The Red Sox and the Mariners kick off their seasons on the west coast Thursday, wrapping up a day's worth of games. Boston is coming off its second consecutive last-place finish in the ultra-competitive AL East. The big moves of the Red Sox's winter were sending Chris Sale to Atlanta in exchange for Vaughn Grissom and signing Lucas Giolito to a two-year deal, only to almost immediately lose him for the year to elbow surgery.
The Mariners missed the playoffs last year by one measly game and are hoping the offseason additions of Mitches Garver and Haniger will help get them over the hump.
Here now is what you need to know before the Red Sox and Mariners meet on Opening Day at T-Mobile Park.
Red Sox vs. Mariners
Date: Thursday, March 28 | Time: 10:10 p.m. ET
Location: T-Mobile Park (Seattle, Washington)
Live stream: Fubo (try for free), MLB.TV | TV: NESN, ROOT Sports
Probable pitchers: RHP Brayan Bello (BOS) vs. RHP Luis Castillo (SEA)
Odds: BOS +152; SEA -180; over/under: 7.5
Storylines
Red Sox: The Red Sox are in a bad spot. Ownership doesn't seem to have much interest in spending and in the AL East, that might as well be the end of the story. Vaughn Grissom, who will start the season on the IL, has been in search of regular playing time and finally stands to get that in Boston and Rafael Devers is still Rafael Devers. Masataka Yoshida seems poised for a breakout in his second season in MLB. Beyond that, the rotation was already in deep trouble even before Giolito got hurt. Maybe Triston Casas and Trevor Story carry the team and new boss Craig Breslow buys big at the deadline. But probably not.
Mariners: As previously mentioned, the Mariners missed the postseason by one game last year. In a perfect world, we'd have seen the front office go bonkers this winter, fueled by spite. Mitch Haniger, Mitch Garver and Jorge Polanco are nice pickups, but they don't quite qualify. Instead, Seattle is hoping for internal improvements, particularly Julio Rodríguez Jr. The rotation is the highlight, carried by Opening Day starter Luis Castillo with strong showings behind him in George Kirby and Logan Gilbert. That might just be the best rotation in baseball. Now the offense just has to score enough runs to make that matter.
