LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today marks the fifth (3-1) of six games on the Angels opening road trip of the 2023 season against Oakland (2-1) and Seattle (1-0; April 3-5).
WINNING WAYS: Angels have won three straight games after losing on Opening Day in Oakland…Halos are looking to win at least four of the first five games of a season for a sixth time in franchise history (started 5-0 in 1970 and 4-1 in 1987, 1991, 2007 & 2021).
ANGELS RECENT RECORDS TO BEGIN SEASON
AFTER FOUR GAMES: AFTER FIVE GAMES:
2023: 3-1 2023: ???
2022: 1-3 2022: 2-3
2021: 3-1 2021: 4-1
2020: 1-3 2020: 2-3
2019: 1-3 2019: 1-4
STARTING STRONG: Through the first three games of the season, Angels starting pitching has combined to post a 1.25 ERA (21.2 IP – 3 ER) with 23 strikeouts…The starters ERA ranks third in the Majors, behind Tampa Bay (0.39 ERA; 23 IP – 1 ER) and Minnesota (0.84 ERA; 21.1 IP – 3 ER).
VS. SEATTLE: Today is the second (1-0) of 13 meetings this season between the Angels and Mariners (six in Seattle and seven at Angel Stadium)…Last season, Halos went 10-9 against Seattle, including a 6-3 record at T-Mobile Park…Mike Trout is a career .325 (208/640) hitter vs. Seattle and is the all-time leader in career home runs against the Mariners, with 54…His 142 career runs scored vs. Seattle are second all-time, behind Rickey Henderson (145).
MOST CAREER RUNS SCORED vs. MARINERS
- Rickey Henderson – 145
- Mike Trout – 142
- Rafael Palmeiro – 140
MOST CAREER HOME RUNS vs. MARINERS
- Mike Trout – 54
- Rafael Palmeiro – 52
- Manny Ramirez – 39
RIB EYE STREAK: Logan O’Hoppe drove in at least one run in each of the Angels first three games this season…He was the first player to do so since Mike Trout in 2017…Before Trout, it last happened in 2007 by both Vladimir Guerrero and Casey Kotchman.
THE 11 SPOT: Saturday afternoon at Oakland, the Angels plated 11 runs in the top of the third inning, marking the Halos highest scoring frame since July 2, 2016 (11 runs in the 7th inning at Boston)…It was the sixth 11+ run inning in franchise history…Gio Urhsela and Taylor Ward both had two hits in the inning, while Luis Rengifo had two walks.
A UNIQUE SAVE: Saturday at Oakland, Tucker Davidson earned his first career save after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames to finish off the Angels 13-1 win over the A’s…The 12-run victory marked the largest run differential in a save for an Angels pitcher since Chris Bootcheck (4 IP) in a 14-1 win vs. Royals on May 28. 2005.
SHO OFF: Shohei Ohtani has homered in each of his last two games…Marks 16th HR streak of career…Has had homers in three straight games on five different occasions, last doing so June 27-29, 2021 (June 27 @ TB & June 28-29 @ NYY).
EL DEMENTE: Tonight, José Suarez makes his season debut… He has a 3-0 career record with a 2.25 ERA (20 IP – 5 ER) in four games at T-Mobile Park…He made his Major League debut at T-Mobile Park on June 2, 2019.
VETERAN ROSTER: The Angels Opening Day active roster featured just one rookie: Logan O’Hoppe.
OPENING SHO: On Thursday, Shohei Ohtani made his second MLB Opening Day start as a pitcher and tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts… He became the fourth pitcher in Angels history with 10+ strikeouts on Opening Day, joining Nolan Ryan (12 SO; 1973 & 1975), Andy Messersmith (11 SO; 1970) and Jered Weaver (10 SO; 2012).
BABY BACKSTOP: With his start on Thursday, Logan O’Hoppe (23 years, 49 days) became the youngest Opening Day catcher in Angels history (previous was Buck Rodgers – 23 years, 237 days in 1962)…He was the first Angels rookie catcher to start on Opening Day since Bengie Molina in 2000.
