The Blue Jays head to Seattle to take on the first-place Mariners (48-41) this weekend in what promises to be one of the most well-represented road series of the year.

For years, folks from north of the border in the Vancouver area have made the annual pilgrimage down for this series, where Blue Jays fans routinely outnumber the hometown fans. It remains to be seen if this year may be any different, as the Mariners find themselves in first place in the AL West with Toronto in the AL East basement. T-Mobile Park has also represented a home-field advantage for the Mariners, as their 29-16 home record ranks second in the American League.

Friday, July 5th, 9:40 EST: Kevin Gausman (6-7, 4.75) vs Luis Castillo (6-9, 3.87)

Saturday, July 6th, 4:10 EST: Yariel Rodriguez (0-3, 4.63) vs TBD

Sunday, July 7th, 4:10 EST: Jose Berrios (8-6, 3.63) vs George Kirby (7-6, 3.32)

To say that the Mariners have been carried by their pitching this year would be a massive understatement. Their overall team ERA ranks 5th in the Major Leagues, with their starting pitchers compiling the 3rd best ERA.

It’s hard to find a team with a better quartet of starting pitchers than Seattle has. Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, and Bryce Miller have each made 18 starts on the year, all with sub 4.00 ERAs on the season.

Blue Jays fans will undoubtedly recall Castillo’s gem of a start in the 2022 Wild Card round, where he blanked Toronto over 7+ innings. Castillo is having a solid year, albeit one where he’s had to pitch around some baserunners. He has the most walks on the M’s pitching staff, and his 8.86 K/9 is the lowest he’s had since 2018.

Bryan Woo has been excellent in the 5th rotation spot for the team but was recently placed on the injured list for the second time this year. Saturday’s starter has yet to be announced, but righthander Emerson Hancock appears like the favourite to be called up and fill in.

Sunday’s matinee appears to be the best pitching matchup of the weekend. George Kirby has a 3.32 ERA on the year but has really been dialled in as of late. He has a 1.67 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in his last five starts, walking just three batters in that span.

Seattle’s bullpen ranks in the middle of the pack, as they have regressed since being one of the best over the last couple of seasons. After trading closer Paul Sewald last year, the door was opened for electric right-hander Andres Munoz to take over as closer. Munoz has been one of the best closers in the league this year, converting 13 of 15 chances with a 1.59 ERA and 1.06 WHIP.

The Mariners appear to lack the shutdown setup guys that they’ve had in years past. It certainly doesn’t help that Kingston, Ontario native Matt Brash has been on the injured list for the entire year.

The team’s best non-Munoz relievers have been Austin Voth and Trent Thornton. Both have sub 1.00 WHIPs on the year, with each also holding opponents to batting averages under .200. Ryne Stanek, Gabe Speier, and Taylor Saucedo are the next most used relievers on the team. They have each shown flashes of brilliance, but they each lack the strikeout stuff to be dominant late-inning guys. For that reason, it appears likely that this team may make a trade deadline move to acquire a reliever that can help out late in games.

It’s not very often that a team finds themselves in first place despite being as light-hitting as the Mariners are. They rank 27th in the Major Leagues in team OPS, while sporting the league’s worst batting average. The team has six players who have enough at-bats to qualify among league leaders in rate stats, with none of them sporting an OPS north of .700.

It’s truly been a disastrous season for Seattle’s offence, with virtually all their key players having down years. The biggest disappointment for the team has likely been centerfielder Julio Rodriguez. After posting 32.4 and 27.6 offensive fWAR in his first two big league seasons, the 23-year-old Dominican phenom has posted a -5.7 mark so far this year. His defence has remained above average, but the offensive woes have truly been holding back this team. Joining J-Rod with disappointing seasons are Cal Raleigh, Ty France, and J.P Crawford, all of whom have sported career-low numbers so far this season.

It’s difficult to find much of a bright spot for the Mariners’ offence this year, but Mitch Garver has hit six home runs over the last month, perhaps showing that he could be a reliable middle-of-the-order bat as the season progresses. However you slice it, it seems highly likely that the Mariners will be looking to add at least one bat to their offence by the July 30th trade deadline.

There’s no team in the Major Leagues that relies on winning low-scoring games like the Mariners. Getting past the team’s elite starters will be paramount to winning the series. Although Seattle has one of the best home records in the Majors this year, Blue Jays fans will look to invade T-Mobile and make the M’s feel like they’re on the road all weekend long.