SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 9-game road trip with the finale of a 3-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies (1-1)…following the conclusion of today’s game, the Mariners will travel to Toronto for a 3-game set against the Blue Jays…Seattle will also visit Oakland (3 G, 5/2-5/4) on the current trip…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims 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 Aaron Goldsmith.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners fell to the Phillies by a 6-5 score in last night’s game…Seattle holds a 3-4 overall series record this season…Seattle is 7-9 at T-Mobile Park and 4-4 on the road this season…the Mariners are 7-5 over their last 12 games since April 12.
• Programming Note – Today’s game is back on ROOT SPORTS.
• High 5 – The Mariners have scored 5 runs in 4 of their last 5 games and 5 of their last 7 games.
• Rubber Game – The Mariners are 0-1 in Rubber Games this season, falling 4-3 to the Angels on April 5.
• The Recipe For Success – The Mariners are 10-2 (.833) when allowing 3-or-fewer runs.
• Day Games – Today marks the 9th day game of the season for Seattle…entering today’s action, Seattle’s 8 day games (3-5) on the season are tied for 3rd-fewest in the Majors behind San Diego (7) and Los Angeles-NL…the Phillies have played 14 day games (7-7) this season, tied for 3rd-most in MLB behind Chicago-AL (17) and Minnesota (15).
• Paul Is Life – Paul Sewald is 7-for-7 in save opportunities this season…his 3 saves are 3rd-most in the American League, trailing only Emmanuel Clase-CLE (8) and Jordan Romano-TOR (8).
• Up Next – Following today’s game, the Mariners will travel to Toronto for the first time since sweeping the American League Wild Card Series (2-0) during the 2022 Postseason.
J.P. THE ON-BASE MACHINE…J.P. Crawford went 3-for-4 with 1 run scored, 1 double, 1 home run and 4 RBI in last night’s game, picking up his first grand slam of the season (2nd career)…over his last 13 games (4/11-c), J.P. has gotten on base at a .523 clip, reaching safely 23 times (12 hits, 11 walks) in 44 trips to the plate…during that span, the Mariners shortstop is batting .364 (12×33) with 10 runs scored, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI and 11 walks, while slugging .576 with a 1.098 OPS….also during that span (4/11-c), Crawford’s 1.098 OPS ranks 8th-best in the Majors (min. 40 PA), while leading all shortstops…overall this season, J.P. holds a .821 OPS, ranking 5th-best among Major League shortstops behind only Xander Bogaerts-SD (.941), Wander Franco-TB (.920), Bo Bichette-TOR (.909) and Tommy Edman-STL (.840).
BACK-TO-BACK…J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez hit back-to-back home runs in the 2nd inning of yesterday’s game…they were the second Mariners this season to go back-to-back, joining Teoscar Hernández and Jarred Kelenic (4/12 at CHC, 8th inning)…J.P. and Julio also became the first Mariners to hit back-to-back home runs, with one of them being a grand slam, since Austin Jackson (GS) and Franklin Gutierrez (solo) did it on July 7, 2015 vs. Detroit…both Jackson and Crawford hit grand slams against their former teams…Nick Castellanos hit a 2-run homer in the previous inning in both instances (w/DET on 7/7/15 and w/PHI yesterday).
GENO IS ALWAYS ON BASE…Eugenio Suárez went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in last night’s game, extending his career-high on-base streak to 21 games (4/2-c)…the 21-game streak is tied for 2nd-longest active streak in the Majors and surpasses his previous-high 19-game on-base streak (9/8/2019-7/24/2020 w/CIN)…during the 21-game span (4/2-c), Geno is batting .284 (23×81) with 9 runs scored, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 15 RBI, 8 walks and 3 hit-by-pitch, while reaching base at a .366 clip and slugging .395 with a .761 OPS.
JARRED KELENIC: AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH?…in 22 games this season, Jarred Kelenic is batting .325 (25×77) with 11 runs, 7 doubles, 7 home runs, 14 RBI, 3 stolen bases and 7 walks, while getting on base at a .376 clip and slugging .688 with a 1.065 OPS…Kelenic ranks 3rd in the Majors in wRC+ (196)…Kelenic leads the American League in slugging percentage, while ranking 2nd in OPS, T2nd in home runs, T4th in extra-base hits (14), T5th in total bases (53), 6th in batting average, T3rd in fWAR (1.4) and T4th in bWAR (1.2).
