SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners open a 3-game series against the Chicago Cubs tonight…Seattle is coming off their first series win of the season at the Cleveland Guardians (2-1)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers 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 lost yesterday’s series finale to the Cleveland Guardians by a score of 7-6 in 12 innings…despite the loss, Seattle won the series at Cleveland (2-1)…the Mariners have won 2 of the last 3 games and 3 of the last 5 games…Seattle holds a 1-2 series record this season.
• The Friendly Confines – Luis Castillo has made 8 career starts at Wrigley Field, his 3rd-most at any ballpark trailing Cincinnati’s Great American Ballpark (70 GS) and Busch Stadium in St. Louis (10 GS)…overall, Castillo is 4-2 with a 3.56 ERA (17 ER, 43.0 IP) with 21 walks and 46 strikeouts at Wrigley Field…in his last start at Wrigley Field on June 28, 2022, Castillo tossed 6.0 scoreless innings, while striking out 11.
• For Starters – Mariners starting pitchers have posted a 3.35 ERA (19 ER, 51.0 IP) with 18 walks and 47 strikeouts so far this season…their 3.35 ERA ranks 5th-best in the Majors, trailing only Tampa Bay (1.90), Minnesota (2.24), New York-AL (3.27) and Kansas City (3.29).
LA PIEDRA…Luis Castillo enters today’s game having yet to allow a run through 2 starts in the 2023 season… he has limited opponents to a 0.429 WHIP (2 BB, 3 H, 11.2 IP) with opponents batting only .079 (3×38) against him…Castillo is 1 of 5 starters in MLB to begin their 2023 season with back-to-back scoreless outings, joining Drew Rasmussen-TB (13.0 IP), Jeffrey Springs-TB (13.0 IP), Marcus Stroman-CHC (12.0 IP) and Kyle Freeland (12.2 IP)…Castillo is only the 3rd Mariners starter in club history to make back-to-back scoreless starts to begin a season, joining Félix Hernández (2007, 2 GS, 17.0 IP) and James Paxton (2017, 3 GS, 21.0 IP).
INTERLEAGUE PLAY…Julio Rodríguez is batting .389 (28×72) with 12 runs scored, 2 doubles, 7 home runs, 14 RBI and 6 walks, while reaching base at a .443 clip and slugging .703 (1.151 OPS) in 19 career interleague games…Teoscar Hernández ranks 2nd among active Mariners batters with a .861 career OPS during interleague play…Teo has hit 23 home runs in 93 career interleague games, tied for 4th-most in the Majors (also: Rafael Devers-BOS) among active players with no more than 100 career interleague games.
RUNNING SHOES…Julio Rodríguez has scored a run in each of the last 7 games for the Mariners, tied for the 2nd-longest streak in the Majors this season…he trails only Taylor Ward-LAA who has scored in 8-consectuvie games (April 1-c)…Raúl Ibañez and Ken Griffey Jr. are tied for the Mariners club record, each having scored a run in 12 consecutive games with Seattle: Griffey Jr. (May 15-29, 1996) and Ibañez (Sept. 17-29, 2006)…Julio has also reached base safely in 9 consecutive games (3/31-c), including hits in 7 games during that span and multiple hits in 6 games.
FIRST INNING MAGIC…the Mariners scored 2 runs in the first inning of yesterday’s game and have scored during the opening frame in 6 of the last 7 games…as a team, the Mariners have outscored opponents by a score of 9-2 in the first inning this season…Mariners batters are hitting .362 (17×47) with 9 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, 5 walks and 2 stolen bases over 52 plate appearances in the first inning, while reaching base at a .423 clip and slugging .553 (.976 OPS)…Seattle’s .976 OPS in the first inning leads the American League and ranks 5th-best in the Majors behind Cincinnati (1.217), Los Angeles-NL (1.183), Atlanta (1.138) and St. Louis (1.036).
GE-KNOWS…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-6 in yesterday’s game to extend his hitting streak to 7 games…during the active streak, Geno is batting .419 (13×31) with 4 runs scored, 2 doubles, 7 RBI and 1 walk, while reaching base at a .438 clip and slugging .484 (.921 OPS)…the streak is 1 game shy of his 2022 season-high 8-game hitting streak (done 2x: May 16-23 & May 28-June 5)…Geno’s active 7-game streak is tied for the 14th-longest active streak in the Majors…overall this season, Geno leads the Mariners with a .347 (15×42) batting average, having hit safely in 9 of 10 games, including 5 multi-hit games.
