The New York Mets need to get right and reroute some uncomfortable vibes. They started the month with a fourth consecutive loss, won one game, dropped seven in a row, won one game, and have now lost two straight.

The Seattle Mariners have the juice right now, and they’ll look to keep it sealed in Flushing. Cal Raleigh paces the sport in home runs, and Dan Wilson’s club is bouncing near the front of the AL West. Big Dumper and His Band of Renown opened August by winning nine of their first 10.

We should be in for a meaningful and dynamic weekend series.

How to watch Mariners at Mets
Friday and Saturday: Citi Field — Queens, N.Y.
Sunday: Journey Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field — Williamsport, Penn.
Dates: Aug. 15-17
Watching in person? Get tickets on StubHub.
Viewing guide
Time (ET)TVStreamProbables

7:10 p.m., Fri.

MLBN, MLB.TV (national)
ROOTNW, SNY (local)

Luis Castillo
Sean Manaea

4:10 p.m., Sat.

MLBN, MLB.TV (national)
ROOTNW, WPIX (local)

Bryan Woo
Nolan McLean

7:10 p.m., Sun.

ESPN

George Kirby
Clay Holmes

“Sunday Night Baseball” is also available with an ESPN+ subscription.

The Mets jumped out to a 6-0 lead against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. They lost 11-6. Starters can’t find the strike zone, relievers can’t keep their cool, and New York has already crumpled up separate leads of one, four, five and six runs this week.

Juan Soto is somehow close to Mendoza-ing his last month of action. He’s also hitting considerably worse at home (.243) than on the road (.261). Citi Field’s dimensions are not agreeing with him in year No. 1 of 15. It continues down the line: Pete Alonso all but vanished in July, and Francisco Lindor is indeed Mendoza-ing, batting .188 across his first 23 second-half games before a three-hit night in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the Braves.

On the other end of the marquee, Seattle comes in playing its best ball of the season. It stacked eight straight wins before Wednesday’s and Thursday’s lag at Camden Yards. Perhaps the hosts will try to set up a “Freaky Friday” situation, or a “Trading Places” situation, or an “All of Me” situation. Hollywood just can’t quit that “swap” movie template. Oh well. Maybe Raleigh can star in the next superhero IP drop:

NUMBER 45 FOR BIG DUMPER! #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/pxi1QqePvT

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 10, 2025

The Mariners have three of their best right-handers going this weekend. Friday’s probable, Luis Castillo (8-6, 3.19 ERA), has one of the game’s better four-seamers. Bryan Woo (10-6, 3.08 ERA) racks up strikeouts and controls the zone. George Kirby (8-5, 3.71 ERA) threw seven scoreless innings on Tuesday. He’s set to start “Sunday Night Baseball” against fellow RHP Clay Holmes (9-6 and an identical 3.71 ERA).

That Sunday finale is branded as the “MLB Little League Classic,” set in Williamsport and in concurrence with the Little League World Series.

From The Athletic’s latest MLB power rankings

Mariners (7). Impending free agent watch: “While [Eugenio] Suárez has excellent power, he strikes out a ton and lacks elite on-base ability. That is a scary combination for an aging player. The Mariners — who acquired Suárez in 2022, traded him to Arizona for 2024 and reacquired him at last month’s deadline — are still waiting for his slugging to appear in Seattle down the stretch.” — Andy McCullough

Mets (11). Impending free agent watch: “Like many of his teammates, Alonso looked a lot better a couple months ago. The National League’s player of the month in April, Alonso endured one of the worst months of his career in July. His OPS since the end of April is .768 — more in line with the player he was in 2023 and 2024 than what he looked like he might be to begin this year. His Baseball Savant page is still full of red, and you can’t just eliminate a month as good as Alonso’s first this season. He will still assuredly opt out of the one year and $24 million on his deal for next year.” — Tim Britton

Most home runs in both jerseys
John Olerud, 135 (72 SEA, 63 NYM)
Robinson Canó, 131 (107 SEA, 24 NYM)
Mike Cameron, 129 (87 SEA, 42 NYM)

We’ve been doing these fusion series leaderboards throughout the season, and this is the closest one yet. John Olerud had a good time at the Met Opera.

Updated odds

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(Photo by Jess Rapfogel / Getty Images)