GEM-TWIRLING GENTS…the Mariners have the 2nd-best pitching staff in the Majors by fWAR (4.0) trailing only Tampa Bay (4.1) and ranking ahead of Minnesota (3.9), Houston (3.8) and Texas (3.8)…through 24 games this season, Seattle’s staff holds a 3.81 ERA (93 ER, 219.2 IP) with 8 saves, 78 walks and 219 strikeouts…the Mariners have held their opponents to 2-or-fewer runs in 8 of 23 games this season and 3-or-fewer runs in 12 of 23 games.
BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners have 4 relief pitchers who rank in the top-50 in fWAR among relief pitchers: Matt Brash (0.5 fWAR), Trevor Gott (0.4), Gabe Speier (0.3) and Paul Sewald (0.3), tied for 2ndmost relievers in the Majors along with Los Angeles-NL (4), Cincinnati (4) and Colorado (4), while trailing only Baltimore (5)…overall this season, the Mariners bullpen is 4-6 with 21 holds, 8 saves and a 3.20 ERA (34 ER, 92.2 IP) with 44 walks (8 intentional) and 98 strikeouts in 24 games this season…Justin Topa and Penn Murfee have also been key pieces out of the bullpen, with Topa allowing only 2 runs over 9.0 IP (2.00 ERA) with 4 walks and 9 strikeouts, and Murfee posting a 1.74 ERA (2 ER, 10.1 IP) with 10 strikeouts across 12 appearances.
MANNY, BONE & NEGRÓN…the Mariners have the 2nd-best defense in the Majors this season according to Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average…Seattle’s 8 OAA trails only Arizona (11), ranking ahead of New York-NL (7) and San Diego (6)…Eugenio Suárez (4 OAA) is tied for 2nd-most in the Majors, while Ty France (2), J.P. Crawford (1), Teoscar Hernández (1), Jarred Kelenic (1) and Julio Rodríguez (1) all rank positively in the metric.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…today’s game marks the 30th-career start for Mariners pitcher George Kirby…through 29 career starts, George is 10-6 with a 3.42 ERA (58 ER, 152.2 IP) with 23 walks and 150 strikeouts, but…DID YOU KNOW?…entering today’s action, George has a chance to become the first pitcher in Major League history to post an ERA below 3.50, while striking out 150+ and walking less than 25 over his first 30 career starts?…Roy Oswalt-HOU (2.79 ERA, 156 SO, 26 BB) is currently the only pitcher in Major League history with a sub-3.50 ERA, 150+ strikeouts and less than 30 walks over his first 30 career starts.
TODAYS’S MARINERS STARTER – RHP GEORGE KIRBY
ABOUT KIRBY…
• 25-year-old right-hander is making his 5th start of the season, 1st against Philadelphia…he is also making his 30th career start, and 1st career start against the Phillies.
• Selected by the Mariners in the first round (20th overall) of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Ty Holub.
• Played 3 seasons (2017-2019) at Elon University (NC), going 19-8 with a 3.30 ERA (88 ER, 240.0 IP) in 45 games (34 GS) with the Phoenix.
• Became the first rookie in MLB history to record a save in the postseason in his first career relief appearance.
• Graduated from Rye HS (Rye, NY) where he was named to the all-metro, all-state, all-section and all-league baseball teams 3 times.
LAST TIME OUT…earned W#2 on 4/21 against St. Louis after turning in a quality start where he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 0 walks with 5 strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work.
NATIONAL PHENOMENON…in 5 career interleague appearances, Kirby has a 1.84 ERA (6 ER, 29.1 IP) with 24 strikeouts and just 1 walk…among active players with at least 5 career interleague starts, Kirby’s 1.84 ERA is the 5th lowest, Max Fried-ATL (1.54) ranks 1st…his 24.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 1st among active pitchers with at least 5 interleague starts, ranking ahead of Corey Kluber-BOS (6.97).
THESE BOOTS WERE NOT MADE FOR WALKING…in 4 starts this season Kirby has only allowed 1 walk while striking out 17…his 17.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads the Major Leagues among pitchers with at least 4 starts so far this season…he ranks ahead of Jacob deGrom-TEX (14.33).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN…is set to make his 2nd road start of the season and his 14th career road start…Kirby is 5-2 with a 3.34 ERA (64.2 IP, 24 ER) when pitching on the road…his 3.34 ERA ranks 1st in franchise history among pitchers with at least 13 road starts…he ranks ahead of Hisashi Iwakuma (3.36) and Erik Bedard (3.42).
