MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: Is game 10 (6-3) of a 10-game trip to Arizona (1-2), San Diego (3-1) and Seattle (2-0)…..following this trip and an off day tomorrow, the team returns to American Family Field for a 9-game homestand against Boston (3g), Detroit (3g) and Los Angeles-AL (3g).
IN THE STANDINGS (20 days): The Brewers have spent the following number of days alone or tied at each position in the NL Central standings: FIRST: 18, SECOND: 0, THIRD: 2, FOURTH: 0, FIFTH: 0…..the team is currently in first place, leading the second-place Cubs by 2.0 games.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 5-1-0 in series play, including this series. Game 1: 4-2, Game 2: 5-1, Game 3: 3-2, Game 4: 1-0 Sweep Wins (1): vs. NYM (3g, 4/3-4/5) Sweep Losses (-): None
AT HOME: The Brewers are 5-1 at home, going 2-0-0 in series play…..the team went 46-35 at home last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.
ON THE ROAD: The Brewers are 8-4 on the road, going 3-1-0 in series play, including this series…..the team went 40-41 on the road last season, going 9-12-5 in series play.
LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made three replay challenges this season, going 1-2…..their last challenge (lost) came on 4/12 at Arizona as an out call at first base (Willy Adames) stood.
TODAY’S STARTER: #52 – LHP ERIC LAUER (3gs, 2-1, 5.28)
LAUER AT A GLANCE: Eric Lauer, 27, will be making his fourth start…..Lauer last started last Friday at San Diego in an 11-2 win (6ip, 5h, 1r, 1er, 2bb, 5k, 1hr, 94 pitches)…..he has 1 quality start…..opponents are batting .293 (17-for-58, 4hr)…..Lauer was acquired from San Diego, along with INF Luis Urías and a player to be named or cash, in exchange for RHP Zach Davies and OF Trent Grisham on 11/27/19 (trade completed on 5/27/20 – cash).
LAST SEASON: Lauer went 11-7 with a 3.69 ERA in 29 starts last season…..the team went 17-12 in his starts…..he posted career highs in starts (29-tied), wins (11), innings pitched (158.2), strikeouts (157) and quality starts (13)…..he held opponents to a .228 batting average…..Lauer was on the 15-day injured list from 9/10-9/22 with left elbow inflammation…..he came back to end the season with 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings.
CAREER: Is 34-32 with a 4.14 ERA in 113 games/106 starts (565.1ip, 260er)…..is in his sixth Major League season with San Diego (2018-19) and Milwaukee (2020-23)…..was the Padres’ Opening Day starter in 2019…..Lauer was selected by San Diego in the first round (25th overall) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Kent State University.
CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 11-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 29 games/28 starts (154.1ip, 64er)…..is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in 1 start this season (4ip, 6er)…..went 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 13 starts last season (77.1ip, 22er)…..CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 16-16 with a 4.71 ERA in 57 games/52 starts (273.1ip, 143er)…..is 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA in 2 starts this season (11.1ip, 3er)…..went 5-5 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts last season (81.1ip, 43er).
CAREER vs. MARINERS: Lauer has never faced the Seattle, Washington Mariners.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 9-game, 10-day homestand with the finale of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers (0-2)…Seattle opened the current homestand with a 3-game series sweep over the Colorado Rockies…they will also host the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-23) at T-Mobile Park on the homestand…today’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 have lost 2 in a row on the heels of a 4-game winning streak…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 6-5 over their last 11 games…with last night’s extra-innings loss, Seattle is now 0-4 in extra-innings this season and 2-5 in 1-run games.
• Fun in the Sun – The Mariners are 3-1 over their last 4 day games and are 3-3 in day games overall this season.
• Programming Note – Today’s Mariners game is back on ROOT SPORTS…the Mariners will again be on ROOT SPORTS PLUS on Saturday, April 22 vs. St. Louis…the ROOT SPORTS PLUS Channel Finder can be found at northwest.rootsports.com/plus-guide/
• Yesterday’s Roster Moves – LHP Tayler Saucedo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma…RHP Darren McCaughan was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game April 17).