WELCOME TO THE RENAISSANCE: With Anthony Rendon, Hunter Renfroe & Luis Rengifo hitting 4-6 in the Angels Opening Day batting order, it was the first lineup in franchise history to feature three straight players who have the same first three letters of their last name…The last MLB occurrence was by Detroit on July 20, 2015 (Victor Martinez, J.D. Martinez, Jefry Marte).
THE NEW GUYS: Angels Opening Day roster featured eight players new to the organization in 2023: LHP Tyler Anderson, INF Brandon Drury, RHP Carlos Estévez, INF Jake Lamb, LHP Matt Moore, OF Brett Phillips, OF Hunter Renfroe and INF Gio Urshela.
INTERNATIONAL SHO: Shohei Ohtani was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 World Baseball Classic…Ohtani made three appearances (two starts) on the mound for Japan, going 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts and earned the save in the Championship Game against the United States…. At the plate, he hit .435 (10/23) with four doubles, one home run, eight RBI and nine runs scored…Among all players in the WBC, no player hit a longer home run (448 ft.), had a higher exit velocity (118.7 MPH) or threw a faster pitch (102.0 MPH) than Ohtani.
HOME OPENER EVENT: Prior to the Angels Home Opener on Friday night, will host a Red Carpet Event in front of Angel Stadium from 12:30-4:00 p.m…The event will feature Angels player and alumni appearances, food trucks, a live radio broadcast, the Angels Strike Force and more.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP JOSÉ SUAREZ
• TODAY’S GAME: Making season debut tonight…Is in fifth Major League season with Angels…Made Opening Day roster for second consecutive season.
• LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win in last Spring Training appearance on March 17 vs. Kansas City after tossing 4.0 innings and allowing one earned run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
• SPRING RECAP: Totaled three starts for Angels during Cactus League season and went 2-1 with a 4.15 ERA (8.2 IP – 4 ER) with six strikeouts…Was winning pitcher in each of last two spring starts.
• VS. SEATTLE: In 11 career games (nine starts) vs. Seattle, is 4-3 with a 4.08 ERA (53 IP – 24 ER) and 54 strikeouts…Last season, was 1-2 with a 3.92 ERA (20.2 IP – 9 ER) in four games (three starts) against the Mariners…His four wins, 53 IP and 54 strikeouts vs. Seattle are his most against any opponent.
• AT T-MOBILE PARK: In four career games in Seattle, is 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA (20 IP – 5 ER)…Made one appearance at the ballpark last year, on June 18 (Game 2), and tossed 4.1 scoreless innings…Made Major League debut at T-Mobile Park on June 2, 2019 (W; 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO).
• CHASING PERFECTION: Carried a perfect game through 5.1 innings in home start on Aug. 16, 2022 vs. Seattle, before allowing four consecutive singles and exiting the game.
• 2022 IN REVIEW: Set new career highs in innings pitched (109.0), starts (20) and strikeouts (103) and equaled single-season best with eight wins…Allowed three-or-fewer runs in 16 of 20 starts and two-or-fewer runs in 10 of 20 starts…In 11 starts following All-Star Break, pitched to a 2.81 ERA (64 IP – 20 ER) with 58 strikeouts…The ERA ranked 14th in the A.L. over that span (min. 60 IP).
• STREAKING: Earned winning decisions in each of last two starts to finish 2022 season…With a win today, would match longest streak of career with wins in three straight appearances (previously did so July 26 – Aug. 8, 2022).
• AVOID THE TOP: Last season, hitters in the top three spots in the opposing batting order hit .319 (51/160), while batters in the 4-9 spots batted .198 (52/263).
• GOOD NIGHT: Last season, made 13 appearances (12 starts) in night games and went 6-4 with a 2.96 ERA (67 IP – 22 ER), compared with a 2-4 record and 5.57 ERA (42 IP – 26 ER) in day games.