MISSION CRITICAL…the Mariners own a 10-4 record in games that Kirby tosses at least 6.0 innings…in games Kirby goes 5.2 innings or less, the Mariners are just 8-7.
PLAYOFF KIRB…made two appearances in the postseason…earned the save in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series at Toronto, his first professional save…also started in Game 3 of the AL Division Series vs. Houston, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts…became just the 2nd player in franchise history to throw at least 7.0 shutout innings in the postseason, joining Luis Castillo (10/7 at TOR, G1 ALWCS).
AUGUST ROOKIE OF THE MONTH…was named Rookie of the Month for August 2022, after going 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA (7 ER, 29.1 IP) with 34 strikeouts and 3 walks in 5 August starts…he led AL rookies in fWAR (1.4), ERA, wins, WHIP (1.13) and SO/BB ratio (11.33)…becomes just the 3rd Mariners pitcher to win Rookie of the Month joining Michael Pineda (April 2011) and Rafael Soriano (Aug. 2003), and the 2nd Mariner to win the award in 2022 (also: Julio Rodríguez, May and June).
GOING ON STRIKE…began his outing on 8/24/22 vs. Washington by throwing 24-consecutive strikes, the most to start a game since the pitch tracking era (1988-current), passing the 21 thrown by Joe Musgrove on 8/30/18 vs. STL with PIT.
WALK LESS, LISTEN MORE…did not allow more than 1 walk in each of his first 22 career starts, the longest streak to begin a career in MLB history…it was the 2nd-longest streak to begin a season in MLB history trailing the 27 done by Carlos Silva-MIN in 2005.
NO DINGERS HERE…did not allowed a home run in 14-consecutive starts from 7/2-9/28/22, which was the longest streak in the Majors in 2022…the 14-start streak without allowing a home run was a franchise record passing Erik Hanson (12, 9/20/89-5/23/90)…he went 75.0 innings without allowing a long ball.
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING…was the fourth-most valuable pitcher in the AL from 7/2/22-the end of the regular season
according to Fangraphs WAR, amassing 3.1 fWAR…in 12 starts after allowing a career-high 7 runs to the Orioles on 6/27/22, Kirby went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA (15 ER, 64.2 IP) with 74 strikeouts and 8 walks from 7/2-9/17/22…the Mariners went 9-3 in those games.
A HISTORIC SEASON…his 6.05 strikeout to walk ratio is the highest in a rookie season in MLB history since the start of the Modern Era (1900-c.), ranking ahead of Chris Paddack-SD (4.94) in 2014 (min. 25 GS).
MARINERS ROOKIES…among Mariners rookie pitchers who have made at least 15 starts as a rookie, he ranks among the leaders in ERA (5th, 3.39),
SO/9 (2nd, 9.2), SO (5th, 133), WHIP (4th, 1.208) and SO/BB (1st, 6.05).
BY GEORGE!…his 7.79 SO/BB ratio through his first 20 starts is the highest mark in MLB history, ranking ahead of Roy Oswalt-HOU (7.65 in 2001) (excludes openers).
CAN WHIFF WITH THE BEST OF ‘EM…struck out 123 batters over his first 22 career starts, which is the 3rd-most through a players first 22 career starts in Mariners history, trailing only Michael Pineda (137) and Felix Hernandez (136)…Kirby is also tied for the 3rd fastest Mariners pitcher (18 starts) to 100 career strikeouts, trailing Hernandez and Pineda, who both reached the milestone in 17 starts.
WATCH ME WHIFF…induced 223 swings-and-misses in 2022 according to Baseball Savant, which was the T6th-most among MLB rookies and T3rdmost among AL rookies…trailed only Joe Ryan-MIN (312) and Reid Detmers-LAA (267) in the AL.
K STANDS FOR KIRBY…career-high-tying 9 strikeouts on 8/24/22…reached the mark 3 times in 2022…he was one of 4 Mariners pitchers with 9+
strikeouts in 2022, joining Robbie Ray (season-high 12 SO), Luis Castillo (season-high 10 SO) and Logan Gilbert (season-high 11 SO)
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #24 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Seattle Mariners, 6-5, at CBP in South Philly … Following a 20-minute rain delay, Nick Castellanos put the Phils ahead 2-0 with an opposite field blast in the 1st … The Mariners plated 5 runs in the 2nd to take a 5-2 lead … With runs in the 3rd and the 5th, the Phillies entered the 8th down 5-4 – after four singles, the Phils had a 6-5 lead and turned it over to Jose Alvarado who picked up his 4th save with a scoreless 9th.
