CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
SHUTOUT IN SEATTLE
The Guardians took a 2-1 series lead over the Mariners, smacking a pair of solo homers to back a dominant effort on the bump by AARON CIVALE and lock down a brisk 2-0 shutout of Seattle across two hours and four minutes on Saturday night at T-Mobile Park.
Civale needed just 80 pitches to slice through 7.0 scoreless frames on the way to his first victory of 2023 (2H, 1BB, 3SO)… the right-hander allowed just three baserunners and faced only 23 batters thanks to a 2nd-inning caught-stealing by batterymate CAM GALLAGHER and a dazzling double play in the 6th inning by ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ, who would follow up his defensive gem with a solo shot in the 7th, drilling a 95mph, 2-1 offering from reliever Diego Castillo for a 2-0 Cleveland lead…only one of the final 13 batters Civale faced reached base on an infield-throwing error in the 6th…Logan Gilbert took the tough-luck loss for Seattle despite fanning 7 across a 6.0-inning quality start (4H, 1R-ER, 1BB, 7SO, 85 pitches)…lone blemish came on a 1-0 breaking ball in the 4th inning to JOSH NAYLOR, who deposited it into the center-field seats to break a scoreless tie.
JAMES KARINCHAK used a pair of strikeouts to work around a single and walk in a scoreless 8th…after a 1-2-3 9th in Friday’s 9-4 victory, EMMANUEL CLASE needed just 8 pitches to retire the side and record his first save of 2022.
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER
Aaron Civale worked thru 7.0 scoreless innings and threw only 80 pitches, the last Cleveland pitcher to work 7.0-or-more scoreless innings with 80 pitches-or-fewer was Carlos Carrasco on August 16, 2014 vs. Baltimore when he threw 7.0 shutout innings with 79 pitches…this was Civale’s second career start where he went 7.0-or-more IP with 0R/ER, with the previous outing on June 11, 2021 (also at Seattle) when he set a career-high with 11 strikeouts (8.0IP, 1H, 0R/ER, BB, 11SO)…it’s the first time a Cleveland starter has thrown 7.0-or-more IP within the first 3 team games since Justin Masterson on 3/31/2014 at Oakland in a 2-0 Opening Day win.
JOSH NAYLOR and ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ hit Cleveland’s 1st and 2nd home runs of the season, respectively, Saturday night and provided the Guardians first multi-home run game of the season… in 2022, the Guards were 25-7 in games when they hit 2+ home runs…the club’s 32 multi-home run games ranked 14th in the AL and 28th in MLB…Naylor’s home run Saturday night traveled 430 feet, it was his longest home run since May 30, 2021, a 435 foot 3-run shot off Toronto’s Ross Stripling…Giménez sits T1st for most runs scored (4) in MLB with five others.
Despite amassing 5 total hits Saturday night, Cleveland came away with the win…the Guards are now 1-1 in games when they have 5-or fewer hits…in 2022, the club was 4-26 in games with 5-or-fewer hits.
Cleveland ranks T2nd in AL (T2nd in MLB) with Houston and Chicago-AL in stolen bases (4) behind Baltimore’s 10 steals in 2 games.
TODAY’S SERIES FINALE
The Guards are looking for their first series win of 2023 today at T-Mobile Park…Cleveland went 26-15-10 in series over 2022, turning in winning marks at home (12-7-6) and on the road (14-8-4)…they finished the 2022 season on an 8-1 run in series play starting on Sept. 5, with the lone series loss coming in a onegame stint against Chicago-AL on Sept. 15…with a win today, the Guardians would extend their current series win streak to six straight dating back to Sept. 16, 2022.
Cleveland went just 1-6 against Seattle in 2022, dropping both series to the M’s…the lone win came on the road at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 27…a series win today would mark the first time the Guards have accomplished the feat against Seattle since June 11-13, 2021 when they took two of three games at Progressive Field… the Guardians lead the all-time matchup between the two clubs, 236-194.
DON’T BLINK
Saturday night’s game lasted only 2 hours and 4 minutes… it’s the fastest game for Cleveland since a 1-0 May 18, 2011 at Chicago-AL (2 hours, 1 minute)…it was the fastest game in MLB this season under the new pace-of-play rules.
Cleveland has now played two of the four fastest games in MLB through the first three days of the season, the other game being a 2 hour and 14 minute contest on Opening Day…the club saw an average time of game of 2 hours and 30 minutes across 30 Cactus League contests this spring (exhibition vs. WBC Team Mexico excluded).
The average time of game across the MLB is currently 2 hours and 41 minutes, down 22 minutes from 2022 (3 hours, 3 minutes)… Cleveland is currently averaging 2 hours and 28 minutes through the first three games, down from 2 hours and 55 min in 2022.
PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
Through 3 games STEVEN KWAN leads MLB in pitches seen at 72, ahead of Houston’s Kyle Tucker at 64…across 14 at-bats, Kwan is currently seeing 5.14 pitches per plate appearance, ranking 4th in the AL and 7th in MLB.
