COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
WHAT’S HAPPENING
• The Colorado Rockies begin a three-game set in Seattle tonight following their first homestand of the season … split a four-game series against the Washington Nationals to begin the homestand before dropping two of three to the Cardinals.
• The Rockies are in Seattle for the first time since July 20-21, 2021 when the two teams split a two-game set … Colorado is 25-26 all-time against the Mariners, 13-14 in the Emerald City … have won nine of the last 14 meetings in Seattle since July 2, 2006.
TIME FLIES WHEN YOU’RE HAVING FUN
• Through 13 games, the Rockies average game time of 2:33 is slightly below the league average of 2:37 … in 2022, the Rockies did not play a game shorter than 2:33 until their 21st game of the season, a 4-3 win over Cincinnati on April 30 (2:31) … 16 of their games across that span were over three hours … Colorado has yet to play a game in 2023 that has lasted longer than three hours (longest: 2:56).
• The Rockies’ shortest game of the season was a 2:03 affair April 2 in San Diego, the 12th-shortest game in Rockies’ history, the shortest since a 1:58 time of game on July 1, 2008 … in that contest, Aaron Cook tossed a 79-pitch complete-game shutout against the Padres at Coors Field, one of only nine CGSO tossed at Coors Field at the time.
• The shortest game in team history came on June 30, 2006 at Seattle when the Rockies topped the Mariners 2-0 in 1:52.
THE BATS ARE ALIVE
• The Rockies recorded double-digit hits in five consecutive games April 7-11 … it was their longest string of games with 10+ hits since a six-game stretch Aug. 3-8, 2021.
• The Rockies’ 121 hits are tied for the third-most in the NL, while the team’s 29 doubles rank third … seven different Rockies (Blackmon, Bryant, Daza, Díaz, McMahon, Montero, Tovar) have at least three doubles, the most players with three or more doubles in the Majors.
FIRE UP THE FOUNTAINS
• C.J. Cron’s four home runs are tied for the fourth-most in the National League … his home run Saturday measuring 479 feet is the third-longest in the Majors this season trailing Giancarlo Stanton (485’) and Jared Kelenic (482’).
• The Rockies have hit 14 home runs through 13 games thus far in the season … their average of 1.08 home runs per game is up from the team’s 0.92 mark in 2022 and their 1.00 mark on the road surpasses the Rockies’ 0.63 mark from last season.
AS DÍAZ DOES
• Elias Díaz has reached base in 10-straight games with a plate appearance (.400/.471/.700) and 12 of 13 games overall this season (.342/.419/.579) … his on-base streak is tied for the second-longest of his career and is one shy of tying his career-best streak recorded Aug. 14-30, 2021 (.316/.366/.605).
• His active seven-game hitting streak (.500/.545/.850) is also tied for the second-longest of his career behind an eight-game stretch July 11-27, 2022 (.467/.543/.800)
• His .342 average (13-for-38) is the 10th-best in the National League, while his .998 OPS ranks ninth.
HOME RUN OR GO HOME
• The Rockies are 0-8 this season when allowing at least one home run and 5-0 when not giving up a long ball … this is the deepest any team has gone into a season with their results entirely parallel to whether they allowed a home run since the 2002 Giants did do in 15-straight to begin the year (via Stats Perform).
CB AS DH
• Charlie Blackmon has gone 10-for-29 (.345) with one double, one home run and three RBI in seven games as the designated hitter … his batting average ranks first and his OBP (.406) ranks second in the Majors when playing as the DH while his slugging (.483) ranks sixth (min. 30 PA).
• Since the universal DH was introduced at the start of 2022, Blackmon is hitting .274 (98-for-358) in 87 games as the designated hitter, good for the fourth-highest average in the Majors (min. 300 AB) … was a National League Silver Slugger finalist at DH in 2022.
KBOOM
• Kris Bryant has reached base safely in 19-straight games dating back to July 24, 2022 at Milwaukee, hitting safely in 17 of 19 games across that span (.338/.410/.473) … it is the second-longest active on-base streak in the Majors behind Shohei Ohtani’s 34-game streak and the longest in the NL.
• Bryant has reached base in 49 of his 54 games played with the Rockies.
