SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners wrap up their 7-game road trip (4-2) today with the last of 4 games against the Houston Astros (2-1) in their final contest before the 2023 All-Star Break…the Mariners are coming off a series win at the San Francisco Giants (2-1)…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink on the call…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped last night’s contest to the Astros by a 3-2 score…despite the loss, the Mariners have won 4 of 6 on the road trip and 6 of 8 in the month of July…Seattle is 35-17 when scoring at least 4 runs and 9-27 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 24-20 at T-Mobile Park and 20-24 on the road this season…they are 13-18 in day games and 31-26 at night.
- Series Record – The Mariners own a 12-15-1 series record (4-9-1 on the road) this season.
- Lucky Number Seven – Seattle is 38-19 in July games since 2021, including 6-2 so far this season.
- Falter Against WALTER – RHP Logan Gilbert tossed a complete game shutout in his last outing (9.0 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 7 SO on July 4 at San Francisco), leading the Mariners to a 6-0 win.
- That’s Paulgame – RHP Paul Sewald ranks 7th in the AL in saves (16)…Sewald is 2-0 with 16 saves and a 3.31 ERA (13 ER, 35.1 IP) with 11 walks and 49 strikeouts in 36 appearances this season.
FINAL GAME OF THE FIRST HALF…the Mariners today play their final game before the 2023 All-Star Break…with a win today, Seattle would secure a winning record in the first half for the third consecutive season…in 2021 the Mariners held a 48-43 record at the break (finished 90-72)…in 2022 the Mariners held a 51-42 record at the break (finished 90-72) after capping off a 14-game winning streak, the longest winning streak heading into the All-Star Break in Major League history (since 1933).
FOLLOW THE LEADER…J.P. Crawford leads the Mariners with 2.8 Baseball-Reference WAR this season…last night, he went 1-for-4 with an RBI and walk last night, extending his hitting streak to 9 games (6/30-c)…during the streak Crawford is batting .371 (13×35) with 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 7 RBI and 7 walks with a 1.122 OPS…over his last 23 games (6/10-c), he is batting .296 (26×88) with 15 runs, 7 doubles, 5 homers, 11 RBI and 18 walks, getting on base at a .411 clip, slugging .546 with a .957 OPS.
TEOSCAR IS NOT A GROUCH…Teoscar Hernández went 1-for-3 with a run scored, double and walk last night…over his last 32 games (6/2-c), Teo is batting .283 (34×120) with 20 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 21 RBI, 16 walks and 2 stolen bases, getting on base at a .365 clip, slugging .507 with an .873 OPS…the outfielder has drawn 17 walks over his last 34 games.
MODEL-T, AND THE ‘T’ STANDS FOR TANKS…Mike Ford is batting .410 (16×39) with 8 runs, 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 11 RBI and 5 walks over his last 13 games (6/24-c), getting on base at a .477 clip, slugging .795 with a 1.272 OPS…Ford’s 255 wRC+ since June 24 ranks 2nd in the American League (min. 40 PA), trailing only Jarren Duran-BOS (270) and ranking ahead of Shohei Ohtani-LAA (229).
ROCK THE VOGT…the Mariners bullpen is 14-15 with 19 saves and a 3.76 ERA (121 ER, 289.2 IP) with 111 walks (11 intentional) and 317 strikeouts through 88 games this season…Seattle’s bullpen ranks 4th in MLB in fWAR (3.4)…right-hander Matt Brash ranks 3rd in the Majors in strikeouts-per-9 innings (15.69), striking out 61 batters in 35.0 innings of work…Justin Topa has posted a 2.94 ERA (11 ER, 33.2 IP) in 37 appearances…lefty Tayler Saucedo has posted a 2.74 ERA (7 ER, 23.0 IP) in 25 appearances this season.