GIRL DAD…Marco Gonzales returns to the Mariners rotation today after missing his previous start (scheduled for April 14) on the Paternity List from April 14-17…following his first time on the Paternity List in 2021, Marco made 16 starts over the remainder of the season, going 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA (36 ER, 95.2 IP) with 24 walks and 66 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average and leading the Mariners to an 11-5 record in those games…during that span (7/3/21-end of season), Marco’s 9 wins were tied for 3rd-most in the Majors, while his 3.39 ERA ranked 13th-best among all qualified pitchers.
MAKE THEM WORK…since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mariners batters lead the Majors with 53 walks in plate appearances that began with an 0-2 count, despite facing the 9th-fewest plate appearances with an 0-2 count…during that span (2022-c), Eugenio Suarez leads the Majors with 13 walks following 0-2 counts, while J.P. Crawford ranks tied for 11th in MLB with 7 walks…J.P. holds a .316 on-base percentage over 114 plate appearances after going down 0-2, 2nd-best in the Majors trailing only Jose Altuve (.333 OBP) among players with at least 100 PA beginning with 0-2.
J.P. IS ALWAYS ON…J.P. Crawford has recorded a walk in 7 consecutive games since April 11…during that span (4/11-c) he is batting .400 (6×15) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 8 walks, while reaching base at a .609 clip and slugging .533 with a 1.142 OPS…overall this season, J.P. holds a .400 on-base percentage, 2nd-best in the Majors among batters with at least 30 plate appearance out of the 9 spot in the batting order, trailing only Myles Straw-CLE (.412 OBP)…J.P. is tied for 6th in the Majors with 4 Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs.
EXTRA ON CAL…Cal Raleigh went 2-for-5 with 1 run scored, 1 double, and 2 RBI in last night’s game… he has recorded an extra-base hit in back-to-back games, with 7 of his 14 hits this season going for extra-bases…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cal ranks 5th among Major League catchers with 48 extra-base hits, while leading all catchers with 27 home runs.
BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners bullpen combined for 5.0 innings in last nights game, allowing only 2 runs (both unearned) on 1 hit and 3 walks (1 intentional) with 7 strikeouts…Seattle’s bullpen has covered 70.2 innings this season, tied for 4th-most in the Majors (also: Tampa Bay)…Mariners relievers rank 9th in the Majors with a 3.18 ERA (25 ER, 70.2 IP) with 42 walks and 74 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to a .208 batting average against.
KELENIC’S OFFENSIVE CLINIC…Jarred Kelenic reached base twice in last night’s game, both via walk…Jarred has reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games dating back to April 2 vs. Cleveland… during that stretch (4/2-c), he is batting .341 (15×44) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 7 walks and 2 stolen bases, while reaching base at a .431 clip and slugging .705 with a 1.136 OPS over 13 games…overall this season, he holds a 1.023 OPS, ranking 9th-best in the Majors among qualified hitters.
IMPECCABLE TY-MING…Ty France went 1-for-4 with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 sacrifice fly in last night’s game…in 18 games this season, he has reached base safely in 17-of-18 and hit safely in 15-of-18… overall, Ty is batting .319 (23×72), with 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 8 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .405 clip and slugging .472 with a .877 OPS…with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning last night, France leads the Majors in game-tying RBI (6) in the 9th inning or later since the start of the 2021 season, ranking ahead of Willy Adames (5) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (5).
SUÁVE SUÁREZ…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-4 with 1 run and 1 hit-by-pitch in yesterday’s game…the Mariners third baseman has reached base in 15 consecutive games (4/2-c)…during that stretch, Geno is batting .306 (19×62) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .362 clip, slugging .435 with an .798 OPS…Suarez also ranks tied for 4th in the Majors with 4 Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant.
