Boston Red Sox vs. Seattle Mariners preview: TV schedule, pitching probables, key stories (April 22-25)

The Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners will be playing a four-game series starting Thursday night at Fenway Park.

Boston and Seattle didn’t play in 2020 because COVID regionalized the schedule. The Red Sox won four of seven games against the Mariners in 2019, scoring 58-42 points.

Both teams made surprising starts. Boston (12-7) ranks first in the AL East, two games ahead of Tampa Bay on Thursday. Seattle (11-7) is second in AL West, just half a game behind Oakland.

The Red Sox lead all American League teams with a run differential of +27. Seattle has a -3 running differential. Boston only follows the Dodgers (+38) for the barrel differential.

Boston Red Sox (12-7) v Seattle Mariners (11-7) Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.

SERIES PLAN (and TV information):

Thursday, April 22, 7:10 p.m. – NESN, MLB Network

Friday, April 23, 7:10 p.m. – NESN

Saturday, April 24th, 1:10 p.m. – NESN, MLB Network

Sunday, April 25th, 1:10 p.m. – NESN, MLB Network

HOW TO LOOK:

Thursday, April 22nd, 7:10 p.m. – NESN (Channel Finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spektrum / Charter, Optimum / Altice, DIRECTV, Court, AT&T U-Vers, fuboTV and Sling) Live Stream: fuboTV , MLB.tv (from the market)

Friday, April 23, 7:10 p.m. – NESN (channel finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spektrum / Charter, Optimum / Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT & TU Vers, fuboTV and Sling) Live stream: fuboTV, MLB .tv. (not on the market)

Saturday, April 24th, 1:10 p.m. – NESN (Channel Finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spektrum / Charter, Optimum / Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT & TU Vers, FuboTV and Sling) Live Stream: FuboTV, MLB . TV (not on the market)

Sunday, April 25, 1:10 p.m. – NESN (Channel Finder: Comcast Xfinity, Verizon Fios, Spektrum / Charter, Optimum / Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, AT & TU Vers, FuboTV and Sling) Live Stream: FuboTV, MLB .tv. (not on the market)

KNOW YOUR OPPONENTS:

According to the PECOTA predictions of the baseball prospectus for 2021, the Mariners would probably take fourth place out of five teams in the AL West with 74.5 wins. But Seattle started off well. It enters this streak with an 11-7 record.

Righty Justin Dunn (1-0, 3.72) will face the Red Sox in Thursday’s opener. Dunn posed at Boston College and was the 19th overall winner in the 2016 MLB Draft.

The Mariners just got back 2020 AL Rookie of the Year Kyle Lewis from the IL. He has cut .262 / .364 / .437 / .800 with 11 homers, three doubles, 28 RBIs and 37 runs in 58 games.

PITCHING PROBABLES:

Thursday, 7:10 p.m. – RHP Nick Pivetta (2-0, 3.68) against RHP Justin Dunn (1-0, 3.72)

Friday, 7:10 p.m. – LHP Martín Pérez (0-1, 5.93) versus LHP Yusei Kikuchi (0-0, 4.74)

Saturday, 1:10 p.m. – RHP Nathan Eovaldi (3-1, 3.04) vs RHP Chris Flexen (1-1, 3.38)

Sunday, 1:10 p.m. – Eduardo Rodriguez (2-0, 3.60) against TBD

THREE SOX TO SEE:

1. Nick Pivetta

Pivetta fought his command again on his last start (four walks in 3 ⅔ innings against the White Sox). He has 11 walks in 14 innings (6.8 walks per nine innings). He is 4-0 with a 2.92 ERA in five starts for Boston since he was acquired last August. But he did 16 walks in 24 innings.

2. Martín Pérez

Seattle’s Kyle Seager is 18:55 (.327) with four homers and one double against Pérez, while Mitch Haniger went 7:21 (.333) with two doubles against him. Pérez needs a good start. He has admitted nine earned runs, 16 hits and five walks in 13 innings. Seattle has fought left-handers (.175 batting average).

3. Franchy Lamb

Cordero should get at least two starts in the series, with right-handers starting for the Mariners Thursday and Saturday pitchers. Cordero has power but he hasn’t delivered much (just two doubles) in 15 games. He has also struck 18 times in 38 bats (42.9%).

SERIES NOTES:

Mitch Haniger was the best batsman in Seattle. Haniger beats .315 with a base percentage of .333, a slugging percentage of .575, an OPS of .909, four homers, five doubles, one triple, 13 runs and 14 RBIs in 18 games (73 at-bats) .
Ty France has a .306 / .405 / .516 / .922 line with three homers, four doubles, 13 runs and 10 RBIs in 18 games (62 at-bats).
Haniger and France are the only two Blue Jays players to beat over 0.250.
The Mariners bullpen was one of the best in baseball. Seattle Reliefs have combined for a 2.69 ERA and 1.07 lash. They held the opposition against an average of 0.176.
Mariners who hit only hit .175 / .279 / .304 / .583 in 171 bats against left-handers. The Red Sox have two leftists, Martín Pérez and Eduardo Rodriguez starting this series.
Chris Flexen, who starts against the Red Sox on Saturday, has an ERA of 3.38 and an FIP of 2.90 in three starts. But the opposition beats .333 against him. He has allowed 22 hits in 16 innings.
JD Martinez and Xander Bogaerts are both 1-3 with a homer against Yusei Kikuchi, who starts on Friday.

April 26th: day off

April 27-28: in New York Mets (2)

April 29 – May 2: at Texas Rangers (4)

April 3: rest day

April 4-6: against Detroit Tigers (3)

April 7-10: in Baltimore (4)