SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Pads are shut out in Game 1 in Seattle
- Last night in Seattle, the Padres fell 2-0 to the Mariners, getting shut out for the 9th time in 2023…Nick Martinez got the start, going 3.0 innings of scoreless ball with 4 hits allowed, 1 walk, and 1 punchout…reliever Scott Barlow was saddled with the loss, allowing a run in his 1.1 IP.
- SD batters punched out a season-high-tying 14 times, going 0-for-2 with RISP…Trent Grisham and Ha-Seong Kim struck out 3x, and Juan Soto had his 1st-career 4-strikeout game.
Padres in a stretch of 19 games in 20 days
- Today is the 6th game of the Padres playing 19 in 20 days, with their sole off day in that span on August 10…they’re also in a stretch of playing 32 games in 34 days.
- After SD’s off day on Thursday, they’ll play a 3-game set in Arizona against the D-Backs…when they begin their series @ AZ on Friday, it’ll be the start of playing 13 games in 13 days.
Who’s hot?
- In his last 25 games since July 9, Ha-Seong Kim has the 4th best average in the NL, batting .383 (36- for-94)…he’s riding a career-long 14 hitting streak since July 24, batting .420 with a 1.145 OPS in that span, and it’s the 2nd longest active streak in MLB, behind Mookie Betts’ current 15-game streak.
- Jake Cronenworth enters today riding an 11-game hit streak, batting .409 (18-for-44) since July 28 with 5 doubles, a triple, and a homer.
- Juan Soto has hit .356 with a 1.053 OPS in his last 11 games since July 28.
Who’s not?
- Fernando Tatis Jr. has just 4 hits in his last 10 games, batting .093 (4-for-43) since July 29.
- Manny Machado has gone 0 for his last 10, in search of his 1st hit since Saturday vs. the Dodgers. 1-run & extra-inning games
- The Padres’ .250 winning percentage in 1-run games (6-18) is the lowest in the big leagues this year, and they are the only team to have yet to win a single extra-inning game (0-10).
- Last year, the Padres led the NL in extra-inning wins (12) and in 1-run wins (30), and there have been just 2 instances in MLB history to have gone from leading either the NL or AL in both wins in 1-run and extra-inning games and had the fewest in their league the next season: the 1933-34 Washington Senators and the 1918-19 Senators.
Padres vs. Mariners
- Since the beginning of July, the Padres have gone 18-14 (.563), but the Mariners have won 5 more games in that span, owning the best winning percentage in the big leagues since July 1 at .697…Padres’ pitchers have a 3.87 ERA in that time, and the Mariners also lead MLB with a 3.32 ERA…San Diego has, however, plated the 4th-most runs of any team since then (176), scoring 5.50 r/g.
Soto a walk away to 100+ hits, 100+ walks and 100+ strikeouts • Juan Soto has 99 walks, 103 strikeouts, and 108 hits…with his next walk, he’ll become the 5th Padre in club history to have 100+ hits, 100+ walks and 100+ strikeouts in a single season (and the 6th time overall), joining Gene Tenace (1997 & 1979), Jack Clark (1989), Fred McGriff (1991), and Adrian Gonzalez (2009)…it’ll be the 2nd time in his career in which he’s had 100+ hits, walks, and SO (also his 2019 season with 153 hits, 108 walks, and 132 SO).
STARTING PITCHER – #11 YU DARVISH
Darvish set for 15th career start vs. SEA
36-year-old Yu Darvish is quality in 9 of his 14 career starts vs. SEA, including his lone start vs. SEA last season, when he tossed 8.0-shutout innings of 2-hit ball at T-Mobile Park…it was his 4th career start tossing 8.0-shutout frames with 2 hits allowed-or-fewer, and his first since the 2014 season.
Darvish tosses 4th quality outing in last 5 starts Fri vs. LAD
Darvish did not factor into SD’s 10-5 defeat Fri vs. LAD in Game 1 of the 4-game set, tossing a season-high-tying 7.0 IP of 2-run, 5-hit ball…it was his 9th quality outing of the campaign and his 4th in his last 5 starts since July 14…he’s now quality in 9 of 13 career starts vs. LAD, and among all active pitchers who have made at least 10 career starts vs. LAD, his 0.90 WHIP anks T1st with Stephen Strasburg, his .182 opp. AVG ranks 2nd, behind only rotation-mate Blake Snell (.179), and his 2.57 ERA ranks 3rd.