STOP IT!…according to FanGraphs, Seattle has registered 7 Defensive Runs Saved tied for 6th-most in the Majors (also: St. Louis), trailing Arizona (17 DRS), Milwaukee (16), Toronto (14), Detroit (11) and Minnesota (9)…according to Baseball Savant, Seattle has recorded 5 Outs Above Average, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind only Arizona (11) and New York-NL (6).
ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners still have 4 games remaining on the 9-game homestand (3-2) at T-Mobile Park, including the following events: Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 9-game, 10-day homestand with the finale of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers (0-2)…Seattle opened the current homestand with a 3-game series sweep over the Colorado Rockies…they will also host the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-23) at T-Mobile Park on the homestand…today’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 have lost 2 in a row on the heels of a 4-game winning streak…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 6-5 over their last 11 games…with last night’s extra-innings loss, Seattle is now 0-4 in extra-innings this season and 2-5 in 1-run games.
• Fun in the Sun – The Mariners are 3-1 over their last 4 day games and are 3-3 in day games overall this season.
• Programming Note – Today’s Mariners game is back on ROOT SPORTS…the Mariners will again be on ROOT SPORTS PLUS on Saturday, April 22 vs. St. Louis…the ROOT SPORTS PLUS Channel Finder can be found at northwest.rootsports.com/plus-guide/
• Yesterday’s Roster Moves – LHP Tayler Saucedo was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma…RHP Darren McCaughan was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game April 17).
GIRL DAD…Marco Gonzales returns to the Mariners rotation today after missing his previous start (scheduled for April 14) on the Paternity List from April 14-17…following his first time on the Paternity List in 2021, Marco made 16 starts over the remainder of the season, going 9-2 with a 3.39 ERA (36 ER, 95.2 IP) with 24 walks and 66 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .221 batting average and leading the Mariners to an 11-5 record in those games…during that span (7/3/21-end of season), Marco’s 9 wins were tied for 3rd-most in the Majors, while his 3.39 ERA ranked 13th-best among all qualified pitchers.
MAKE THEM WORK…since the beginning of the 2022 season, Mariners batters lead the Majors with 53 walks in plate appearances that began with an 0-2 count, despite facing the 9th-fewest plate appearances with an 0-2 count…during that span (2022-c), Eugenio Suarez leads the Majors with 13 walks following 0-2 counts, while J.P. Crawford ranks tied for 11th in MLB with 7 walks…J.P. holds a .316 on-base percentage over 114 plate appearances after going down 0-2, 2nd-best in the Majors trailing only Jose Altuve (.333 OBP) among players with at least 100 PA beginning with 0-2.
J.P. IS ALWAYS ON…J.P. Crawford has recorded a walk in 7 consecutive games since April 11…during that span (4/11-c) he is batting .400 (6×15) with 7 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 8 walks, while reaching base at a .609 clip and slugging .533 with a 1.142 OPS…overall this season, J.P. holds a .400 on-base percentage, 2nd-best in the Majors among batters with at least 30 plate appearance out of the 9 spot in the batting order, trailing only Myles Straw-CLE (.412 OBP)…J.P. is tied for 6th in the Majors with 4 Defensive Runs Saved according to FanGraphs.
EXTRA ON CAL…Cal Raleigh went 2-for-5 with 1 run scored, 1 double, and 2 RBI in last night’s game…he has recorded an extra-base hit in back-to-back games, with 7 of his 14 hits this season going for extra-bases…dating back to the beginning of the 2022 season, Cal ranks 5th among Major League catchers with 48 extra-base hits, while leading all catchers with 27 home runs.
BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners bullpen combined for 5.0 innings in last nights game, allowing only 2 runs (both unearned) on 1 hit and 3 walks (1 intentional) with 7 strikeouts…Seattle’s bullpen has covered 70.2 innings this season, tied for 4th-most in the Majors (also: Tampa Bay)…Mariners relievers rank 9th in the Majors with a 3.18 ERA (25 ER, 70.2 IP) with 42 walks and 74 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to
a .208 batting average against.
