None of that stops this from being a live number on the board. The Mariners have shown flashes of being a pain in LA's side all series, and a shorthanded Dodgers pitching staff means the door's never fully closed, even against the best record in the sport.
Seattle sits at 53-56 and hasn't found consistency in weeks, dropping 3 of its last 5 with Woo's last start a genuine clunker: 5 innings, 9 hits, 5 earned runs in a loss to Texas. The offense has shown life in flashes, including a 7-6 comeback over the Dodgers on Wednesday, but relying on shootouts against a team this deep isn't a recipe built to last.
The injury report cuts both ways here. The Dodgers are still missing Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and catcher Will Smith, and their bullpen has been picked apart by long-term absences too, but the position-player group and lineup depth have been enough to cover for it, evidenced by a 68-40 record that's tops in the league. Seattle's issues are more acute: with Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell all out, GM Justin Hollander is running out of internal options days before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and that bullpen thinness is exactly the kind of thing that turns a close game late into a laugher.
Sasaki's trending the right way and the Dodgers have the deeper roster even without some of their marquee arms. Seattle's counting on Woo bouncing back and its lineup staying hot enough to make this one more of a fight than a formality.