CAMPBELL MAKES MLB DEBUT…right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell made his Major League debut in Friday’s 10-1 win at Houston…the right-hander tossed a 1-2-3 bottom of the 8th inning with a strikeout… Campbell became the 6th player to make his Major League debut with Seattle this season, joining RHP Ty Adcock, RHP Bryce Miller, RHP Juan Then, RHP Bryan Woo and INF José Caballero.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…the Mariners pitching staff has been among the best in the Majors during the first half of the season…Seattle pitchers rank 1st in the Majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.42), 1st in walks-per-9 innings (2.60), 2nd in WHIP (1.18), 2nd in FIP (3.72) and 3rd in fWAR (12.5), but…
DID YOU KNOW?…that Seattle starting pitchers are tied for the Major League lead in quality starts (46)?…the Mariners are tied for most in MLB with Minnesota…the Mariners are 32-14 (.696) this season when they get 6.0+ innings and 3-or-fewer earned runs out of their starter…over their last 24 games (6/12-c), the Mariners starting rotation has been the best in the Majors by far, posting a 2.50 ERA (40 ER, 144.0 IP) with 39 walks and 126 strikeouts…Philadelphia’s 3.13 starters ERA is the next-best during that stretch.
MARINERS STARTER
RHP LOGAN GILBERT
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 6-5 3.82 17/17 101.1 84 46 43 19 100 12
Home 1-4 4.29 7/7 42.0 36 22 20 8 42 7
Road 5-1 3.49 10/10 59.1 48 24 23 11 58 5
vs. HOU 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 25-16 3.79 73/73 406.1 366180 171 96 402 48
Home 7-12 3.95 34/34 189.1 181 87 83 33 186 25
Road 18-4 3.65 39/39 217.0 185 93 88 63 216 23
vs. HOU 2-2 4.15 7/7 39.0 39 18 18 8 36 4
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
- The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 18th start of the season and 1st against Houston…he will also make the 74th start of his MLB career and 8th career start against the Astros.
- Selected by Seattle in the 1st round (14th overall) of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Rob Mummau.
- Spent 3 seasons at Stetson (FL) University, 2016-18…in 2017, was ASUN Pitcher of the Year and ASUN 1st-Team All-Conference.
- Was named the 2022 Mariners Most Valuable Pitcher by the Seattle Chapter of the BBWAA.
LAST TIME OUT…W#6 in 17th start of the season against San Francisco on 7/4, tossing his first career complete game shutout where he allowed only 5 hits with 7 strikeouts.
GOING THE DISTANCE…pitched his first career complete game in his last outing against San Francisco…this was the Mariners second complete game thrown this year…George Kirby threw his first career complete game on 4/27 at Philadelphia.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME…is making his 40th career start on the road… Logan has a 18-4 road record with a 3.65 ERA (217.0 IP, 88 ER) with 63 walks and 216 strikeouts…his .818 away winning percentage is the highest in MLB history among pitchers with at least 30 road games started…since he joined the league in 2021 Gilbert’s 18 away wins are tied for the 7th most in the Major Leagues.
AMONG MARINERS GREATS…in Logan’s first 71 starts in his career and he has recorded 391 strikeouts…this is tied 3rd most strikeouts in franchise history in a player’s first 71 career starts…he is tied with James Paxton and ranks behind Erik Hanson (395).
7 STRAIGHT STRIKEOUTS…he struck out 7 consecutive batters from the 2nd4th innings on 5/8 against Texas…the streak of strikeouts tied a franchise record shared by Mark Langston (6/15/84) and Luis Castillo (9/7/22)…Logan finished the game with a season-high 10 strikeouts which is 1 off from his career-high.
K MORE WALK LESS…his 5.26 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 7th in the Major Leagues and 2nd on the Mariners among qualified pitchers…he trails only George Kirby who has a 8.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
FOURTH TIME AROUND…had a perfect game through 6.0 innings during his outing on 5/8 at Texas before allowing a leadoff single in the 7th…became the 4th Mariners pitcher this season to carry a no-hitter into the 6th inning…he joined Luis Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Easton McGee.
STRIKEOUT STREAK…he has recorded at least 6 strikeouts in 11 starts this season…in each of his first 7 starts, Gilbert recorded at least 6 strikeouts…this marked the first time in his career that he has pitched 7 straight games with 6+ strikeouts…the 7-game streak is tied for the 5th longest streak among starting pitchers in the Majors this season.
