Much like Blanche DuBois, sometimes the Mariners have to depend on the kindness of strangers. They don't always cooperate, but it's rather pleasant when they do, and, safe to say, this one would've gone a lot differently without the three runs' worth of Ian Kinsler errors. He even let Cha Baek pick up his fourth win in six starts, which I don't think anyone was expecting, particularly in this ballpark. Between Baek and Washburn, guess who has the lower xFIP. Go ahead, guess. What? No, I'm not belaboring anything. You're crazy. And that horse was already dead when I got here.
Biggest Contribution: Cha Baek, +28.4%
Biggest Suckfest: Ben Broussard, -7.5%
Most Important At Bat: Kinsler error #1, +14.2%
Most Important Pitch: Cruz homer, -10.0%
Total Contribution by Pitcher(s): +38.3%
Total Contribution by Position Players: -14.1%
Fresh off the invigorating series win in Texas, the Mariners head to Chicago to take on the stalling White Sox, who've seen the gap between themselves and the second-place Twins grow by five games in 11 days. If that weren't enough to keep Ozzie drinking, this extended weekend set should do the trick, because honestly you just can't watch these games sober. Woods/Vazquez tomorrow, 5:05pm PDT.