Cincinnati's bullpen picture isn't pretty either. Tony Santillan is dealing with a PRP injection for his oblique, Graham Ashcraft is only just building back up on a throwing program, and Brandon Williamson's rehab keeps getting pushed. That's a lot of innings the Reds need from arms that aren't their best right now, which matters against a Seattle team that's shown it can grind out at-bats even in a down offensive stretch.
The Reds did just show some life, dropping 9 runs on Colorado in their last outing after getting run out of the building the game before that — this team is streaky in both directions, win or lose, and rarely boring for long.
Matt McLain is back with the club after using the All-Star break to work at Cincinnati's Arizona complex, which gives the infield a little more juice than it's had. On the other side, Seattle's getting reinforcements too — Brendan Donovan and Rob Refsnyder have both shifted their rehab assignments to Triple-A Tacoma, meaning the Mariners could have real lineup help walking through the door soon, just not tonight.
Neither team is playing spoiler or chasing anything urgent in July, but Seattle's the healthier version of itself right now, and Kirby's stuff has looked the part even when the results haven't followed. Cincinnati's task is simple: get length from Abbott and hope the offense that torched Colorado shows back up against a pitcher who hasn't walked a batter in his last outing.