The AL West is a red-hot affair in which three teams are separated by half a game and all have realistic chances of winning the division, getting to the playoffs via Wild Card, or being eliminated from contention.
As of Friday afternoon, the Houston Astros lead with an 85-68 record.
The Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners are tied at second with an 84-68 record.
Can you guess which teams will be starting a pivotal three-game series this weekend against each other?
Yes, the Mariners and the Rangers.
The Rangers have Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer on their roster but both are out with injuries.
Still, even without them, they are capable of fielding a solid rotation for the weekend series.
“Rangers will skip 5th spot in rotation over weekend, go Dunning, Montgomery and Eovaldi. Expected this would be case. Monty has been best starter in 2nd half; Eovaldi is most tested starter. Both need to pitch in this series,” Rangers insider Evan Grant tweeted.
Rangers will skip 5th spot in rotation over weekend, go Dunning, Montgomery and Eovaldi. Expected this would be case. Monty has been best starter in 2nd half; Eovaldi is most tested starter. Both need to pitch in this series.
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) September 21, 2023
Texas is essentially not using their fifth starter and will go with Dane Dunning, Jordan Montgomery, and Nate Eovaldi against the Mariners.
It’s not a bad group, but Dunning has been hit by negative regression in recent weeks and has a 4.54 ERA since June 6.
Montgomery and Eovaldi have been solid all year and should be able to limit the Mariners offense, which is not so explosive after Julio Rodriguez.
Seattle, however, has a superior pitching staff that keeps the team highly competitive.
It ranks first in the league with a 3.70 ERA, and Texas boasts a 4.31 mark.
It should be a fun, competitive series that could leave one team in a really good position and the other one on life support.
NEXT: The Rangers Have Bounced Back In A Big Way
