Seattle Mariners at Atlanta Braves 5/21/23

An interleague battle will take place on Saturday afternoon, when the Seattle Mariners take on the Atlanta Braves from Truist Park. The Mariners (22-23) have split their previous ten games overall and are currently six games behind AL West Division leading Texas. Last night, 3B Eugenio Suarez homered and drove in three runs to power Seattle to a 7-3 road triumph against Atlanta.

Twenty-five year old righty George Kirby (5-2 2.45 ERA) is one of the best pitchers in baseball that most casual fans do not know. Through 51 plus innings, Kirby has allowed just two home runs and owns a minuscule 1.01 WHIP.

The Atlanta Braves are a game above .500 at home and hold a 4.5 game lead over Miami for the to spot in the NL East Division standings. On Saturday, Michael Tonkin (3-2) gave up five runs (2 ER) in two innings of relief work and took the loss. 1B Matt Olson hit a two-run blast in the first inning for the Braves, who fell to 28-17 on the season. Atlanta batters struck out 13 times in defeat. 

Rookie left-hander Jared Shuster (0-2 7.24 ERA) will make his fourth career major league start for the Braves. Last time out, Shuster gave up three runs and lasted five innings during a 7-4 road loss against Texas. 

Atlanta SP Max Fried suffered a left forearm strain and is expected to miss the next two months. Through 45 games, Seattle ranks 27th in OPS and 19th in runs scored. For the season, Atlanta ranks 2nd in OPS and 5th in runs scored. Take the Mariners to win on the road. Final Score Prediction, Seattle Mariners win 6-3.