SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 9-game road trip (1-4) with the finale of 3 games against the Toronto Blue Jays (0-2)…Seattle opened the trip with a 3-game series against Philadelphia (1-2) and will also visit Oakland (3 G, 5/2-5/4) following today’s conclusion of the current series in Toronto… today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith 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 lost yesterday’s game by a score of 1-0, their 4th consecutive loss – all in 1-run games…Seattle is 7-9 at T-Mobile Park and 4-7 on the road this season…the Mariners are 7-8 over their last 15 games since April 12.
• Hold On – The Mariners have held a lead in 11 of their 16 losses this season.
• 1-Run = No Fun – The Mariners have lost each of their last 4 games by 1 run…6 of Seattle’s last 7 losses have all been by 1 run…Seattle is 3-9 in 1-run games this season, the most losses in 1-run games by any team in the Majors…Seattle led the Majors in 1-run wins in both 2021 and 2022.
• Extras – With yesterday’s loss, the Mariners fell to 0-5 in extra-innings this season.
• Roger That – Teoscar Hernández ranks 2nd among all active players with 51 career home runs at Rogers Centre, trailing only Josh Donaldson’s 66 home runs at the ballpark…Teo’s 246 career games at Rogers Centre are 3rd-most among active players behind Kevin Pillar (362 G) and Donaldson (257 G).
• Wong Warming – Kolten Wong has hit safely in 3 of his last 4 games, batting .385 (5×13) with 2 runs, 1 double and 2 walks during that span (4/23-c), while reaching base at a .467 clip and slugging .462 with a .928 OPS.
JARRED KELENIC: AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH?…in 25 games this season, Jarred Kelenic is batting .322 (28×87) with 12 runs, 7 doubles, 7 home runs, 14 RBI, 5 stolen bases and 8 walks, while getting on base at a .375 clip and slugging .644 with a 1.019 OPS…Kelenic ranks among American League leaders in nearly every offensive category…he ranks 2nd in slugging (.644), T4th in fWAR (1.4), 3rd in wRC+ (185), 3rd in batting average, T2nd in home runs, 3rd in OPS, T5th in extra-base hits (14), T6th in total bases (56) and T12th in stolen bases (5)…Jarred is batting .381 (8×21) with 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 5 RBI against left-handed pitchers this season…Jarred is batting .400 (16×40) with 4 doubles, 4 home runs and 6 RBI in 11 road games this season.
TOP-RATED PITCHING STAFF…the Mariners have the best pitching staff in the Majors by FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (4.8), ranking ahead of Minnesota (4.5), Atlanta (4.4), Philadelphia (4.3) and Pittsburgh (4.2)…in 27 games this season, the Mariners staff has posted a 3.57 ERA (97 ER, 244.2 IP) with 83 walks and 241 strikeouts, posting a 1.21 WHIP while holding opponents to a .230 batting average…the Mariners starting rotation ranks T4th in fWAR (3.2) with Houston (3.2), trailing Minnesota (3.5), Tampa Bay (3.4) and Philadelphia (3.4)…the Mariners bullpen ranks T3rd in fWAR (1.6) with Houston (1.6), trailing only Baltimore (1.8) and Cincinnati (1.7).
J.P. THE ON-BASE MACHINE…J.P. Crawford has gotten on base at a .371 clip this season, trailing only Jarred Kelenic (.375) for the team lead and ranking 13th in the American League …his 17 walks this season lead the Mariners and are tied for 4th-most in the AL…over his last 16 games since April 11, the shortstop has registered a .436 OBP…during that span, he is batting .279 (12×43) with 10 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI and 12 walks compared to just 10 strikeouts, posting an .878 OPS.
BRASH TACTICS…Matt Brash tossed a scoreless 0.1 inning with 1 strikeout in yesterday’s game…he has not allowed a home run over the last calendar year, and has yet to allow a home run as a reliever during his career…he last surrendered a home run in a start on April 29, 2022 at Miami…overall, he has made 50 appearances since allowing a home run, most in the Majors among pitchers that have made at least 1 appearance this season, ranking ahead of 2nd place Andrés Muñoz (46 G, 6/13/22-4/7/23)… Brash’s 50-game streak is the 7th-longest streak in Mariners history and longest since Yoervis Medina (52 G, April 22 – Sept. 19, 2014)…George Sherrill holds the longest homerless streak in club history with 88 consecutive games without a home run from Sept. 19, 2005 – May 2, 2007.
SEAUSWALD…Paul Sewald is 7-for-7 in save opportunities this season, going 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA (5 ER, 14.0 IP) with 3 walks and 19 strikeouts across 14 appearances…the righty has posted a 0.79 WHIP while holding opponents to a .163 batting average (8×49) this season…in 141 appearances with the Mariners (2021-c), Sewald owns the best WHIP (0.88) and lowest opponent batting average (.162/82×507) in franchise history among pitchers with at least 100.0 innings pitched.