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER #26 AUSTIN GOMBER LHP
HI, I’M AUSTIN
• Winter Garden, Fla., native enters his 10th professional season, his fifth in the Majors and his third with the Rockies.
• Acquired by Colorado, along with four other players including INF Elehuris Montero in exchange for 3B Nolan Arenado.
• Originally selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 FirstYear Player Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.
A QUICK RECAP
• Made his first start of the season April 2 at San Diego, a 3-1 Rockies loss … suffered the loss despite tossing six innings and allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
• Allowed all three runs in the third inning on a Xander Bogaerts two-run home run and a Trent Grisham solo home run.
• Took the loss in his second start on Saturday against the Nationals at Coors Field, allowing five runs over 4.2 innings.
• His 82 pitches thrown were the most since tossing 94 on July 17, 2022 vs. Pittsburgh.
• Marked his 10th straight start issuing two or fewer walks.
SPRING FORTH
• Made five Spring starts, going 2-1 with a 3.78 ERA (16.2 IP, 7 ER), six walks and 10 strikeouts.
• Last start of Spring came on March 26 … tossed five scoreless innings at Chicago-AL.
EMERALD CITY
• Has made one career appearance against the Mariners … earned the win on July 21, 2021 at Coors Field, allowing three runs on three hits (all home runs) over six innings, striking out three and walking one.
• Has appeared in 20 Interleague games in his career (13 starts), going 7-2 with a 2.90 ERA against the Junior Circuit.
GO GO GOMBER
• Last season, made 17 starts and 16 appearances out of the bullpen in his second season as a Rockie … went 5-7 (Rockies 9-24) while posting a combined 5.56 ERA (124.2 IP, 77 ER) across his 33 appearances … his 124.2 innings pitched set a new career-high.
• Began the season in the Rockies rotation, making 12 starts through June 15 and going 3-7 with a 6.43 ERA (63.0 IP, 45 ER), 20 walks and 49
strikeouts.
• Moved to the bullpen at the end of June and made two relief appearances June 22 at Miami and June 26 at Minnesota … allowed four runs over a
combined 4.1 innings (8.31 ERA).
• Went back to the rotation in July and made four starts prior to the AllStar Break, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (21.2 IP, 10 ER), four walks and 15 strikeouts … allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last three starts prior to the Break, pitching to a 3.38 ERA (16.0 IP, 6 ER).
• Returned to the bullpen following the All-Star Break and posted a 4.68 ERA (32.2 IP, 17 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts across 14 relief outings in the second half.
ON YOUR LEFT
• Since joining the Rockies, has held left-handed hitter to a .219/.270/.366 slash line with a .245 batting average on balls in play.
• Held opposing left-handed hitters to a .221 average last season (30-for136), the lowest lefty opponent average by a Rockies left-hander since Kyle Freeland in 2018 (.185) and the ninth-lowest in a single season in franchise history (min. 140 batters faced).
START IT UP
• As a starter in 2022, went 5-7 (Rockies 7-10) across 17 starts while pitching to a 5.75 clip (87.2 IP, 56 ER) … walked 25 and struck out 68
while opponents hit .292 (101-for-346) with 13 home runs … seven of his starts were quality.
• Posted a 5.72 ERA (50.1 IP, 32 ER) with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts across nine starts at Coors Field … 5.79 ERA (37.1 IP, 24 ER) with 11 walks and 36 strikeouts in eight starts on the road.
• 8.68 SO/9 on the road compared to a 5.72 SO/9 at home.
BACK IT UP
• Made 16 appearances out of the bullpen, his most since 18 relief outings as a rookie with St. Louis in 2018 … posted a 5.11 ERA (37.0 IP, 21 ER) out of the bullpen with nine walks and 27 strikeouts … opponents hit .254 (36-for-142) with seven home runs.
• Made 12 appearances of two or more innings, four with three or more innings and one career-long outing of 4.2 IP (Aug. 24 vs. TEX).
• In his outing against Texas onAug. 24, became the first Rockie in history to toss 4.2 or more scoreless frames out of the ‘pen while allowing one or fewer hits.
HAPPY HOME VS. ROCKY ROAD
• In 50 career home games (25 starts) with both St. Louis and Colorado, is 11-8 with a 4.08 ERA (169.2 IP, 77 ER).