Second half punchouts
Yu posted a 9.42 SO/9 IP ratio across his 15 first-half starts in ’23…in his 5 second half starts this season, he’s punched out 32 across 28.1 IP (9.82 SO/9)…among all ML pitchers who have made at least 100 post-All Star starts, his 11.36 SO/9 IP ratio ranks 1st all-time, ahead of Chris Sale (11.29), Gerrit Cole (10.84), Randy Johnson (10.83) and Max Scherzer (10.46).
Also making SD history with the punchouts
Darvish has struk out 517 batters through his first 80 games pitched with Padres, the most ever by any pitcher by this milepost for the franchise…among all hurlers in their first 80 app in Padres history, the next closest are Jake Peavy (453) and Chris Young (429).
2023 hit rate above his historic average
Yu Darvish has yielded 8.27 H/9 IP in ’23, the 2nd-highest ratio of his career (8.29 in ’14) but he owns the 3rd-lowest H/9 rate (7.30) all active MLB pitchers (min. 1,000 IP) behind only Clayton Kershaw (6.83) and Jacob deGrom (6.90)…Darvish’s 7.30 H/9 rate ranks 25th all-time (also min. 1,000 IP).
Limit the long balls
After not allowing any HRs through his first 4 starts of the season, he has allowed 16 across his last 16 starts since April 30 vs. SF in Mexico City…among the 28 NL hurlers who have tossed at least 90.0 IP since April 30, his 1.49 HR/9 IP ratio is 4th-highest in NL…he is 7-3 and the Padres are 7-4 in the 11 games he has allowed 0 HR…he is 1-4 when he allows 1+ HR, and the Padres are 2-7
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 5-game homestand with the 2nd of 2 games against the San Diego Padres (1-0)…following an off day tomorrow, Seattle will host the Baltimore Orioles (3 G, Aug. 11- 13)…Seattle recently wrapped up a brief 4-game road trip against the Los Angeles Angels (4-0)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM).
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners shut out the Padres by a 2-0 score in last night’s game…the Mariners have won a season-high 6 consecutive games and are 8-1 over their last 9, 11-2 over their last 13, 14-4 over their last 18 and 23-10 over their last 33 games, all season-best stretches…the Mariners are 46-18 when scoring at least 4 runs and 15-34 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 32-26 at T-Mobile Park and 29-26 on the road this season…they are 21-19 in day games and 40-33 at night.
- W6 – The Mariners have won 6 consecutive games (8/2-c) for the first time since they won 7 consecutive games from Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 2022.
- Climbing The Ladder – Seattle is a season-high 9 games above the .500 mark.
- Playing ‘Catch’-Up – Mariners catchers rank 4th in MLB in fWAR (3.8)…Cal Raleigh has 18 home runs and 47 RBI…Tom Murphy is batting .298 with an .893 OPS in 154 plate appearances.
- Today’s Roster Moves – RHP Emerson Hancock (#62) was selected from Double-A Arkansas… RHP Devin Sweet was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game 8/8)…LHP Zach Muckenhirn was designated for assignment…RHP Matt Festa cleared waivers and became a free agent.
HANCOCK TO MAKE MLB DEBUT…right-hander Emerson Hancock is set to make his Major League in a start tonight…Hancock is ranked as the Mariners #1 pitching prospect, and #4 overall prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com…in 20 starts with Double-A Arkansas this season, he is 11-5 with a 4.32 ERA (47 ER, 98.0 IP) with 38 walks and 107 strikeouts…he represented the Mariners at the All-Star Futures Game in both 2021 and 2022…when Hancock first appears with Seattle, the Mariners will have each of their 1st round picks from 2018-20 make starts for them this season, with 2018 first rounder Logan Gilbert (14th overall, Stetson University) going 10-5 with a 3.66 ERA in 23 starts and 2019 first rounder George Kirby (20th overall, Elon University) going 10-8 with a 3.32 ERA in 22 starts this season.
PLAYING THEIR BEST BASEBALL…with a win tonight, the Mariners would capture their 6th consecutive series victory…the Mariners have also won 8 of their last 10 series, owning an 8-1-1 series record since June 30…Seattle took 2 of 3 vs. Tampa Bay (6/30-7/2), 2 of 3 at San Francisco (7/3-7/5) and 3 of 4 at Houston (7/6-7/9) heading into the All-Star Break…the Mariners lost 2 of 3 vs. Detroit (7/14-7/16) and split a 4-game series vs. Minnesota (7/17-7/20)…in their last 5 series, they have won 2 of 3 vs. Toronto (7/21-7/23), 2 of 3 at Minnesota (7/24-7/26), 2 of 3 at Arizona (7/28-7/30), 2 of 3 vs. Boston (7/31-8/2) and completed a 4-game sweep at Los Angeles-AL (8/3-8/6).