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has allowed 107 baserunners through his first 17 starts this season which is the 2nd fewest in the Major Leagues among pitchers who have made at least 17 starts this season…he currently trails Joe Ryan-MIN (105).
ON A ROLL…Logan’s 100 strikeouts so far this season ranks second among Mariners starting pitchers… he trails only Luis Castillo (117)…he recorded 39 strikeouts in May which is a new career-high for the month…his 34 strikeouts in March/April were also a career high to start the season.
QUALITY AND QUANTITY…has recorded 9 quality starts this season which ranks 2nd on the team and trails only George Kirby (14)…had 16 quality starts in 2022 the 3rd most among Mariners starting pitchers and tied 16th in the AL with Dylan Cease-CHW and Shohei Ohtani-LAA …he trailed only Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray who each had 18.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TODAY’S GAME: The Astros will go for a series split against the Mariners today in what is their final game prior to the All-Star break…on the mound today for the Astros will be RHP Brandon Bielak, who’s coming off the best start of his career on Tuesday vs. COL (0ER/7IP)…he’ll be opposed by RHP Logan Gilbert, who’s faced the Astros eight times in Major League career, including a start in Game 1 of the 2022 ALDS (3ER/5.1IP), an 8-7 Astros win.
ABOUT BIELAK: RHP Brandon Bielak is making his 10th Major League start of the season today while filling in admirably for the injured RHP José Urquidy…he stepped in for Urquidy on May 7 and made eight consecutive turns in the rotation before spending a two-week stint at Triple A…Bielak returned with a vengeance, shutting out the Rockies in 7.0 innings of two-hit ball his last time out on Tuesday…in his Astros career, which spans parts of the last four seasons (2020-23), Bielak has made 55 apps. (17 starts), posting a 10-11 record and a 4.66 ERA.
VS. THE MARINERS: This series is the Mariners first trip back to Houston since Games 1 and 2 of the 2022 American League Division Series, which was won by the Astros in a clean sweep… all three games in that series were nail-biters, with the two in Houston being decided by late-inning home runs by LF Yordan Alvarez…since that series, the Astros and Mariners did play a three-game series in Seattle earlier this season, with the Astros losing two of three from May 5-7.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros and Mariners played a tight ballgame last night with Houston prevailing 3-2 behind an 8th-inning solo homer by C Martín Maldonado…he backed his batterymate LHP Framber Valdez, who worked 6.0 innings of two-run ball in his final start prior to the All-Star break…the bullpen was again great, with RHP Ryan Pressly hammering down the save with a scoreless 9th.
FRAMTASTIC: All-Star LHP Framber Valdez has once again been one of the top hurlers in all of baseball in 2023 as he enters the All-Star break sporting the best ERA in the AL (2.51) and the second-best in the Majors, trailing only Atlanta’s RHP Bryce Elder (2.45), who pitches today…among AL starters, he also ranks first in opponent OPS (.603) and second in home runs per 9.0 (0.57).
THE 2023 DRAFT: The 2023 MLB Draft will commence tonight at 6 p.m. CT with the first two rounds being announced this evening…the Astros will make two picks tonight, their first-round (#28 overall) and second-round (#61) selections… the draft will pick up tomorrow (rounds 3-10) and conclude on Tuesday (rounds 11-20)…the Astros will make their Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Gross available via Zoom after each day of the draft…additionally, the Astros will make every effort to make their first round pick available via Zoom tonight.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: The Astros are one of four teams in the Majors with three players with 55-plus RBI in LF Yordan Alvarez, 3B Alex Bregman and RF Kyle Tucker (also, TEX, ATL, LAD)…this marks the fifth time in club history for the Astros to have three players with 55-plus RBI prior to the All-Star Break and the first time since the 2001 season (Moises Alou, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman)…the five times this has occurred in Astros history: 2023, 2001, 1998, 1996, 1973, 1972.