• Since joining the Rockies, has gone 8-6 with a 4.21 ERA (124.0 IP, 58 ER) at Coors Field with 30 walks and 89 strikeouts … in 2021, went 5-1
with a 2.09 ERA (47.1 IP, 11 ER) in nine starts at home, posting a 0.95 WHIP.
• Since 2020, is 8-6 with a 3.86 ERA (137.2 IP, 59 ER) in 34 games (21 starts) in his home ballpark … in road games through the same span, is
7-13 with a 5.70 ERA (142.0 IP, 90 ER) in 38 games (25 starts).
WALK IT OUT…OR DON’T
• 2.45 BB/9 in 2022 was the lowest of his career while his 2.79 SO/BB ratio was his highest … BB/9 was the sixth-lowest among National League lefties and his SO/BB ratio ranked 10th (min. 120.0 IP).
• Did not issue a walk in seven-straight relief outings from Aug. 31-Sept. 29, the longest single-season streak by a Rockies lefty since James Pazos from Sept. 6-28, 2019 (seven games).
• Has walked two or more batters 17 times in 40 starts over the past two seasons since joining the Rockies, going 2-10 with an 8.28 ERA (75.0 IP, 69 ER) in those starts … has walked one or fewer batters 23 times over that span, going 12-6 with a 3.16 ERA (128.0 IP, 45 ER) in
those starts.
EARLY GOINGS
• Of his 52 career Minor League starts in which he pitched six or more innings, 49 were quality starts and 13 were scoreless.
• Made his Major League debut on June 2, 2018 vs. Pittsburgh and pitched three scoreless, hitless innings of relief for the Cardinals.
• In 2018, became the first Cardinals rookie left-hander since 1912 to win five games in the month of August … did not allow a hit to the first 14 right-handed batters he faced prior to June 25 (Rajai Davis, ninth inning single).
THIS N’ THAT
• Did not allow more than five hits in any of his first eight starts at Coors Field in 2021 and allowed five hits just once (Aug. 7 vs. Miami)
… recorded eight-straight starts allowing five or fewer hits at home, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history (Ubaldo Jiménez,
2008).
• Posted a 3.27 ERA with 238 strikeouts in his collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University.
• First team All-Sun Belt Conference during his junior year with a league-leading 2.97 ERA.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…following yesterday’s off-day, the Mariners open a 9-game, 10-day homestand against Colorado (3 G, 4/14-16), Milwaukee (3 G, 4/17-19) and St. Louis (3 G, 4/21-23)…tonight’s game against the Rockies will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners wrapped up their first road trip of the season Wednesday with a 5-2 win at Chicago-NL…Seattle went 3-3 on the trip to Cleveland (2-1) and Chicago-NL (1-2).
• Steak Streak – Jarred Kelenic is the first Mariners player age 23-or-younger to record an RBI in 5+ consecutive games (5 G, 4/8-c) since Alex Rodriguez recorded an RBI in 7-consecutive games from July 1-7, 1999.
• Roster Moves – The Mariners today selected LHP Tommy Milone from Triple-A Tacoma, and placed LHP Marco Gonzales on the Paternity List…to clear space on the 40-man roster, RHP J.B. Bukauskas was designated for assignment.
• Feels Like the First Time – The Mariners and Rockies met on June 12, 1997 for the very first interleauge game for both franchises…current Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto pitched in relief for Colorado in that game.
• 15 Consecutive – Today marks the fourth of 15 consecutive interleague games for Seattle: at ChicagoNL (1-2), vs. Colorado (4/14-16), vs. Milwaukee (4/17-19), vs. St. Louis (4/21-23) and at Philadelphia (4/25-27)…Seattle will face interleague opponents in back-to-back series only one other time during the 2023 schedule: Sept. 1-3 at New York-NL and Sept. 4-6 at Cincinnati.
JK: JUST KRUSHING…Jarred Kelenic capped off his dynamic road trip by going 2-for-4 with a home run, extending his career-best hitting streak to 7 games (4/5-c), including home runs in each of his last 3 contests…during the 7-game hitting streak, Kelenic is batting .458 (11×24) with 5 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 5 RBI, while sporting a 1.477 OPS…during the road trip (4/7-12), Kelenic had an extra-base hit in 5-of-6 games, and a multi-hit game in 3-of-6.
