Preview, #130: 8/26 vs. Mariners

This season continues to have so many twists, you’d think it had been scripted by M. Night Shyamalan. Entering Thursday’s off-day we had a 2¹⁄₂ game lead in the division and the path to the title was clearly visible. Now, all of a sudden we are back in a tie for first place with the Rockies, and going by the comments, we are doomed. But I’ve got a feeling there will be still plenty more turns in the road over the remaining month. If you’ve been checking in on our rivals’ sites over the past few weeks, you’ll have seen plenty of “Season over” there as well. The truth is, we’re still tied for first place with 80% of the season done, and everything to play for.

Certainly, the path to the 20 wins drawn out earlier in the week has become tougher after these two losses to the Mariners. But a win this afternoon would put us only one W off the expected pace. We need Zack Greinke to deliver one of his trademark million-dollar performances - and, just as importantly, the bats to come through when we need them, to deliver a bullpen-proof lead. For, let’s not forget, our hitters have gone 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position this series: 0-for-4 in the opener, and then 1-for-8 last night, including an inability to get a runner home from third with no outs in the 10th. [Hawt taek: the contact play needs to be removed from the team’s repertoire]

The bad news is, the SnakePit will be in attendance for this one - the team’s record when we are at Chase Field is... not great. We’ll be meeting at the Rose and Crown by the time you read this, for AsteroidSnakePitFest 2018, so pop in and see us if you want. Maybe I should just throw myself on the grenade and volunteer to stay there all day, instead of going to Chase? I can start a GoFundMe for my bar tab... It will be fun, regardless of the result: it always is. But I’m pretty sure we will all go home much happier with a W, and if the Cardinals and Padres can also do their part (though the latter is likely a plea too far), so much the better.