TY IS THAT GUY…Ty France went 1-for-5 with 1 walk in yesterday’s game to extend his hitting streak to 7 games…during the active streak, Ty is batting .313 (10×32) with 7 runs, 4 doubles, 3 RBI, 2 walks and 1 stolen base, while reaching base at a .371 clip and slugging .438 (.809 OPS)…overall this season, Ty has hit safely in 9 of 10 games, including 4 multi-hit games…Ty’s active 7-game hitting streak is tied for the 14th-longest active streak in the Majors.
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVES…Seattle made 5 roster moves in advance of yesterday’s game in Cleveland:
• Justin Topa (#48), RHP, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.
• JB Bukauskas (#50), RHP, selected from Triple-A Tacoma.
• Andrés Muñoz, RHP, placed on 15-day Injured List (right deltoid strain, retroactive April 8).
• Matt Festa, RHP, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
• Evan White, INF, recalled and placed on 60-day Injured List (left adductor strain).
MARINERS RETURN HOME ON APRIL 14…the Mariners return for a homestand at T-Mobile Park that begins Friday, April 14…April 14 vs. Colorado is Cal Raleigh Bobblehead Night, with the first 20,000 fans through the gates will receive the bobblehead featuring Cal’s unforgettable “clinch” moment from last season…Saturday, April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day, with all Mariners players and on-field staff wearing #42 and the first Mariners All-Star Ruppert Jones throwing that day’s ceremonial first pitch…other dates on the homestand include Little League Day (April 16), Rally Cap Night Ticket Special (April 17), Hello Kitty Night (April 18), Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and much more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets.
HIGHLY RATED…according to Major League Baseball research, the Mariners 3-0 shutout of the Guardians on opening Night at T-Mobile Park scored a 7.3 rating on ROOT SPORTS, the highest rating for a Mariners game on ROOT since June 14, 2019 (a 7.9 vs. Boston)…the game was the most-watched telecast that week in the city of Seattle.
AS YOU KNOW…tonight’s game marks the first interleague matchup of the season for the Mariners, and…AS YOU ALSO KNOW…the Mariners will play every team in Major League Baseball this season, but…DID YOU KNOW?…tonight’s game marks the beginning of a 15-game stretch against 5 consecutive interleague opponents: at Chicago-NL (April 10-12), vs. Colorado (April 14-16), vs. Milwaukee (April 17-19), vs. St. Louis (April 21-23) and at Philadelphia (April 25-27)?…Seattle will face interleague opponents in back-to-back series only one other time during the 2023 schedule: Sept. 1 at New York-NL and Sept. 4 at Cincinnati…overall, the Mariners are 246-238 (.508) all-time in interleague play, including a 12-8 (.600) record vs. the National League in 2022.
TONIGHT’S MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
ABOUT CASTILLO…
• The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 3rd start of the season and 1st against the Cubs this season…he is also making his 151st Major League start and 17th career start against Chicago-NL.
• 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 second start of the regular season against LAA on 4/4/23…allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 over 5.2 innings…has only allowed 3 hits in his first 2 starts on the season.
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…Castillo has only allowed 3 hits in his first two starts of the season…he is tied 2nd in the Majors in hits allowed among starting pitchers with at least 2 starts…in 11.2 innings pitched this season Castillo has allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 12.
FAMILIAR FACES…tonight’s start marks Castillo’s 9th career start at Wrigley Field… he is making his first start against the Cubs since 6/28/22 when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds…in his last start at Wrigley Field he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 11 batters.
STRIKEOUT STREAK…has recorded 6 strikeouts in each of his first two starts this season…the last time he started a season with at least 2 consecutive starts with 6+ strikeouts was in 2019…Castillo recorded 6+ strikeouts in the first 5 games of the 2019 season, in 30.2 innings pitched he totaled 41 strikeouts.
PREVIOUSLY ON OPENING DAY…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.
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.
PLAYOFF PERFORMANCE…made 2 postseason starts in 2022…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.
