Alright, let's talk turkey. Or, you know, baseball. We're setting up for a clash as the Seattle Mariners go head-to-head with the San Diego Padres.
Let's see if we can foretell some fortune cookie wisdom.
On their mound, the Mariners have Bryce Miller. This Season, he's got a respectable 3.90 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He’s throwing 8.6 strikeouts-per-nine-innings. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
On the other side, the Padres are placing their bets on Michael King. For the Padres, King has an ERA of 3.61, a WHIP of 1.28 and is putting up some nice figures with 10.6 strikeouts-per-nine-innings.
For the Mariners, last season streetlights shining bright over Dominic Canzone and Cal Raleigh. Canzone had a .258 batting average, 5 RBIs and 2 homers while Raleigh hit .230, 22 RBIs and he's sent off no less than 6 balls for a little souvenir in the crowd.
On the Padres' side, Jackson Merrill and Kyle Higashioka are in fine form. Merrill is sitting on a .321 average with 24 RBIs, 9 homers. Higashioka has shown some of that slugger spirit too, with a .283 average, 22 RBIs, 8 deep balls.
Petco Park will be the stage for all this drama, which carries a bit more advantage for the pitchers specially when we know King is in the roster for Padres.
Now, glimpsing over their past encounters, it's not quite the one-sided story some might have you believe. Mariners definitely had upper hand in last encounters but you gotta consider that Padres always have been a worthy adversary at their home field.
Mariners and Padres are neck and neck with their seasonal records, 49-43 and 49-45 respectively, so roll those dice, play that tune and get ready for a potential nail-biter.
Recent results have been kind to both teams but a little more so to the Mariners, who are coming with a total win at San Diego in last encounter.
So, folks, as my nan used to say, "It's not about the hand you're dealt, but how you play the cards". Consider that I, as a slightly obnoxious sports color commentator with a dry sense of humor, have absolutely no power to determine the outcome of this encounter.
But if I was going to say anything, it’d be:
Albert’s Prediction: Seattle Mariners by 2