SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners will be looking to pull off a sweep in the third of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at 6:40 p.m. PT on Thursday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Starting pitcher Bryce Miller will get the nod on the mound and will have a chance to end the series strongly for the Mariners.

Following the series against the Halos, Seattle will take on the team that prevented it from advancing to the first World Series in franchise history last October, the Toronto Blue Jays.

For the series, the Mariners will be returning to a unique setup with the rotation.

Luis Castillo will get a typical start for game one of the series Friday and George Kirby will close out the series Sunday.

For game two on Saturday, Logan Gilbert will get the start and Emerson Hancock will piggyback off him.

Gilbert starting and Hancock piggybacking was originally the plan for the team's game against the Cleveland Guardians on June 27. Seattle opted to give Gilbert the "true" start instead to give the entire rotation and extra day's rest.

"It's the way we kind of planned it out," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a pregame interview Thursday. "Everyone sharing the load a little bit. It was going to be those two before and it will be those two again. That's more where it stands rather than a strategical thing. It's just a matter of trying to keep everyone stretched out the best we can."

The team will likely have one more piggyback outing on its upcoming road trip, which includes series against the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays, although its still not clear which two starters will have the piggyback outing or which order they'll appear. The road trip will precede the All-Star Break.

If Seattle chooses to make sure every starter has a piggyback outing before the All-Star Break, Bryan Woo and Kirby will get the nod.

"Hard to know how it's all gonna play out but likely will have one next week," Wilson said. " ... As we've talked about, these guys have all wanted to shoulder the load and we'll just see how it plays out as we get there. It's hard to say exactly at this point."

Gilbert has a 3.42 ERA this year with 107 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched across 17 starts. He needs nine more strikeouts to reach 1,000 for his career.

Hancock has a 3.47 ERA this season and has fanned 87 batters in 90.2 innings pitched across 16 starts.

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