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 Snell-TB, 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 8/3/22 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, 67), 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.
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.
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
MONDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: The Chicago Cubs tonight play the first of three games against the Seattle Mariners to continue a six-game homestand that started with a series victory (2-1) against the Texas Rangers … the Cubs yesterday fell to the Rangers, 8-2, to snap a season-high three-game winning streak … following this series vs. Seattle, the team has an off-day Thursday before starting a six-game west coast swing against the Dodgers (3 games beginning Friday) and Athletics (3 games starting April 17).
Tonight is the first of 38 scheduled night games for the Cubs at Wrigley Field this season … since lights were installed at the Friendly confines in Aug. of 1988, Chicago is 450-401 (.529) in 851 home night games … the team was 15-26 in 41 home night games in 2022.
The team in Nov. of 2022 installed new energy-efficient LED lights at Wrigley Field … a helicopter lifted the new banks of lights onto the Wrigley Field roof … google it … the videos look really cool.
The Cubs open the season with 15 of their first 24 games through April 27 at Wrigley Field … of those first 24 tilts, just five are against their own division, the N.L. Central: the season-opening Brewers series and the abbreviated two-game set against the Reds, April 3-4 … in fact, the Cubs are in the fourth game (2-1) of 29-straight games outside of the division until hosting the Cardinals for three games, May 8-10.
‘PENNING SOME THOUGHTS: Cubs relievers in the last five games have held opponents to a .185 average, walked three and struck out 20 while pitching to a 3.57 ERA (7 ER/17.2 IP).
Chicago’s bullpen in the team’s first eight games has allowed just one home run in 121 batters faced … the relievers’ 0.31 home runs allowed per 9.0 innings is third in the N.L. and fifth in the majors (Boston leads, with it’s relievers not allowing a home run in 40.2 innings).
OH, HAPPY DAY!: Cubs left fielder Ian Happ has reached safely in each of his first eight games this season, hitting safely in seven of those … he’s opened the year with a .370 average (10-for-27) with three doubles, one homer, six RBI and nine walks to contribute to a .528 on-base percentage and a 1.120 OPS.
Since June 12 of last year, Happ is batting .380 (19-for-50) with five doubles, a triple, two homers, seven RBI and a .446 OBP in 13 interleague contests … he’s hit safely in 12 of those games.
PITCHING IN: Prior to Marcus Stroman opening this season with two-straight outings of 6.0 shutout innings and Justin Steele going 6.0 innings with one or no runs allowed in his two starts thus far, the previous Cubs pitcher to open the season with consecutive starts of at least 6.0 innings and one or no runs allowed was Tyler Chatwood in 2020 … prior to that, Jason Hammel opened the 2016 campaign with four-straight starts of at least 6.0 innings and one or no runs surrendered.
VERY EARLY RETURNS: Chicago is batting .275 (75-for-273) thus far, the third-best mark in the N.L. and sixth in the majors behind St. Louis (.294), Tampa Bay (.289), Toronto (.288), the White Sox (.287) and Milwaukee (.276)
© Chicago is hitting .328 (22-for-67) with runners in scoring position, the second-highest mark in the N.L. and third in the game behind Tampa Bay (.371) and Arizona (.333).
ABOUT THE ROTATION: Cubs starting pitchers have a 3.61 ERA in the season’s early going, second in the N.L. (Giants, 3.38) and eighth in the majors … through the first eight games of last season, the rotation had a 5.55 ERA (and a 4.91 ERA through the first nine games of last year) … this season, Cubs starting pitchers have walked 17 and struck out 41.
INTERLEAGUE INTERLUDE: With MLB’s new schedule format for the 2023 season, the Cubs will play every A.L. club this regular season, totaling 46 games … Chicago is 218-220 (.498) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997 … the team was 6-14 (.300) in interleague play last season.
THIS AND THAT: Eric Hosmer has reached safely eight times in 17 plate appearances in his last five games with six hits and two walks, driving in six in that span.
Ian Happ’s .528 OBP in the season’s early going is second in the N.L. while his nine walks are tied for fourth and .370 average is tied for eighth … Dansby Swanson’s .375 average is tied for sixth in the N.L. while his .459 OBP is 10th.
