George Kirby is no slouch on the other side. He took the loss to Minnesota in his last outing — 2 runs over 5.2 innings, 5 punchouts — but the 3.00 ERA and four quality starts in six tries say the Mariners are getting exactly what they pay for. The issue isn't the rotation in Seattle. It's everything around it.
- Day-To-DayBlake Burkhalter (RP) — no04/08
- 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim (SS) — Kim (finger) is moving his rehab assignment from Double-A Columbus to Triple-A Gwinnett this week, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.05/04
- 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. (RF) — Manager Walt Weiss said Sunday that Acuna has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his left hamstring, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.05/03
- 15-Day-ILDylan Dodd (RP) — Dodd (back) is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett in the coming days, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.05/03
- 15-Day-ILHurston Waldrep (SP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday that Waldrep (elbow) will throw a bullpen session in about a week and could be ready to rejoin the team in June, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.04/28
- SuspensionJurickson Profar (LF) — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.03/19
- 60-Day-ILSpencer Schwellenbach (SP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday that Schwellenbach (elbow) has yet to begin a throwing program and will not make his season debut until after the All-Star break, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.04/28
- 60-Day-ILDanny Young (RP) — Atlanta transferred Young (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.04/11
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver (SP) — Atlanta placed Smith-Shawver (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Friday.04/03
- 60-Day-ILJoey Wentz (RP) — Atlanta placed Wentz on the 60-day injured list Tuesday with a right ACL tear.03/24
- 60-Day-ILJoe Jimenez (RP) — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss acknowledged Wednesday that he's uncertain if Jimenez (knee) will be available to pitch at any point in 2026, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.02/11
- Day-To-DayTeddy McGraw (SP) — McGraw is working his way back from right elbow issues, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.05/01
- 10-Day-ILBrendan Donovan (3B) — Donovan (groin) will begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.05/04
- 10-Day-ILWill Wilson (3B) — The Mariners selected Wilson's contract from Triple-A Tacoma on Monday.05/03
- 10-Day-ILVictor Robles (RF) — Robles (pectoral) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday, Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports.05/01
- 10-Day-ILPatrick Wisdom (1B) — The Mariners placed Wisdom on the 10-day injured list Friday due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to Wednesday.04/17
- 15-Day-ILMatt Brash (RP) — Brash (lat) began playing catch Tuesday, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.05/05
- 15-Day-ILGabe Speier (RP) — Speier picked up his first save of the season Friday against the Angels, allowing one unearned run with no hits or walks while striking out one across one inning.05/04
- 15-Day-ILBryce Miller (SP) — Miller (oblique) is scheduled to make his next rehab start with High-A Everett on Wednesday, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.05/01
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Vargas (RP) — Vargas (lat) has suffered a setback in his recovery, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.05/01
- 60-Day-ILMiles Mastrobuoni (3B) — Seattle transferred Mastrobuoni (calf) from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.04/20
- 60-Day-ILLogan Evans (SP) — Evans underwent UCL reconstruction surgery with an internal brace Jan. 23 on his right elbow.02/16
Cal Raleigh sat out Monday with a side issue and is genuinely day-to-day, which is a problem when you're already without Brendan Donovan, Victor Robles, Bryce Miller and Matt Brash. Atlanta isn't exactly whole either — Ronald Acuna Jr. landed on the IL with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, Michael Harris II is dinged up with a quad, and Spencer Schwellenbach is shelved until after the All-Star break. But Atlanta has been winning anyway, and that's the point.
The market has noticed. Seattle is a -125 home favorite at Pinnacle, but DraftKings has pushed the Mariners to -136 with just 11% of the moneyline handle. The Braves are getting the money on the spread (+1.5 at -183) with 61% of handle and 84% of bets. Public and sharps lining up on the same side is rare. The total sits at 7.5 with the under drawing 87% of the handle — Elder vs. Kirby will do that.
Bottom line: a Braves team rolling at 25-11 with a hot Elder against a Mariners club that keeps losing key pieces. Seattle has dropped 4 of its last 5 going into the opener of this set. If Raleigh can't go again, the path to a Mariners win runs entirely through Kirby out-dueling the best ERA in the National League. Doable, but a lot to ask.