• THE COMPLETE GAME: Tossed first career complete game on Sept. 4, 2021 vs. Texas…Allowed one earned run on five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts…Carried shutout into 9th inning; only run allowed came on RBI groundout for second out of 9th inning…Marked first career winning decision at Angel Stadium (13th start)…Had not pitched more than 5.2 innings prior to that start.
• LITTLE LEAGUE CLASSIC: Was Angels starting pitcher in the Little League Classic vs. Cleveland on Aug. 22, 2021 in Williamsport, PA (L; 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO).
• VENEZUELAN HALOS: Became the 18th different Venezuelan-born player to pitch for the Angels…Became seventh Venezuelan native to start for the Halos, following Kelvim Escobar, Urbano Lugo, Jhoulys Chacin, Anthony Ortega, Luis Sanchez and Yusmeiro Petit.
• CAREER NOTES: Native of Naguanagua, Venezuela…Signed with Angels as an international free agent July 3, 2014…Selected to Angels 40-man roster Nov. 20, 2018…Made Major League debut June 2, 2019 at Seattle.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 3-game series (0-1) tonight against the Los Angeles Angels…Seattle began the regular season with a 4-game series (1-3) against the Cleveland Guardians…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith, Mike Blowers and Mariners Hall of Famer Dan Wilson on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped last night’s series opener to the Angels by a 7-3 score…Seattle falls to 1-1 in series openers this season…the Mariners have lost 4 in a row after defeating the Guardians by a 3-0 score on Opening Day…Seattle last season went 51-42 (.548) in the first half and 39-30 (.565) in the second half of the season…they went 46-35 (.568) at T-Mobile Park and 44-37 (.543) on the road…they went 34-22 (.607) in one-run games and 11-5 in extra innings.
• 100 Doubles – J.P. Crawford recorded the 100th double of his career last night.
• Swing & A Miss – George Kirby recorded 14 swing and misses last night…Matt Festa recorded 12.
• The Skipper – Mariners manager Scott Servais is in his 8th season at the helm…going into tonight, Scott’s 529 wins as Seattle skipper rank 2nd in franchise history to Lou Piniella (840 wins).
JULIO PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF…Julio Rodríguez in 5 games this season is batting .286 (6×21) with 4 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 2 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 2 walks, getting on base at a .348 clip, slugging .524 with an .872 OPS and 136 OPS+…Julio has reached base at least twice in each of his last 4 games, registering multiple hits in 3 consecutive games (3/31-4/2) before walking twice in last night’s contest.
TY FRANCE: SPEEDSTER?…Ty France recorded the first stolen base of his Major League career last night, a swipe of third base after doubling in the 3rd inning with Reid Detmers on the mound…France had been on base the 2nd-most times (570) among active players without a stolen base, trailing only Omar Narváez(716 times on base going into …it marked Ty’s first stolen base attempt in a Mariners uniform and his first attempt since being caught stealing on Aug. 29, 2019 while with the Padres…it marked Ty’s first successful stolen base since June 12, 2019 with Triple-A El Paso…Andrés Muñoz recorded the win for the El Paso Chihuahuas in that game.
GENO GENO…Eugenio Suárez went 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI last night…in 5 games this season, Geno is batting .300 (6×20) with 2 runs, 3 doubles and 3 RBI, slugging .450 with a .750 OPS in 20 plate appearances…he has started all 5 games at third base.
THE J-ROD SHOW BEGINS IN THE FIRST…Julio Rodríguez is a .440 career hitter (40×91) in the 1st inning of games…in 102 career plate appearances in the 1st inning, Julio is batting .440 with 30 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 14 RBI, 6 stolen bases and 10 walks, getting on base at a .500 clip, slugging .835 with a 1.335 OPS and 76 total bases.
BETTER LUCK AHEAD?…the Mariners offense has a difference in expected batting average (.206) and batting average (.188) of .018…expected batting average is a Statcast metric that measures the likelihood that a batted ball will become a hit…the .018 gap is tied for the 7th-largest gap in the Majors.