SWING AND A WHIFF: In his last start, April 20 vs COL, LHP Matt Strahm struck out a career-high 11 over 5.1 innings pitched (21 batters faced) … Strahm’s 11 strikeouts were the most by a Phillies left-hander since Cole Hamels, July 25, 2015, in his no-hitter against the Cubs at Wrigley Field (13 SO) … There have been 131 pitchers this season to make at least four starts – Strahm’s 38.0% strikeout rate ranks 3rd out of
those 131, behind only ATL’s Spencer Strider (42.6%) and TEX’s Jacob deGrom (42.2%).
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: After starting the year 0-4 and being outscored 37-12 (-25) through their first four games (3/30-4/3), the Phillies have gone 12-9 with a +14 run differential in their 21 games since (4/4-current) … Philadelphia has won four of their last five (since 4/21), five of their last seven (since 4/19), seven of their last 10 (since 4/16) and eight of their last 12 (since 4/14).
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 12 games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies are averaging 39,128 in attendance per game which ranks 5th among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (49,418), Padres (40,343), Cardinals (39,881) and Yankees (39,559) … Of Philadelphia’s first 12 games at home, six have been sellouts … Philadelphia’s 469,534 in total attendance is the highest at this point in a season since 2012 when each of the first 12 games were sellouts with a total attendance of 542,282 at CBP.
JUST. SCORE. FOUR.: This season, the Phillies are 11-3 in 14 games when they score at least four runs … Conversely, they are 1-10 in 11 games when they score three runs or fewer … Dating back to the start of last season, the Phillies are 82-26 (.759 win %) when they score four or more and 17-62 (.215 win %) when they score three or fewer.
PHILLY SPECIAL: Since Rob Thomson took over as manager on June 3, 2022, the Phillies have played 66 games at Citizens Bank Park (42-24 record) – they have scored 349 runs in those 66 games (5.29 runs per game) and are slashing .273/.338/.472 with an .810 OPS … Among all major league clubs at home since June 3, 2022, the date Thomson took over, the Phillies rank 1st in runs per game (next: COL, 5.24), SLG (next: ATL, .466) & OPS (next: COL, .795), 3rd in AVG and 4th in OBP … Under Thomson at home, the Phillies have a +68-run differential (349-281) and a 14-4-2 series record … Philadelphia’s .636 winning percentage at home since Thomson took over ranks 3rd in the National League behind Atlanta (.727) & the Dodgers (.681) and 5th in MLB.
ANGEL IN THE OUTFIELD: Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh enters today’s game slashing .351/.435/.703 with a 1.138 OPS that leads major league baseball (next: LAD’s Max Muncy, 1.129 OPS) … Marsh has reached base safely in 22 of his 23 games played this season, including each of his last 21 (since 4/3 at NYY) … Since being acquired by the Phillies via trade from the Los Angeles Angels for Logan O’Hoppe at least year’s deadline, Marsh is slashing .311/.363/.544 with a .907 OPS that ranks 9th among 206 MLB players with 200+ plate appearances in that span … Marsh’s .544 SLG since joining the Phillies ranks 7th in MLB behind only Mike Trout (.646), Aaron Judge (.646), Jose Altuve (.569), Bo Bichette (.562), Muncy (.551) and Shohei Ohtani (.545).
FOUR TO GO FOR 400: In Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Rockies, Craig Kimbrel tossed a scoreless 9th inning (1 SO) and picked up his 396th career save … Kimbrel’s 396th career save came in his 719th game – the only two pitchers in MLB history to reach 400 saves in 800 or fewer career games were Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera (400th SV in 697th career G) and Trevor Hoffman (400th SV in 706th career G) … Billy Wagner currently ranks 3rd-fastest in MLB history as he reached his 400th save in his 813th career game.
