The Seattle Mariners' starting rotation is set for the first home series following the All-Star break. The Mariners have five games at Safeco Field coming against the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants. Then, the team will head out on the road to play the Los Angeles Angels. All of the games are important, especially if the Mariners want to continue making a run toward the 2018 postseason.

Mariners' starting rotation revealed

The next six days are laid out in the schedule for the Seattle Mariners. It begins on Friday night (July 20), when Wade LeBlanc (5-1, 3.36 ERA) takes the mound against the Chicago White Sox.

He will face James Shields (4-10, 4.43 ERA). On Saturday (July 21), Felix Hernandez (8-7, 5.13 ERA) will pitch against Dylan Covey (3-5, 5.69 ERA). Wrapping up the series on Sunday (July 22) against Reynaldo Lopez (4-7, 3.91 ERA) and the White Sox is Marco Gonzales (10-5, 3.41 ERA).

The Mariners get a day off on July 23 before taking the field against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday (July 24). James Paxton (8-4, 3.70 ERA) faces off against Andrew Suarez (3-6, 3.94 ERA). On July 25, Mike Leake (8-6, 4.22 ERA) pitches against an unnamed pitcher for the Giants. It's a quick two-game series against the Giants before the Mariners head back out on the road. A good aspect is that the team gets July 26 as a rest day before playing Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels on July 27.

Mariners still hold a playoff spot

After beating the Colorado Rockies on July 8, the Seattle Mariners had improved to 57-34 on the season. The team slipped a bit before the All-Star break, though, dipping to 58-39. Entering play on July 20, the Mariners five games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West. The team also currently holds the second Wild Card spot in the league.

Coming out of the gate strong in the second half is now an important goal for the franchise.

The Seattle Mariners now have a great chance to increase the space between themselves and the next team in the AL Wild Card standings. The Oakland Athletics (55-42) had been making a run before the All-Star break, but are still three games behind the Mariners.

The A's also have some tough games coming up on the schedule, so the Mariners have to take advantage of the MLB schedule. Beating up on the White Sox would be a great start, but the offense has to wake up. The lineup has struggled since Robinson Cano got suspended but has to come through to help the pitching this week.

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