PENN IN THE ‘PEN…in 3 appearances this season, Penn Murfee has thrown 2.1 innings, allowing one run (no earned runs) on one hit, walking 2 and striking out 2…last night, he threw 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball with one strikeout.
HOMESTAND HIGHLIGHTS…tickets still remain for the final 2 games of the opening homestand at T-Mobile Park…today, April 4, as well as tomorrow, April 5 are both Mariners Value Games…to purchase tickets for an upcoming game at T-Mobile Park, visit Mariners.com/Tickets.
J-ROD: AWARD TOUR…Julio Rodríguez took home several honors in 2022 for his stellar rookie campaign…he was named the BBWAA American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year, becoming the 5th Mariners player in team history to win the award, joining Alvin Davis (1984), Kazuhiro Sasaki (2000), Ichiro Suzuki (2001) and Kyle Lewis (2020)…Julio also won a Silver Slugger Award, becoming the 2nd Mariners rookie to win (other: Ichiro, 2001)…in addition to winning AL Rookie of the Year, a Silver Slugger Award and making the 2022 AL All-Star team, Julio also won MLB Rookie of the Year (Baseball America), AL Rookie of the Year (The Sporting News), AL Outstanding Rookie (MLBPA) and Seattle Male Sports Star of the Year among other awards.
THE BATTERS…the Mariners 26-man roster includes 13 position players: catchers Tom Murphy and Cal Raleigh, catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel, infielders J.P. Crawford, Ty France, Tommy La Stella, Eugenio Suárez and Kolten Wong, outfielders Teoscar Hernández, Jarred Kelenic, AJ Pollock and Julio Rodríguez and infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty…outfielder Taylor Trammell (right hamate fracture) and infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore (left oblique muscle strain) begin the season on the 10-day Injured List.
THE PITCHERS…the Mariners active 26-man roster has 13 pitchers: right-handers Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Luis Castillo, Matt Festa, Chris Flexen, Logan Gilbert, Trevor Gott, George Kirby, Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee and Paul Sewald and left-handers Marco Gonzales and Gabe Speier, who was recalled on Saturday
AGAINST LOS ANGELES-AL
The Mariners and Angels meet tonight for the 2nd of 13 matchups this season… the clubs will next meet from June 9-11 at Angel Stadium…Seattle will host the Angels at T-Mobile Park for one more series this year from Sept. 11-13.
Year Home Road Totals
2021 5-4 6-4 11-8
2022 3-6 6-4 9-10
2023 0-1 0-0 0-1
All-Time 167-190 161-198 328-388
TONIGHT’S STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
ABOUT CASTILLO…
• The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 2nd start of the season and 1st against the Angels this season…he is also making his 150th Major League start and 3rd career start against Los Angeles-AL.
• Has been named an All-Star in 2019 and 2022.
• Originally signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants on 12/23/11.
• Made MLB debut on 6/23/17 vs. Washington (w/ Cincinnati)
• Signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 24, 2022 after being acquired in a trade with Cincinnati on July 30, 2022.
LAST TIME OUT…W#1 in first start of the regular season against CLE on 3/30/23… allowed just 1 hit while striking out 6 over 6.0 innings…became just the 3rd Mariners starter to not allow a run in an Opening Day start, joining Félix Hernández (2007, 2013 & 2018) and Randy Johnson (1995)…he is the first player in franchise history to toss 6.0+ scoreless innings while allowing 1-or-fewer hits on Opening Day…his game score of 76 was the highest of any Opening Day starter this season.
PLAYOFF PERFORMANCE…made 2 postseason starts…earned the win in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series at Toronto…tossed 7.1 scoreless innings allowing 6 hits while striking out 5…was tagged with the loss in his final start of the postseason on 10/13 at HOU in G2 of the ALDS…allowed 3 runs on 5 hits (2 HR) while striking out 7.
FOR OPENERS…made his 3rd career Opening Day start on 4/30 vs. CLE and his first with the Mariners, becoming the 18th different pitcher to start on Opening Day in franchise history.