Patrick Wisdom’s .760 slugging percentage is seventh in the N.L. while his 1.130 OPS is sixth, just ahead of Happ whose 1.121 OPS is seventh.
Marcu Stroman’s .128 average against is second in the N.L. while Justin Steele’s .167 mark is 10th … Stroman’s 0.92 WHIP is seventh.
RUCK ON THE BUMP: Cubs reliever Michael Rucker has stranded all five runners he’s inherited thus far … he’s one of just four major league relievers to not allow an inherited runner to score while also stranding at least five on base … he joins Pittsburgh’s Dauri Moreta (6 IR/0 IRS), Arizona’s Drey Jameson (5 IR/0 IRS) and Miami’s Andrew Nardi (5 IR/0 IRS).
WORD TO THE WISE: Patrick Wisdom on Saturday delivered a solo homer vs. the Rangers … since the start of the 2021 season, Wisdom has averaged one home run every 14.86 at-bats, the third-best rate among N.L. hitters with at least 900 plate appearances (Kyle Schwarber, 12.05, and Pete Alonso, 14.59).
Wisdom’s 56 homers since the start of the 2021 season are tied for 12th-most among N.L. hitters.
Cubs vs. Mariners
The Cubs and Mariners meet for the first time since the 2019 campaign when Chicago swept four-game season series two at both Wrigley Field and Safeco Field … Chicago has won its last five contests against the Mariners dating to July 31, 2016.
Starting Pitcher – #11 LHP Drew Smyly (0-1, 11.57)
Last Time Out
Drew made his 2023 season debut in Cincinnati on April 3, suffering the loss … allowed nine hits, his most since May 13, 2022 at Arizona (10) and seven runs, his most since Sept. 3, 2022 at St. Louis (also seven) … suffered the first loss in nine career outings vs. Cincinnati (was 5-0 prior to this game).
2023 Splits and Season Notes
Went 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA (11 ER/16.1 IP) with a 13:2 SO:BB ratio during Cactus League play.
2022 Splits and Season Notes
Drew in 2022 made 22 starts for Chicago and went 7-8 with a 3.47 ERA (41 ER/106.1 IP), striking out 91 batters compared to 26 walks … his 2.20 walks per nine innings was his lowest season rate since 2013 (2.01).
Tossed 9.2 scoreless innings in his first two outings of the season, becoming the fourth Cub starter since 1893 to not allow a run over his first two starts with the club (also, Randy Wells, Bill Lee and Mike Prendergast).
Was on the 15-day injured list from May 31-July 10 with a right oblique strain … left his start in game two of the doubleheader May 30 vs. Milwaukee.
Recorded the win at the at MLB’s Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa Aug. 11 … tossed 5.0 scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts.
In five starts in Aug., he went 2-1 with a 0.90 ERA (3 ER/30.0 IP) … his ERA was tied for the second-lowest among qualified major league pitchers that month.
Beginning Aug. 6, allowed two or fewer runs in eight of his final nine starts, pitching to a 2.28 ERA.
Career Notes
Drew is in his second season with the Cubs after he was re-signed to a two-year contract in December of 2022 … joined the Cubs on a one-year contract for the 2022 season, beginning his second stint in Chicago … spent the 2018 season on the Cubs injured list while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Is 53-48 with a 4.14 ERA (436 ER/948.1 IP), one complete game shutout and three saves over 240 career major league games (157 starts).
Has pitched in all or parts of nine major league seasons with Detroit (2012-14), Tampa Bay (2014-16), Texas (2019), Philadelphia (2019), San Francisco (2020), Atlanta (2021) and the Cubs (2022-23).
Won his first World Series championship with Atlanta in 2021 … was one of three Braves pitchers with 10-plus wins and one of four to start 20-plus games, going 11-4 with a 4.48 ERA (63 ER/126.2 IP).
Underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017 … would miss the rest of 2017 and the entire 2018 season while rehabbing.
Set career highs in starts (30), innings (175.1) and strikeouts (167) with Tampa Bay in 2016.
Has been traded three times in his career, including as a part of the five-player, three-team deal that sent David Price from Tampa Bay to Detroit in July 2014.
Was selected in the second round of the 2010 MLB First-Year Player Draft by Detroit.
Pitched three seasons at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
