After a brief holiday spent playing interleague games against the Cardinals, the Mariners, like many of us, have to go back to work today, back to facing a divisional opponent in the Oakland A’s.
The A’s have somehow played their way to eight games over .500 despite the fact that their pitching staff is made of the equivalent of that basket full of old chargers you keep in the garage “just in case,” but the Rangers are hot on their heels for second place in the AL West. The Mariners have a chance to help (or hurt) the Rangers, who are stuck playing the Minnesota Twins before their All-Star Break, which is like having all your finals done except calculus.