KELENIC’S OFFENSIVE CLINIC…Jarred Kelenic reached base twice in last night’s game, both via walk…Jarred has reached base safely in 12 of his last 13 games dating back to April 2 vs. Cleveland… during that stretch (4/2-c), he is batting .341 (15×44) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 8 RBI, 7 walks and 2 stolen bases, while reaching base at a .431 clip and slugging .705 with a 1.136 OPS over 13 games…overall this season, he holds a 1.023 OPS, ranking 9th-best in the Majors among qualified hitters.
IMPECCABLE TY-MING…Ty France went 1-for-4 with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 sacrifice fly in last night’s game…in 18 games this season, he has reached base safely in 17-of-18 and hit safely in 15-of-18… overall, Ty is batting .319 (23×72), with 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 home run, 13 RBI, 8 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .405 clip and slugging .472 with a .877 OPS…with his game-tying sacrifice fly in the 10th inning last night, France leads the Majors in game-tying RBI (6) in the 9th inning or later since the start of the 2021 season, ranking ahead of Willy Adames (5) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (5).
SUÁVE SUÁREZ…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-4 with 1 run and 1 hit-by-pitch in yesterday’s game…the Mariners third baseman has reached base in 15 consecutive games (4/2-c)…during that stretch, Geno is batting .306 (19×62) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .362 clip, slugging .435 with an .798 OPS…Suarez also ranks tied for 4th in the Majors with 4 Outs Above Average according to Baseball Savant.
STOP IT!…according to FanGraphs, Seattle has registered 7 Defensive Runs Saved tied for 6th-most in the Majors (also: St. Louis), trailing Arizona (17 DRS), Milwaukee (16), Toronto (14), Detroit (11) and Minnesota (9)…according to Baseball Savant, Seattle has recorded 5 Outs Above Average, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind only Arizona (11) and New York-NL (6).
ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners still have 4 games remaining on the 9-game homestand (3-2) at T-Mobile Park, including the following events: Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Matt Brash holds a 18.78 strikeouts-per-nine ratio (7.1 IP, 16 SO) over his first 10 appearances of the season, and…AS YOU MAY ALSO KNOW…his 18.78 SO/9 ratio ranks 3rd among all MLB relievers this season (min. 5.0 IP), trailing only Jose Alvarado-PHI (22.09 SO/9) and Alexis Diaz-CIN (20.25 SO/9), but…DID YOU KNOW?…Brash’s 18.78 SO/9 ratio over his first 10 appearances is the best by any Mariners reliever over their first 10 games in a season in club history?… Brash ranks ahead of Andrés Muñoz in 2022 (17.36 SO/9) and Edwin Díaz in 2018 (16.54 SO/9).
TODAY’S MARINERS STARTER – LHP MARCO GONZALES
ABOUT GONZALES…
• 31-year-old left-hander is making his 3rd start of the season, 1st against the Milwaukee Brewers, he is also making his 156th career appearance (148th career start) and his 3rd career start (4th appearance) against Milwaukee.
• Acquired by Seattle from St. Louis in exchange for minor league outfielder Tyler O’Neill on July 21, 2017.
• Native of Fort Collins, CO…attended Gonzaga University for 3 years (2011-13).
• Originally selected by Colorado in the 29th round of the 2010 MLB Draft out of Rocky Mountain High School (Fort Collins, CO) but did not sign…drafted and signed by the Cardinals with the 19th overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft out of Gonzaga University…became the highest draft pick in the history of the Gonzaga baseball program.
• Made his MLB debut with Cardinals on June 25, 2014 at Colorado.
LAST TIME OUT…W#1 in last start on 4/8 at CLE…allowed 1 run on 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5 in 5.2 innings.