TY IS THAT GUY…Ty France extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a 2-for-4 performance in Wednesday’s series finale against the Cubs, marking the second time in his career that he has had a 10+ game hitting streak (last: 13 G, 5/18-6/1/2022)…during the active streak, Ty is batting .356 (16×45) with 11 runs, 5 doubles and 6 RBI, getting on base at a .420 clip and slugging .467 (.887 OPS)…his 10-game streak is tied for the 3rd-longest active streak in the Majors.
HOME SWEET HOMESTAND…the Mariners open the homestand tonight with Cal Raleigh Bobblehead Night, where the first 20,000 fans through the gates will recieve 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 more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets.
TEO HAS BEEN TANTILIZING…Teoscar Hernández clubbed his 3rd home run of the season in Wednesday’s game, a 108.7 mph, 419-foot blast…each of his 3 home runs this season have been hit at least 108 mph…over his last 8 games dating back to April 4, Teo is batting .294 (10×34) with 4 runs, 1 double, 3 home runs and 8 RBI, getting on base at a .333 clip and slugging .588 (.922 OPS)…Teo leads the Majors with 5 defensive runs saved, while ranking in the 86th percentile in sprint speed and 80th percentile in outs above average defensively, via Baseball Savant.
HOT BAT AT THE HOT CORNER…Eugenio Suárez drove in his team-leading 11th run of the season on Wednesday…the Mariners third baseman has reached base safely in each of his last 10 games (4/2-c), including hitting safely in 9-of-10 during that span…since April 2, Geno is batting .341 (15×44) with 5 runs, 2 doubles 1 home run and 11 RBI, getting on base at a .362 clip and slugging .455 (.816 OPS)…his 11 RBI since April 2 are tied for 4th-most in the American League and 6th-most in the Majors.
MILE-HIGH MASHERS…A.J. Pollock and Eugenio Suárez have tormented Rockies pitchers throughout their careers…Pollock is batting .309 (138×446) with 84 runs, 34 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs and 58 RBI, getting on base at a .357 clip and slugging .534 (.891 OPS)…Suárez is batting .277 (39×141) with 27 runs, 6 doubles, 10 home runs and 26 RBI with a .890 OPS against Colorado.
NOTHING TO SHOW FOR IT…since April 7, Mariners hitters have had outs recorded on 40 of their 75 hard-hit balls…the Mariners lead the Majors in hard-hit balls, while also leading in outs made on hard-hit balls during that span, ranking ahead of New York-AL, who have made outs on 35 of their 73 hard-hits… Julio Rodríguez (8) and Teoscar Hernández (6) both rank in the top 10 in most outs made on hard-hit balls, with Rodriguez tied for the league lead, since April 7…Statcast defines a hard-hit ball as any ball put in play of at least 95 mph.
NAME A MORE ICONIC DUO…after tossing 6.2 innings, allowing just 1 run on Wednesday, at ChicagoNL, Logan Gilbert’s career ERA in March/April sits at 1.38 (6 ER, 39.0 IP)…among active pitchers with at least 6 starts in any calendar month, Gilbert’s 1.38 ERA ranks 2nd, trailing only Tony Gonsolin-LAD, who has a 1.10 career ERA in August.
ONE OUT OFFENSE…through 13 games this season, the Mariners offense has had its most success with one out in the inning…with one out, Seattle is batting .288 (47×163) with 14 doubles, 4 home runs, 25 RBI, 5 stolen bases and 17 walks with an .810 OPS…with 2 outs, the offense is hitting .186 (26×140) and with no outs are hitting .226 (35×155).
LA PIEDRA ‘ROCKS’…Luis Castillo has shined through 3 starts this season…in his 3 outings to begin the year, he is 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA (2 ER, 17.2 IP) with 4 walks and 17 strikeouts…the right-hander did not allow a run in either of his first 2 starts to begin the season, becoming just the third Mariners pitcher to do that, joining Félix Hernández (2007) and James Paxton (2017)…Castillo is scheduled to take the mound again on Sunday vs. Colorado.
TONIGHT’S MARINERS STARTER – LHP TOMMY MILONE
ABOUT MILONE…
• 35-year-old left-hander is set to make his 1st appearance of 2023…he will also make his 197th career appearance and 2nd career start (3rd appearance) against the Rockies.
