5/14/22: SEA at NYM Open Game Thread

George Kirby returns to his home state for his east coast debut

Last night was fun! I mean, not for the Mets, who look, to a man, soggy and sullen in all the pictures of them in the photo editor, in contrast to the damp-but-jubilant Mariners. After securing the at-times elusive prize of Not Swept with their Game 1 win, the Mariners will look to add another notch of increasing difficulty into their belt and go for the Series Win tonight.

George Kirby makes his second MLB start tonight, this time in his home state, so hopefully his Kirby Krew can show up loudly once again. Google tells me the city of Rye, NY is under an hour away from Queens, so the family should be out in force. Meanwhile, the Mariners hitters will see a familiar foe in ex-Athletic Chris Bassitt, although in this case familiarity doesn’t make it an easier task to face Bassitt and his particular brand of Mariners batters kryptonite: ho-hum stuff that induces tons of weak contact.

If you missed John’s blurbin’ storm, the Mariners made a couple of moves today: RHP Erik Swanson has been shifted to the IL with what’s being described as nerve irritation, and the Mariners have recalled lefty Danny Young, also known as the apple of our Connor Donovan’s eye, to take his place. It’s a big blow to a bullpen that really can’t absorb too many of those, although it is a good early-season opportunity to see if Young (and by extension Penn Murfee, and anyone else who might earn a call-up from Tacoma in the meantime) have the kind of staying power needed for a big-league bullpen.

The Mariners also traded away apple of my eye, OF Stuart Fairchild, for INF Alex Blandino, as they continue churning fringe players with San Francisco. Blandino doesn’t occupy a roster spot and Fairchild does, which probably explains it from Seattle’s POV, but I am uh, not sold on Steven Souza as a Jarred Kelenic replacement and would have liked to see Fairchild get more of a shot. Quick, everyone, send healing thoughts and prayers to one Taylor Trammell.

Today’s game is set to begin at 4:10 PT/7:10 ET, but as the Mets themselves admit, there do be weather:

Yes, in breaking news from at-Mets, weather exists. Mike Trout would never stand for this. You can check the latest updates from Shannon Drayer on Twitter, as she usually has a keen eye out for any potential Tarpenings. So far all we’ve got is that it’s expected to be delayed:

When the game starts, whether on time or not, you’ll be able to find it in the usual places: on 710 Seattle Sports on the radio, and on ROOT Sports NW on TV.