STRIKE ONE, STRIKE TWO, GOOD LUCK: In last night’s 6-5 win over the Mariners, LHP Jose Alvarado worked a scoreless 9th inning (1.0 IP, H, 2 SO) and picked up his 4th straight save … Dating back to Sept. 13, 2022, Alvarado has made 18 appearances – he has multiple strikeouts in 16 of those 18 games and has multiple strikeouts with 0 walks in 15 of those 18 … Alvarado, who has faced 40 batters this season, has 22 strikeouts and 0 walks … Since his last walk on Sept. 21, 2022 vs TOR, Alvarado has faced 59 batters and has struck out 34 of them (57.6% SO rate) with 0 walks.
BULLISH ON THE PEN: Over the last 10 games (since 4/16 at CIN), the Phillies bullpen has totaled 32.0 innings pitched with only 3 ER allowed (0.84 ERA), with 40 strikeouts and four walks (10.00 SO/BB ratio), while averaging 15.1 pitches per inning … During this span they have allowed 0 home runs and held the 121 batters they have faced to a .419 OPS … Over their first 15 games of the season (3/30-4/15), the bullpen posted a 7.19 ERA (45 ER, 56.1 IP) with 60 strikeouts to 41 walks (1.46 SO/BB ratio) while averaging 19.7 pitches per inning.
TODAY’S STARTER – MATT STRAHM • LHP #25
2023: 1-2, 3.00 ERA Career: 18-30, 3.74 ERA
LAST START: 4/20 vs COL: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 11 SO, HR …
The Phillies were shut out for the third time this season in a 5-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park … The Phillies had six hits and five walks but went 1-for-7 with RISP and left 11 on base.
TODAY’S START:
• K Counter: Strahm has struck out 18 batters in 8.0 IP over his last two starts, punching out a career-best 11 in his last start …Among all 131 pitchers with at least 4 games started, Strahm ranks third in SO % (38.0%) and SO/9.0 IP (13.50), trailing Spencer Strider (42.6%, 14.70 SO/9.0 IP) and Jacob deGrom (42.2%, 14.51 SO/9.0 IP) in both … Last start marked Strahm’s second career double-digit strikeout performance (other: 10 on 5/27/19 at NYY) and he became the first Phillies LHP to strike out 11 in a game since Cole Hamels in his no-hitter on 7/25/15 at CHI (13 SO)
• Swing And a Miss: Strahm’s 33.8% swing and miss % (% of swings and misses on all swings) is tops among all Phillies starters so far this season and well over his career average of 25.3% … He ranks in the 89th percentile in MLB in swing and miss % this season
• Reverse Splits: 61 of the first 71 hitters Strahm has faced this season have been RHH … They are slashing .130/.230/.259 with 23 SO against him … Among all pitchers with at least 50 RHH faced this season, he ranks 3RD in OPP AVG … Strahm struck out 9 of the 18 RHH he faced in his last start, becoming just the 13th Phillies southpaw to strike out 9 or ore RHH in a game since right/left stats can be tracked to 1974 … In his career, RHH are slashing .222/.293/.386 as opposed to LHH slash line of .251/.327/.396
• WAR Room: Strahm’s 0.5 fWAR in 4 starts and 1 relief appearance (18.0 IP) is nearly double his 2022 fWAR of 0.3 in 50 relief appearances (44.2 IP), and is T-2nd on the team with Aaron Nola and Jose Alvarado behind only Zack Wheeler’s 1.0
• Not As Hard As It Looks: Strahm, who prior to this season had not made a start since August 2021, has both of the scoreless starts by any Phillies pitcher this season … In his 4 starts and 1 relief appearance, Strahm has held opponents to a .156/.239/.266 slash line and struck out 27 of the 71 batters he faced (38.0%)
• vs AL West: 3-2, 2 SV, 2.20 ERA (8 ER, 32.2 IP) in 28 games (1 start)
HOME:
• 2023: 1-1, 1.98 ERA (3 ER, 13.2 IP) in 5 games (2 starts)
• Career: 9-11, SV, 3.79 ERA (66 ER, 156.2 IP) in 98 games (11starts)
• CBP: 1-0, 0.00 ERA (8.1 IP) in 4 games (1 start)
2023 SEASON:
• Began his season with an 11.0-inning scoreless streak (12.0 IP dating back to 2022) that ended in the 2nd inning of his start on 4/15 at CIN
• Tied his longest career scoreless start (5.0 IP) on 4/10 vs MIA (other: 4/13/19 at ARI)
• On 4/4 at NYY made his first start since 8/17/21 at COL (51 relief apps between)
