The Mariners roll into Rate Field at 18-20 with a starting staff that's basically held together by Emerson Hancock and prayer. Hancock takes the ball Friday with a 2.59 ERA and a 14-strikeout outing already on his resume, and he's the entire reason this rotation isn't a full crisis while Bryce Miller works back from an oblique.
On the other side, Sean Burke is the kind of arm you don't want to see when you're trying to right the ship. He just shut out the Padres for 6 innings with 8 punchouts and is sitting on a 14.1-inning scoreless run. The Sox went 5-1 last week, ripped off 5 straight wins, and have suddenly won 10 of 14. They're not a pushover anymore.
The injury list is doing the heavy lifting on the narrative for Seattle. Miller is on the 15-day, Matt Brash is still nursing the lat, Victor Robles is down with the pec, and Patrick Wisdom and Brendan Donovan are both shelved. That's a lot of names not penciled into the lineup card, and it shows up in a club that's a hair under .500.
- Day-To-DayTeddy McGraw SP — no
- 10-Day-ILPatrick Wisdom 1B — no
- 10-Day-ILVictor Robles RF — no
- 10-Day-ILBrendan Donovan 3B — no
- 10-Day-ILWill Wilson 3B — no
- 15-Day-ILBryce Miller SP — no
- 15-Day-ILGabe Speier RP — no
- 15-Day-ILMatt Brash RP — no
- Day-To-DayMason Adams RP — The White Sox announced that Adams underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILKyle Teel C — Teel (hamstring) will run the bases this weekend before beginning a rehab assignment next week if all goes well, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILAustin Hays LF — The White Sox placed Hays on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Saturday, due to a left calf strain.
- 10-Day-ILEverson Pereira RF — The White Sox placed Pereira on the 10-day injured list Wednesday due to a right pectoral strain.
- 60-Day-ILMike Vasil RP — The White Sox transferred Vasil (elbow) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Tuesday.
- 60-Day-ILTanner Murray LF — The White Sox transferred Murray (shoulder) to the 60-day injured list Monday.
- 60-Day-ILBrooks Baldwin LF — The White Sox transferred Baldwin (elbow) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Wednesday.
- 60-Day-ILKy Bush SP — The White Sox placed Bush (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Feb. 10.
Market's leaning Seattle as a road favorite at -129, with the runline at -1.5 (+128). It's a tight number for a reason — Hancock vs. Burke is genuinely one of the better under-the-radar pitching matchups on the slate, even if the names don't pop. The total sits at 8 with juice on both sides, and given how both starters have been throwing, the under-money piling in (81% of handle) makes sense.
Bottom line: this is a sneaky-good pitching duel between two guys overshadowed by their teams' records. If Hancock keeps the traffic down the way he has all year and Seattle steals one early off Burke, they cover. If the Sox bullpen gets the ball with a lead, this place is going to feel like it did in May of a few years ago — actually loud.