Seattle Mariners face desperation to avoid elimination in AL West race

College football season has officially started and finished its first week in one quick motion. We went 1-1 to open the year with a fairly average day of action. The Trojans did not keep their foot on the gas as expected, yet they won with ease. The matchup between UNC and TCU offered much more interest, but TCU apparently left their offense back in America instead of taking it over to Ireland since they struggled to get anything going yesterday. We have plenty of Saturday football remaining to make up for that letdown. Before we reach those games, there is baseball to focus on as the Seattle Mariners take on the Toronto Blue Jays.

It is desperation time for the Seattle Mariners. They need to get into gear and find a way to take the American League West because the hole they have dug themselves into seems like it has eliminated the Wild Card as any possibility. The good news for them is that despite being almost 10 games under .500, the team sits just four games back of the American League West division leaders. If they are going to get there, it will not be up to pitching or hitting individually; it needs to be a combination of both.

On Sunday, the Mariners should have a good shot at getting a win as they send out Logan Gilbert to the hill. Gilbert has been one of the better pitchers for Seattle this season. Not every start has been fantastic, but he is 11-7 for the season with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He also recorded 162 strikeouts, putting all of those numbers at 21st or better in the Majors. One reason to be encouraged today is Gilbert's outstanding road numbers. He has allowed just two homers and posted a 2.49 ERA in 11 road starts. The Blue Jays hitters are batting just .259 against him over 116 at-bats.

The Blue Jays knocked out the Mariners in the American League Championship Series last year. Both teams have had struggles and frustrations this season. The Blue Jays turned into sellers at the trade deadline, but they have somehow turned it around since then. Maybe that is an overstatement, as the team is just about four games over .500 since the deadline, yet they are back in the Wild Card race, sitting just a game and a half behind Cleveland for the last spot. So are the Rangers and Orioles, though.

I almost feel bad for Mad Max Scherzer. He has dealt with injury much of the season, and you have to wonder if that is why he has such rough numbers. For the year, he is 1-7 with a 7.02 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Is it injury-related, or has time finally caught up with him? The optimist sees that Scherzer has thrown four starts of two or fewer earned runs in his past five outings. The pessimist looks at his start against Tampa where he allowed seven earned runs in four innings. Mariners hitters are batting just .255 against him.

This should be a fairly low-scoring game. The Mariners have only scored four runs in the two games, and they really do not have a great offense anyway. The Blue Jays are not exactly lighting the world on fire on offense, either. I do think this is a game where you want to back Gilbert, though. His road numbers are excellent. Scherzer has been solid, but I also think he is a little shaky. I am backing Seattle to avoid the sweep here. One final note, if you do want to bet on anyone in the Toronto lineup, it should be Vlad Guerrero Jr. He is hitting .300 off of Gilbert with three homers and two doubles.