Seattle Mariners at Philadelphia Phillies 4/27/23

An interleague matchup will take place on Thursday afternoon, when the Seattle Mariners battle the Philadelphia Phillies from Citizens Bank Park. The Mariners (11-13) have split their first eight road games and just lost 2021 American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray for the season with a flexor tendon injury. Last night, Seattle SS J.P. Crawford hit a second-inning grand slam during a 6-5 road loss against Philadelphia.

Twenty-five year old righty George Kirby (2-1 3.57 ERA) is one of the best pitchers in baseball that most casual fans have not seen. Kirby, who finished sixth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting last season, has posted a 1.06 WHIP through his first four starts. 

The Philadelphia Phillies have won seven of their previous ten games and are five games off the pace in the NL East Division race. On Wednesday, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm came through with RBI singles in the eighth inning to erase a 5-4 deficit. DH Nick Castellanos homered and drove in three runs for the Phillies (12-13), who improved to 7-5 at home on the year.

The Phillies will give the nod to thirty-one year old southpaw Matt Strahm (1-2 3.00 ERA) on Thursday. Strahm has made four starts this season, striking out 27 batters and positing a sparkling 0.94 WHIP in 18 innings of work.

Philadelphia OF Bryce Harper (elbow) played catch over the weekend and hopes to make his season debut next month. Through 24 games, Seattle ranks 20th in OPS and 18th in runs scored. For the season, Philadelphia ranks 5th in OPS and 16th in runs scored. Take the under. Final Score Prediction, Philadelphia Phillies win 4-3.