That bullpen math matters against a Marlins lineup that's been putting up crooked numbers nightly. Miami dropped 12, then 7, then 9 runs on Oakland in the sweep, and Liam Hicks has been the engine of it — he's riding one of the longest active hit streaks in the league and leads the team in homers and RBIs. Eury Perez, fresh off a start where he carried a perfect game into the eighth inning, gives Miami's staff another gear if he lines up to pitch this series.
Seattle's absences are piling up in the middle of the field. Julio Rodriguez is on the 7-day concussion IL after taking an errant throw to the back of the head, and third baseman Brendan Donovan is only just starting a rehab assignment for his groin. On the mound, the Mariners are without Cooper Criswell, Matt Brash and Carlos Vargas — three relievers who all would've had leverage roles in a normal year.
Miami isn't unscathed either. Center fielder Jakob Marsee left Sunday's game with a knee contusion and is day-to-day, and the rotation has taken its own hits with Janson Junk, Robby Snelling, Ronny Henriquez and Adam Mazur all out for extended stretches. Still, this is a team that's found a way to keep winning through it, and that depth gets tested against a Seattle club looking for any signature win to show it can hang with a surging NL contender.
Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford are back in Seattle's lineup after their own injury scares, which at least gives the Mariners their best version of an offense for this series. Whether that's enough against a Marlins team playing its best baseball of the season is the real question here.