Mariners have plan for Game 2 starter vs White Sox – if they play

The Seattle Mariners are operating one short of a full five-man starting rotation, so they went into their current series with the Chicago White Sox with a question mark on the mound for Tuesday’s Game 2.

ESPN’s Passan: Mariners in great spot with expected pitching returns

On Tuesday morning, Seattle Sports’ Shannon Drayer reported that the M’s have a plan. Right-handed reliever Casey Legumina is set to start as an opener, with another Casey – Casey Lawrence – expected to be called up again from Triple-A Tacoma before the game in order to relieve Legumina and pitch the bulk of the innings.

Mariners doing the opener thing tonight with Casey Legumina expected to start. Casey Lawrence is here on the taxi squad, would expect him to be added to the roster and be the bulk guy.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) May 20, 2025

The Mariners are down to four starting pitchers – Luis Castillo, Bryan Woo, Logan Evans and Emerson Hancock – after Bryce Miller joined George Kirby and Logan Gilbert on the injured list last week. Evans is scheduled to start Wednesday.

There’s one other question mark regarding Tuesday’s game, though, which is whether or not it will actually be played. And a postponement might be something the M’s are rooting for considering the state of their rotation.

It’s expected to be rainy all day in Chicago, with the Weather.com forecast saying “isolated thunderstorms possible.” The game is set to start at 6:40 p.m. Central time (which is 4:40 p.m. here in the Pacific time zone), and the hourly forecast predicts isolated thunderstorms at 6 p.m., cloudy conditions at 7 p.m., scattered thunderstorms at 8 p.m. and showers at 9 p.m.

If Tuesday’s game is postponed, there is the chance they could play a doubleheader Wednesday, but the M’s likely want to get out of town as soon as possible after the scheduled 11:10 a.m. Pacific start for the series finale as they have a four-game series starting Thursday in Houston.

The other option would be for the teams to make the game up in Seattle on Monday, Aug. 4, which is a scheduled day off for both teams. The Mariners will already be home after playing four against Texas, while the White Sox will be on the West Coast playing the Angels in Anaheim ahead of the flight north for the series at T-Mobile Park.

Regardless of if Tuesday’s game is played – well, unless it is officially called off hours ahead of first pitch, which is unlikely – Seattle Sports will have radio coverage starting at 3:30 p.m. with the Mariners pregame show.

The Mariners, who have won four straight, currently lead the AL West with a 27-19 record, while the White Sox are last in the AL Central at 14-34.

Here’s the Mariners’ lineup that was announced Tuesday afternoon:

Deep dish pizza… 👍 or 👎 pic.twitter.com/UMRsEQpxPp

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 20, 2025

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