Mariners series preview: This battle means more now

Grass Creek may have bigger implications now.

Back in 2007, Freneau, the founder of this site, found futility in the series between the Royals and Mariners. So he invented a new rivalry - The Battle for Grass Creek - to give the teams something to fight for - the town of Grass Creek, Wyoming, which sits equidistant from Seattle and Kansas City.

This year, the Battle of Grass Creek may have some actual meaning as both teams have winning records a quarter into the season, with both teams having over a 70 percent chance of making the post-season, according to Baseball Reference. In fact, if the season ended today, the Royals would be heading to Seattle for a Wild Card round matchup.

Kansas City Royals (25-17) vs. Seattle Mariners (22-19) at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA

Royals: 4.62 runs scored/game (13th in MLB), 3.45 runs allowed/game (1st)

Mariners: 3.80 runs scored/game (24th), 3.66 runs allowed/game (5th)

Mariners hitters have the eighth-most home runs, with catcher Cal Raleigh currently tied for the seventh-most home runs in baseball with 10. But he has the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball and no team has struck out at a higher rate than Seattle. The Mariners have the sixth-lowest batting average and on-base percentage.

Josh Rojas has been on a tear, hitting .375 with two home runs in his last 16 games. Mitch Haniger and Jorge Polanco are both under the Mendoza Line are among the ten worst qualified hitters in batting average. The Mariners are 24-for-31 in stolen base attempts, but they are fifth-worst in baseball in Baseerunning Runs. The lineup is without shortstop J.P. Crawford or outfielder Dominic Canzone due to injuries.

George Kirby has the second-lowest walk rate among qualified starters and the seventh-lowest hard-hit rate. He gave up four runs and three home runs in just five innings in his last start against the Twins. Opponents are hitting just .125 against his sinker, while they’re hitting .333 against his slider.

Logan Gilbert is coming off his worst start of the year, allowing eight runs in four innings, but had a 1.69 ERA in seven starts prior to that. Drafted four picks ahead of Brady Singer in 2018, Gilbert has a career 5.27 ERA against the Royals in five starts, but is 2-0. He has the eighth-most valuable slider among starters and it has a 42 percent whiff rate.

Bryan Woo missed the first month of the season with elbow inflammation and was removed from his only start in the fifth inning as a precautionary measure after a velocity drop. He had a 4.21 ERA in 18 starts in his rookie season last year, with more strikeouts than innings pitched. Woo throws a 95 mph four-seamer, sinker, changeup, and slider

Mariners relievers have a 3.20 ERA, sixth-best in baseball with the tenth-best strikeout rate and the seventh-lowest walk rate. Their relievers have the fewest outings in baseball on zero days rest and average the fewest pitches per outing. Closer Andrés Muñoz averages 98.5 mph on his fastball and is one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in baseball. He has converted 5 of 6 save opportunities and hasn’t allowed a run in his last eight innings. Kansas City native Ryne Stanek has one of the highest flyball rates in baseball. Lefties are hitting just .100/.217/.250 against former Royals southpaw Gabe Speier.

The Mariners have played well this year going against one of the tougher schedules so far. They’re 13-9 at home and took two of three from the A’s on this homestand. This series will feature two of the best pitching staffs so far on the season, so the lineups may need to manufacture some runs to win the battle.