Diamondbacks Hit the Road to Face Mariners

Jul 26, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) singles in the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off a series win against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Arizona Diamondbacks (46-51) kick-off a 10-game road trip as they head up to Seattle to play some American League ball against the Mariners.

It should be a fun interleague series to watch as the D-backs have had success against the American League this season. They are 5-3 in 8 games against the Los Angeles Angels and the Texas Rangers.

In fact, the D-backs swept the Rangers in two games at Globe Life Park in Arlington back on July 7-8.

Monday night’s opener will kickoff a week of ball games at American League parks as the D-backs start the road trip in Seattle then head to Houston to take on an Astros organization that is battling for first place in the A.L. West.

From there, the D-backs will continue East to Washington to face the Nationals.

But first, the D-backs will focus on the Mariners, a team they haven’t faced since June 2012 when Arizona took 2-of-3.

Arizona has slowly chipped away at the Dodgers lead in the N.L. West. Having won 3-of-4 against the Brewers over the weekend, the D-backs are now 8.5 games out of first in the N.L. West.

The Mariners aren’t fairing any better in the A.L. West either. At 46-53, Seattle is 9.5 games behind the Angels, who are one game ahead of the second-place Astros.

The Mariners come into the series having split their last 10 games. They took 2-of-3 from the Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend. Prior to that, they split a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers and dropped 2-of-3 against the Yankees coming out of the All-Star Break.

So it’s fair to say these are two, pretty even matched teams. Both have 46 wins and both are 5-3 against the opposing league.

What’s fun about this series is, fans get to see players they rarely get a chance to. Major League Baseball has incorporated more interleague play throughout the season, but the match ups are still few and far between.

Regardless, the D-backs will get the play with a designated hitter for the next six games.

Here’s a quick rundown of the pitching match ups: