they invested in, Framber Valdez, starts today, but he’s already had some issues on the Detroit roster. His numbers, 2-4 with a 4.39 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP, aren’t horrendous, but they aren’t exactly great either. He has struggled in Detroit, with a 5.14 ERA. The Tigers also lost all five of his May starts, and he only had two quality starts in five outings. Mariners hitters are very familiar with him from his time with Houston. They are 38-for-155 against him, but no one pops out as being great against him, either.

This should be a win for the Mariners. Unfortunately for Tigers fans, the more reliable pitcher is Woo. Valdez is normally a lock for six innings and two or three earned runs allowed. That hasn’t been the case this season. I don’t know that you can count on him for that any longer.

Additionally, the Tigers are offensive on offense. Woo navigates tough lineups with ease. Why wouldn’t he be able to do that against a Tigers team that is struggling to score runs? Give me the Mariners to win this. 

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