• Signed as a minor league free agent with the Seattle Mariners on April 1, 2022…reported to Triple-A Tacoma.
• Drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 10th round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA).
• Made MLB debut on 9/3/12 with the Washington Nationals, starting and going 4.1 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits with 2 strikeouts against the New York Mets.
• Is a veteran of 11 MLB seasons with Washington (2011, 2018), Oakland (2012-14), Minnesota (2014-16), Milwaukee (2017), New York-NL (2017), Seattle (2019, 2022), Baltimore (2020), Atlanta (2020) and Toronto (2021).
LAST TIME OUT…has made 1 start for Triple-A Tacoma this season, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER, 5.0 IP) with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk… made season debut on 4/4 at Reno.
LAST MLB START…started game 2 of a doubleheader at Kansas City on 4/17/21 while with the Toronto Blue Jays…went 2.1 innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts.
LAST RELIEF APPEARANCE…pitched the 6th inning at Houston on 7/29/22, allowing 4 runs on 3 hits (2 HR) in his inning of work.
INTERLEAGUE PLAY…is set to make his 25th interleague appearance and 17th start…is 11-4 all-time in interleague play with a 5.03 ERA (112.2 IP, 63 ER) with 74 strikeouts and 35 walks…tonight’s game marks Milone’s 3rd appearance (2nd start) against the Rockies.
WHAT A DEBUT!…hit a 3-run home run in his first career PA in his MLB debut with Washington on 9/3/11…he is the first starting pitcher since 1914 to hit a home run in their first career PA in their MLB debut… only 7 starting pitchers have hit a HR in their MLB debut: Jack PowellSTL (1901), Bobby Locke-CLE (1959), Denny McLain-DET (1963), Paul Moskau-CIN (1977), Jason Jennings-COL (2001), Milone-WAS (2011)
and Kenta Maeda-LAD (2016).
BULK PITCHER…made 24 relief appearances of 3.0 innings-or-more, including 3 in the 2022 season: 6/18 (2) vs. LAA, 6/27 vs. BAL, and 7/13
(2) at WSN…he has made 19 relief appearances of 4.0+ IP, 18 of them coming with the Mariners…in 2019 he recorded a 6 game streak of relief appearances with the Mariners where he pitched 4.0+ innings… the streak lasted from 7/28-8/26/19 and he pitched 28.0 innings over that span.
YOU COMPLETE ME…has thrown two complete games in his career, both with Oakland…first came on 6/20/12 vs. Los Angeles-NL going 9.0 innings allowing just 1 run on 3 hits with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts…the second came in a weather-shortened game against Detroit on 8/27/13 when he tossed 5.0 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 3 hits and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts.
TWO-STINT MARINER…became the 49th player to have two different stints with the Mariners (2019 and 2022-23)…he was one of three two-stint Mariners to appear in a game last season, joining Roenis Elias (3 stints, 2014-15, 2018-19 and 2022) and Kevin Padlo (2021-22).
HE’S SEEN A THING OR TWO…has played for nine different franchises in his career, 1 of only 5 pitchers who appeared in an MLB game last season to play for nine-or-more teams (also: Rich Hill, Jesse Chavez, Mark Melancon and Ross Detwiler)…only Rich Hill (11) and Ross Detwiler (10) have played for more franchises than Milone.
AS A MARINER…made Mariners debut on 5/21/19 at Texas (5.0,3,2,2,1,6)…made 23 appearances (6 starts) for the Mariners in 2019, going 4-10 with a 4.76 ERA (59 ER, 111.2 IP) with 94 strikeouts and 23 walks…made 7 appearances in 2022 going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA (16.2 IP, 10 ER) with 5 strikeouts and 6 walks…pitched behind an “opener” in the majority of his relief appearances with the Mariners.
PLAYOFFS! PLAYOFFS!…in lone postseason appearance with Oakland, tossed 6.0 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks in the 2012 ALDS against the Detroit Tigers…the A’s went on to lose the series in 5 games.
CAREER YEAR…went 13-10 with a 3.74 ERA (79 ER, 190.0 IP) in 2012 with the Athletics…struck out 137 batters with 36 walks.