ELITE PITCHING…last night, Seattle recorded its 11th shutout win of the season, tied for 3rd-most in the Majors and trailing only Cleveland (12) and Milwaukee (12)…Seattle pitchers Logan Gilbert (W, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 12 SO), Matt Brash (HLD, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 SO) and Andrés Muñoz (SV, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) combined to walk just 1 batter…Seattle leads the Majors with 40 games walking 0 or 1 batter this season, going 28-12 (.700) in those contests…Gilbert set a career-high with 12 strikeouts in a game.
THE ‘HEART AND SOUL’…Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford went 3-for-4 with a double out of the leadoff spot in last night’s win…he has reached base in 13 consecutive games (7/24-c), batting .333 (16×48) with 12 runs, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 RBI and 13 walks with a .492 on-base percentage and 1.055 OPS in that stretch…over his last 47 games (6/10-c), Crawford is batting .305 (54×177) with 31 runs, 15 doubles, 7 homers, 15 RBI and 36 walks, getting on base at a .426 clip, slugging .509 with a .934 OPS…overall this season, J.P.’s .382 on-base percentage ranks 3rd in the American League to Shohei Ohtani-LAA (.409) and Yandy Díaz-TB (.403).
JU-LI-O! JU-LI-O!…center fielder Julio Rodríguez went 2-for-4 last night…he has hit safely in 15 of his last 16 games (7/22-c), batting .343 (24×70) with 14 runs, 6 doubles, 5 home runs, 12 RBI, 3 walks and 5 stolen bases with a 1.030 OPS during that span…since July 22, Julio has compiled the 2nd-most fWAR (1.2) in the American League behind only Bobby Witt Jr.-KC (1.4)…overall this season, Rodríguez leads the Mariners in fWAR (3.7) and ranks 2nd in bWAR (3.5) behind only J.P. Crawford (3.8).
YOUNG ARMS…while the Mariners overall pitching staff has been stellar this season, ranking 2nd in fWAR (15.5), 1st in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.60) and 2nd in walks-per-9 innings (2.57), Seattle’s young pitchers have been impactful in particular…Mariners pitchers age 26-or-younger lead the Majors in fWAR (10.5) by a wide margin, ranking ahead of Cleveland (7.1) and Miami (7.1)…they also lead MLB in innings pitched (537.2), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.71), WHIP (1.09) and walks-per-9 innings (1.99)…George Kirby (3.2 fWAR) and Logan Gilbert (3.0) are the 2 best pitchers age 26-or-younger in the American League.
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, AND YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER…the Mariners have played 17 consecutive games (7/21-c) decided by 4-or-fewer runs, going 13-4 (.765) in those contests…it’s tied for their 6th-longest streak in franchise history…their most consecutive games decided by 4-or-fewer runs is 23 games from Aug. 23-Sept. 17, 2010, going 7-16 (.304) in those contests.
HOMESTAND FIT FOR A ‘KING’…the Mariners continue their 5-game homestand…the homestand is highlighted by Félix Hernández Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, featuring Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Fireworks Night on Friday, Aug. 11, Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Induction Night on Saturday, Aug. 12 and Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Bobblehead Day on Sunday, Aug. 13…the homestand also includes a Mariners Value Game tonight.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Julio Rodríguez has been an excellent center fielder for the Mariners all season long, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Julio is ranked as the best outfielder in the Major Leagues by Outs Above Average?…Julio’s 11 Outs Above Average are in sole possession of 1st place for most by an outfielder in the Majors this season, ranking ahead of right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr.-SD (10) and center fielders Luis Robert Jr.-CWS (9) and Jake Meyers-HOU (9)…Outs Above Average (OAA) is measured as the cumulative effect of all individuals plays a fielder has been credited with, making it a range-based metric of fielding skill that accounts for the number of plays made and the difficulty of them
MARINERS STARTER – RHP EMERSON HANCOCK
2022 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 0-0 -.– 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Home 0-0 -.– 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Road 0-0 -.– 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
vs. SDP 0-0 -.– 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ABOUT EMERSON HANCOCK… • The 24-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his Major League debut and 1st career start against San Diego. • Selected by Seattle in the 1st round (6th overall) of the 2020 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Scott Hunter on June 25, 2020. • Spent 3 seasons at the University of Georgia, 2018-20…in 2020, was named Vince Dooley Athlete of the Year as the top male student-athlete at the University of Gerogia. • Was named to CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team in 2020. • Was born in Cairo, Georgia and attended Cairo High School.
LAST TIME OUT…L#5 in his last start against San Antonio on 8/2…tossed 5.0 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts.
