Game One Hundred and Twenty-Two: Seattle Mariners at Kansas City Royals

Say hello to everybody’s favorite ump

The Seafarers from Seattle will take on the Kings from Kansas City tonight in the third game of this four game set. After splitting a couple of tight games Monday and Tuesday, each team will be looking to secure a series split tonight at Kauffman Stadium.

James McArthur will open for Kansas City with Alec Marsh to follow. This will be McArthur’s first action as an opener, coming on the heels of a scoreless inning he threw last night. He has been entirely unable to miss bats in his brief big league career. Marsh has also had his struggles, rating quite poorly in all three peripheral categories. Neither pitcher has faced Seattle.

The Mariners will counter with Luis Castillo. Castillo has been his typical self this season: very good, but not quite Cy Young level. That said, he also has a career-high FIP and xERA this season. While he still throws strikes and misses plenty of bats, he’s been getting hit harder than in the past. His last outing against the Royals was a memorable one: he pitched alright, ran out of gas in the sixth, and departed the game with a comfortable 11-4 lead. Kansas City would go on to win 13-12.

The Royals have recorded double-digit hits in four consecutive games. They have a 110 wRC+ as a team since the All-Star break, which is the 11th best mark in baseball. They’ll have their work cut out for them against a very good pitcher in Castillo.

First pitch: 7:10 pm CDT

Royals lineup

Mariners lineup