THIEVERY: Since June 9, the date the Astros placed LF Yordan Alvarez on the IL, the Astros have 33 stolen bases in their 27 games, which ranks second in the Majors in that time span, trailing only the Reds (49)…prior to Alvarez’s IL stint, the Astros had 32 stolen bases in their first 63 games.
ROOKIE RUMBLE: Of the nine starters the Astros have used this season, four are rookies, including each of the club’s last three starters…Houston has received 35 starts from rookie pitchers, ranking third in the Majors behind Oakland (45) and Cleveland (41)…all nine starting pitchers used by the Astros in 2023 are products of their minor league system.
SLAMMING THE DOOR: Astros closer RHP Ryan Pressly is on an incredible run, having tossed 11.0 consecutive hitless and scoreless innings over his last 10 appearances dating back to June 18…since that date, Pressly owns a 1-0 record and is eight-for-eight in save opportunities.
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- 2B Jose Altuve, who was placed on the 10-day IL on Thursday (retro to July 4), has been diagnosed with a left oblique strain… Altuve is hoping to return shortly after the All-Star break.
- LF Yordan Alvarez (right oblique strain) hit BP on the field on Friday and Saturday for the first time since the injury…Alvarez was originally placed on the IL on June 9 and was given a timetable of four-plus weeks for his return.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has been shut down from hitting, but is throwing and running on the field… prior to this, Brantley had progressed to taking BP on the field.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) is scheduled to throw a 2.0-inning simulated game this morning (timing is approx. 10 a.m.)…should all go well, he could go on a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.
TODAY’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP BRANDON BIELAK
MLB W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 4-4 3.81 10 9 54.1 65 25 23 22 41
CAREER: 10-11 4.66 55 17 148.2 158 85 77 64 125
vs. SEA W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023: 0-1 3.86 1 1 4.2 10 3 2 2 0
CAREER: 1-1 3.20 8 1 19.2 22 9 7 8 13
LAST START – 7/4 VS. COL: was scoreless over a career-high 7 IP, allowing just 2 hits and striking out 4 batters…his previous career-long scoreless outing was 5.0 IP on 8/6/20 at ARI…his previous career high for IP was 6.2, which had had accomplished twice (both this year) and last on 6/5 at TOR
BACK IN THE BIGS: was recalled from Triple A Sugar Land on July 3; Houston optioned RHP Shawn Dubin to Triple A Sugar Land to make room for Bielak on the 26-man roster.
- is making his 2nd stint in the Majors this season and has appeared at the MLB level in each of the last 4 seasons (all with the Astros)…has settled into a starting role this season after serving in a hybrid starter-relief role through the first 3 seasons of his career…prior to his start on May 1, he had not made a start at the Major League level since Sept. 24, 2021 at OAK.
VS. SEA: set to make his 2nd start against the Mariners this season and of his career… faced the Mariners at T-Mobile Park on May 7 and worked around 10 hits to allow just 3 runs (2ER)…had faced the Mariners 7 times previous to this season, with all appearances coming in relief…has faced the Mariners more than any other opponent in his career, with the next-closest teams being TEX and LAA (7g).
ABOUT BIELAK: selected by the Astros in the 11th round of the 2017 MLB June draft from Notre Dame…pitched 3 years at Notre Dame, earning ACC All-Freshman honors in 2015 after leading the Fighting Irish in starts (14) and IP (88.2)…pitched 3 full seasons (2015-17) with the Fighting Irish, going 11-11 with a 3.85 ERA in 47 games.
- will be making his 17th career start in what is his 56th career MLB appearance…has gone 5-7 with a 4.75 ERA (41ER/77.2IP) as a starter vs. going 5-4 with a 4.56 ERA (36ER/71.0IP) as a reliever…of his 38 appearances as a reliever, has tossed at least 2.0 IP on 18 occasions.
WHAT A RELIEF: came on in relief on May 1 vs. SF after RHP Luis Garcia was removed in the 1st inning after 8 pitches…struck out 6 batters, tossing 4.0 IP and allowing 2 runs, 2 hits and 3 walks… was the longest relief outing from an Astros pitcher this season and was the longest from an Astros pitcher since RHP Peter Solomon on Sept. 29, 2021 vs. ARI