MANNY, BONE & NEGRÓN…the Mariners have the the 2nd-best defense in the Majors this season according to Baseball Savant’s Outs Above Average…Seattle’s 9 OAA trail only Arizona (11) and rank ahead of Los Angeles-NL (7), San Diego (6) and Detroit (6)…Eugenio Suárez (4 OAA) is tied for 2nd-best in the Majors, while Jose Caballero (2), Jarred Kelenic (1), J.P. Crawford (1), Ty France (1) and Julio Rodríguez (1) all rank positively in the metric.
AS YOU KNOW…Marco Gonzales is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA (4 ER, 16.2 IP) with 5 walks and 16 strikeouts over his last 3 starts (4/8-c), while holding opponents to a .230 batting average against during that span, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that today’s game marks the 150th start of Marco’s career?…in 157 career appearances (149 starts), Marco is 63-48 with a 4.06 ERA (390 ER, 864.2 IP) with 227 walks and 648 strikeouts…Marco has made 142 career starts with the Mariners – 135 with Seattle since the beginning of his first full season with the club in 2018…Marco is 1 of 4 active pitchers in the Majors to have made at least 130 starts since 2018, all with a single club.
MARINERS STARTER – LHP MARCO GONZALES
ABOUT GONZALES…
• 31-year-old left-hander is making his 5th start of the season, 1st against the Toronto Blue Jays…he is also making his 158th career appearance (150th career start) and his 5th career start against Toronto.
• 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#2 in last start on 4/25 at PHI…allowed 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2 in 5.0 innings.
STARTING THE SEASON STRONG…holds a 12-7 career record in March/April with a 3.99 ERA (137.2 IP, 61 ER)…Marco’s 3.99 ERA ranks 4th in franchise history among pitchers with at least 26 games started in March/April…he trails Félix Hernández (2.81), Randy Johnson (3.76), and Freddy Garcia (3.83).
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…matched his career high in strikeouts with 9 on 4/19 against Milwaukee…it marks the 6th time he has achieved this feat, the last coming on 8/12/21 against the Texas Rangers when he pitched the third complete game of his career.
KEEPING RUNS TO A MINIMUM…has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer in each of his last 3 starts…this marks the 10th time he has accomplished the feat… his career high in consecutive games where he has allowed 2 earned runs or fewer is 4 which he has done twice (last: 8/1-8/18/21).
CONSISTENCY IS KEY…has pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his 4 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 32 starts last season which was 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 53-27 in starts when Gonzales goes 6.0 or more innings, compared to 23-42 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).
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.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS NOTES:
THE LATEST: The Blue Jays took the middle match of their weekend series with the Mariners yesterday by a 1-0 score in 10 innings, earning their 2nd walk-off win of the year (also: April 12 vs. DET)…Claimed their 4th shutout of the year and their 3rd in the last four games… Improved to 3-0 in extra-inning contests…Are now 6-1 in one-run games for an AL-best .857 win% in such contests (2nd: TB – .800). Toronto has won six straight games, eight of its last 10, and 17 of its last 23 contests…Last won at least seven in a row from May 24-June 2, 2022 (8G)…Toronto’s 18-9 record is tied for the best 27-game start to a season in franchise history (also: 1992 and 2009)…Can earn its 2nd sweep of the season with a win this afternoon (also: 3G from April 24-26 vs. CWS)… Last swept a homestand of more than three games from June 5-10, 2015, taking three games from both Houston and Miami.
VAR OUT, MAN: Daulton Varsho plated the only run of the afternoon on Saturday, singling with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning for his 2nd career walk-off hit (also: HR on Aug. 13, 2021 vs. SD)…The knock snapped an 0-for-18 drought, marking his 1st hit since launching a homer on April 23 at NYY.
GET WHIFF IT: Kevin Gausman tossed 7.0 shutout innings yesterday, giving up 5 hits with a walk and a career-high 13 strikeouts…Threw a season-high 108 pitches (74 strikes) while inducing a career-high 28 swing-and-misses…Got 20 whiffs on his splitter alone, the most on a single pitch in the Majors this season, and the most on a splitter in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). The 32-year old leads all MLB hurlers with 54 strikeouts this year, the most punchouts in a pitcher’s first six starts of a season in franchise history (2nd: J.A. Happ – 50K in 2018)…Also sits 2nd in the AL in strikeouts per nine (12.57), 3rd in innings pitched (38.2), 7th in ERA (2.33), and 9th in WHIP (1.01).
OH, CHAPPY DAY: Matt Chapman broke up Easton McGee’s perfect game in the 5th inning on Saturday with a walk before recording the team’s first hit of the day with a double in the 7th…Was also intentionally walked in the 10th frame, finishing the day 1-for-2…His 13 doubles and 18 extra-base hits are both the most in the Majors…The 13 two-baggers are tied with Eric Hinske (2003) and Ed Sprague (1997) for the most by a Blue Jay batter before the month of May. The 30-year old is now batting .372 (35-for-94) with 13 doubles, five homers, 14 walks, and 19 RBI…
Ranks 1st in the AL in batting average, OBP (.459), SLG (.670), and OPS (1.129), while sitting tied for 1st in total bases (63), tied for 2nd in hits (35), and tied for 10th in RBI…Also continues to lead all MLB hitters in barrel rate (21.1%), is 2nd in average exit velocity (96.3 MPH), and 2nd in hard-hit (95+ MPH) percentage (65.2).