INTERLEAGUE PLAY…is 2-0 all-time against the Milwaukee Brewers and 8-3 in interleague play…he owns a 3.39 ERA (90.1 IP, 34 ER) with 20 walks and 66 strikeouts against interleague opponents.
SUCCESS IN SEATTLE…is set to make his 68th career start at T-Mobile Park…he has a 28-17 record with a 3.76 ERA (404.1 IP, 169 ER) and 2 complete games when pitching in Seattle…his .622 winning percentage ranks second in franchise history among starting pitchers with at least 60 games started at T-Mobile Park trailing only Jamie Moyer (.640).
STARTING THE SEASON STRONG…holds a 11-7 career record in March/April with a 4.12 ERA (126.2 IP, 58 ER)…in March/April opponents are batting .273 (136×499) against Gonzales while striking out 103 times and walking 31 times…Marco’s .611 winning percentage in March/April ranks 5th in franchise history among starting pitchers with at least 24 games started.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY…has pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his 2 starts this season…in 2022 Gonzales had a streak of 20 consecutive games with at least 5.0 innings pitched from 6/15-10/5/22…this was the second longest streak among Mariners starters trailing only Logan Gilbert (22).
SEASON-LONG STAMINA…made all 32 starts last season which is tied for 1st among Mariners pitchers with Logan Gilbert and Robbie Ray…his 183.0 innings pitched was 3rd on the team last year trailing only Ray (189.0) and Gilbert (185.2)…he also led Seattle’s starting pitchers in decisions earning 25 decisions out of his 32 starts in 2022.
BUILT DIFFERENT… tossed 6.2 innings allowing 3 runs (2 ER) on 8 hits and 0 walks with 0 strikeouts on 7/7/22 vs. TOR…was 1 of only 8 instances of a starter tossing 6.0+ innings without a strikeout in 2022…had 8 different starts with 6+ innings pitched and 2-or-fewer strikeouts in 2022, which was the most such starts in the Majors…Cole Irvin-OAK ranked second with 5 such starts.
LET’S GET DEEP…The Mariners are 53-26 in starts when Gonzales goes 6.0 or more innings, compared to 22-42 when he tosses 5.2 innings or less over his career…when Gonzales tosses 7.0+ innings the Mariners are 25-9.
GOOD STRETCHES…recorded multiple quality start streaks in 2022…his longest quality start streak occurred from 6/15-7/7/22 during which he had a 2.51 ERA (32.1 IP, 9 ER) in 5 consecutive quality starts…his second longest streak occurred from 8/25-9/11/22 during which he had a 2.88 ERA (25.0 IP, 8 ER) in 4 consecutive quality starts…Gonzales tied for 1st in quality starts among Mariners starting pitchers last season with Robbie Ray (18).
OPENER x 3…started on Opening Day 3-consecutive years from 2019-21…became the 7th Mariners to start on Opening Day for at least 3- consecutive seasons, joining Mike Moore (1984-86), Mark Langston (1987-89), Randy Johnson (1992-1996), Freddy Garcia (2001-03), Jamie Moyer (2004-06) and Felix Hernandez (2009-18).
DEEP (START) IN THE HEART OF TEXAS…tossed the 3rd complete game of his career in a 3-1 Mariners win against Texas on Aug. 12, 2021…matched his career highs in innings pitched (9.0), strikeouts (9) and surrendered the fewest hits in any of his 3 complete games (2)…the only run allowed came via a home run to Charlie Culberson with 2 outs in the 2nd inning…he faced the minimum in 8 of 9 innings.
PLAYOFF PROWESS…pitched in the 2014 Postseason with St. Louis…went 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA (3 ER, 6.0 IP) with 4 strikeouts and…earned 2 wins in the NLDS vs. Los Angeles, becoming the 4th rookie in postseason history to win 2 games in the Division Series (also: Dave Righetti-NYY, 1981, Jaret Wright-CLE, 1997 and Francisco RodrÍguez-LAA, 2002).