PREVIOUSLY ON OPENING DAY…tossed 5.2 innings allowing just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks with 8 strikeouts against Pittsburgh in his first career Opening Day start in 2019 with Cincinnati…allowed 10 runs (8 ER) on 8 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 0 strikeouts over 3.1 innings on Opening Day in 2021.
OFF TO A GOOD START…his 83 strikeouts through his first 12 Mariners starts are the most in Mariners history through a pitchers first 12 starts, ranking ahead of Cliff Lee’s 78 and Robbie Ray’s 77 strikeouts through their first 12 Mariners starts.
THE STONE WAS ROLLING…began his start on 9/7/22 vs. Chicago-AL by striking out the first 7 batters he faced, setting a franchise record for most strikeouts to begin a start, passing Michael Pineda (5 on 7/9/11 at LAA)…the 7 strikeouts also tied the AL record for most strikeouts to begin a game (done 4x, last: Blake SnellTB, 6/3/18 vs. SEA).
A PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES…ND on 8/9 against New York-AL in his home debut after being acquired by the Mariners on 7/30/22…tossed 8.0 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7 on 110 pitches, 72 for strikes…marked the 5th time in his career he has thrown 8.0+ innings, and just the 2nd time he has tossed 8.0+ scoreless innings (also: 9/21/18 at MIA)…induced 20 swings-and-misses, the third most he has induced in a game this season.
MAIDEN VOYAGE…struck out 8 in his first start with the Mariners on 8/3 at New York-AL…8 strikeouts are tied for the 3rd-most in a Mariners debut (also: Cliff Lee), trailing Andy Benes and Enrique Romo who struck out 9… Benes and Castillo both made their Mariners debuts on Aug. 3, after being acquired by the Mariners at the trade deadline.
NOW THAT’S QUALITY…recorded 8-consecutive quality starts from 6/28-8/15/22, a career-best streak (previous: 5, 2x (8/14-9/5/21 and 6/15-7/6/21 w/CIN)…tossed a quality start in each of his first 3 starts with Seattle (8/3- 8/15).
AMONG THE GAME’S BEST…after he made his season debut on 5/9/22, Castillo ranked among the MLB leaders in ERA (26th, 2.99), strikeouts (16th, 167), batting average against (20th, .212/118×557), SO/9 (16th, 10.0) and fWAR (T10th, 3.7).
LA PIEDRA…tossed 7.0 innings and allowed 1 run in 3-consecutive starts from 7/3-7/14/22, striking out 22 batters over the 3 starts…3-consecutive starts of 7.0+ innings while allowing no more than 1 run was tied for the longest streak in the Majors with 7 other pitchers…marked the 1st time in his career he has tossed 7.0+ innings in 3-consecutive starts.
WHIFF ARTIST…since 2017 (the season Castillo made his MLB debut), Luis has induced 2,122 swings-and-misses, 7th-most in the Majors over that span… he leads all pitchers since 2017 with 897 whiffs on his changeup, ranking ahead of Lucas Giolito-CWS (705) and Kyle Hendricks-CHC (691).
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…struck out a season-high 11 batters on 6/28 at Chicago-NL over 6.0 scoreless innings (with CIN)…marked the 2nd-time he struck out 10+ in 2022, and the 14th time in his career…induced 23 swings-and-misses according to Baseball Savant, tied for the 6th-most he has induced in a game in his career (most: 26, 2x 7/15/19 and 8/5/19).
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR…was named to his second All-Star team last season (also: 2019)…tossed a scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts at Dodger Stadium in last year’s Mid-Summer Classic.
COMPLETELY DOMINANT…threw his first career complete game on 9/11/20 at St. Louis with the Reds…allowed just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts over 9.0 innings, earning the win for his efforts.
RARE AIR…from 3/28-4/9/19, Castillo became the 3rd pitcher in MLB history to record 3+ consecutive starts with at least 8 strikeouts and no more than 2 hits allowed, joining Rube Marquard for the 1911 New York Giants and Randy Johnson for the 1997 Mariners.