THE 35-AND-OVER CLUB: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. needs one hit today to become the 3rd player on the team with at least 35 hits this season (Bo Bichette – 36, Matt Chapman – 35)…Can become the 7th trio of teammates in the modern era to each record at least 35 hits before the month of May, and the first group of Blue Jays to do so, according to Stats Perform…The last trio to accomplish the feat was the 2017 Washington Nationals (Ryan Zimmerman – 37, Bryce Harper – 36, Daniel Murphy – 36).
HOME WORK: The Blue Jays are wrapping up their 2nd homestand of the season…Have gone 9-2 so far at Rogers Centre… The .818 win% at home is 2nd best in MLB (TB – .875)…Their 11 home games are tied for 2nd fewest in the Majors (NYM – 10)…After this weekend series with Seattle, will hit the road for 10 games, playing in Boston (14-14), Pittsburgh (20-8), and Philadelphia (15-13). Toronto batters rank 4th in the AL in home OBP (.341), while sitting 6th in home AVG (.255), 6th in home OPS (.740), and 7th in home SLG (.399)…The pitching staff leads all AL teams with a 2.32 ERA during home contests, while posting a .187 opponents’ AVG (2nd) and a 1.01 WHIP (2nd).
HITTING IT: The Blue Jays have notched 234 hits so far this season, 4th most in the AL…Are also 5th in the AL in team batting average (.255), 6th in OBP (.331), 6th in OPS (.737), and 7th in SLG (.406).
YOU GOT TO BE STARTIN’ SOMETHIN’: Blue Jays starters during the last 10 games have allowed seven runs over 64.1 innings for a 0.98 ERA…Have given up 38 hits and 15 walks while fanning 68 hitters for a .169 opponents’ average and a 0.82 WHIP…Have recorded an AL-high 15 quality starts this season, trailing only Pittsburgh (18) for the most in the Majors.
NO IN BETWEEN: Toronto pitchers have now either allowed four-or-fewer runs or eight-or-more runs in all 27 games this season…According to Stats Perform, this is now the 2nd-longest such streak in the Wild Card era (since 1995), trailing only Cleveland in 2019 (39G).
THE PASSION THAT UNITES US ALL: Saturday marked the 2nd time ever that the Blue Jays won a game in extra innings on the same day the Maple Leafs won a playoff game in overtime…The other occurrance came on April 20, 1994, as Pat Borders walked off the Texas Rangers on an RBI single in the 11th inning, while Todd Gill scored the only marker in a 1-0 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarter-Finals.
VS. THE MARINERS: All-Time: 219-202
2023: 2-0 Home: 118-97
Home: 2-0 Rogers Stadium: 76-66
The Blue Jays went 2-5 vs. the Mariners during the regular season last year…Went 2-1 here at Rogers Centre in May but also lost both games to their 1977 expansion cousins during the Wild Card Series in October. George Springer had hits in all six of his regular season games vs. Seattle last year and added two more in the playoffs, combining to go 9-for-32 (.281) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs, and five RBI (.594 SLG)…In 109 career regular season meetings, has gone 108-for-423 (.255) with 19 doubles, two triples, 24 homers, and 63 RBI (.828 OPS). Bo Bichette batted .297 (11-for-37) in the nine total games vs. the M’s last year, including a double, two home runs, and six RBI…Holds a career .286 (26-for91) average with three doubles, five homers, and 14 RBI in 21 matchups (.785 OPS). Erik Swanson is facing his former club for the 1st time as he was acquired along with Adam Macko in exchange for Teoscar Hernández on Nov. 16, 2022…Was traded to Seattle in 2018 and played four seasons for the M’s, going 4-12 with six saves while posting a 4.13 ERA over 126 appearances.
STARTING PITCHER – TODAY’S GAME:
Making his 6th start of the season and his 3rd at Rogers Centre…Logged 6.1 innings of work his last time out, on 4/24 vs. CWS, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, while walking 3 and recording 4 strikeouts…Left the game in the 7th with right lower back tightness…Was his 4th straight quality start, going 3-1 with a 2.19 ERA (6 ER/24.2 IP) over that span. Signed a three-year, $63 million deal with the Blue Jays on 12/16/22.
2023 HIGHLIGHTS:
Picked up his 2nd win of the year on 4/18 at HOU, throwing 6.1 innings of shutout ball with 3 hits, a walk, and 5 strikeouts…Marked his 3rd straight quality start, and his 1st scoreless outing of the season. Was saddled with the loss on 4/13 vs. DET, tossing 6.0 frames of two-run ball with 4 hits, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Earned his 1st win as a Blue Jay on 4/7 at LAA, allowing 3R/2ER on 2 hits and 5 walks over 6.0 frames with 5 strikeouts. Took the loss in his Toronto debut on 4/2 at STL, giving up career highs in runs (9) and homers (4) over 3.1 innings (10H, 0BB, 0K)