Kwan finished 18th overall in pitches seen in MLB in 2022 (2,643), joining teammate José Ramírez (13th, 2,742) as the two Guardians among top 25 in MLB in pitches faced…he finished 15th overall in MLB (4th in AL) in pitches per plate appearance in 2022 (4.14 pitches/PA).
LOOKING AHEAD
After today’s contest, the Guardians will head south for a 3-game set against the Oakland Athletics before returning to Progressive Field for the first homestand of the season…the Guardians will play their Home Opener on Friday, April 7 against Seattle in the first game of a 3-game series, then face the New York Yankees for a 3-game set from April 10-12.
TODAY’S STARTER – 47 CAL QUANTRILL RHP
TODAY’S START
Makes his regular season debut this afternoon in the final game of this 4-game series at Seattle…finished 2022 with a 6-5 record and 3.53 ERA on the road…this is his first start since facing New York-AL in Game 4 of the ALDS (L, 5.0IP, 4H, 3R/ER, 1BB, 3SO)… he relied on efficiency in his starts last year as he ranked 1st in MLB with 28 starts of 80-99 pitches thrown (ARI’s Merrill Kelly had 25)… in Quantrill’s first start of the 2022 season, the Guardians provided 13 runs of support in a 17-3 blowout victory over the Royals…he would go on to have the highest run support of Guardians starters in 2022.
RECENT ROAD WARRIOR
After starting the 2022 campaign with a 1-5 record on the road, Quantrill bounced back to finish 6-5 away from home, with the Guardians winning each of the last six road contests he started… Quantrill totaled 32 strikeouts and received 4-or-more runs of support in each of those outings from July 22 until end of season… he enjoyed a 9.42 RSA on the road in that span, ranking 3rd in MLB and 2nd in the AL (behind ATL’s Kyle Wright and TOR’s Ross Stripling)…Quantrill posted a 5-0 record in six road starts post-AllStar break with a 2.31 ERA (9ER/35.1IP).
CAL AND HIS PALS
Quantrill received an MLB-best 6.33 runs of support-per-9.0 innings in 2022…over the course of a full season, his run support average was the highest by a qualified Cleveland pitcher since Jake Westbrook (6.73) and Paul Byrd (6.59) in 2006…Guardians hitters plated at four-or-more runs in 17 of his last 19 starts to end 2022…Quantrill’s 22 team wins in games he started ranked 4th in MLB and 3rd in the AL last season…Cleveland has scored 108 runs (6.35 runs/game) and held opponents to 48 runs (2.82 runs/ game) in his last 17 starts.
GOING STREAKING
Quantrill is riding an 11-game win streak (since July 11), marking the longest run of his career (prev high: 5G, Sept. 9, 2021-April 23, 2022) and marks the longest active pitcher win streak in MLB…he possesses the longest win streak of any Cleveland pitcher since Cliff Lee (11G, July 11-Sept. 17, 2008), who claimed the AL Cy Young Award that season.
ALL I DO IS WIN
Quantrill became just the 3rd pitcher in club history since 1901 to go 11-0-or-better over any 17-start span, according to Elias:
CLE PITCHERS TO GO 11-0-OR-BETTER OVER 17-START SPAN
Name Year Record
Gaylord Perry 1974 15-0
Johnny Allen 1937 14-0
Cal Quantrill 2022 11-0
CRAFTY CAL
Quantrill’s arsenal during the 2022 regular season was dominated by his two most effective moving pitches, as his sinker and cutter were thrown over 80% of the time…however, his two off-speed pitches (changeup and curveball) kept hitters guessing, as they were kept under a .200 batting average all season long.
QUANTRILL’S PITCH ARSENAL
Pitch Type % MPH Opp BA
Sinker 45.2 93.6 .291
Cutter 36.1 88.5 .235
Changeup 11.8 85.3 .190
Curveball 4.2 82.6 .194
4-Seam FB 2.8 93.3 .364
MARINER MINDSET
Today marks Quantrill’s 3rd career appearance (2nd start) against the Mariners, last facing Seattle on Sept. 4, 2022 (ND, 3.0IP, 5H, 3R/2ER, 1BB, 3SO)…his lone contest at T-Mobile Park as a Guardian was a relief appearance in 2021 (1.2IP, 2H, 0R, 0BB, 2SO).
In 8 starts vs. the AL West in 2022, he went 4-2 with a 3.62 ERA (13ER/47.0IP).
CACTUS LEAGUE/LAST START
Quantrill made five starts in Cactus League play, going 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA (8ER/16.2IP)…his last outing came on March 28 at Arizona where he held the D-backs to just one hit (ND, 4.2IP, 1R/ER, 4BB, 3SO)
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners play the finale game of a 4-game series (1-2) against the Cleveland Guardians today…Seattle will also welcome the Los Angeles Angels (3 G, 4/3-4/5) to T-Mobile Park on the homestand… today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith on the call.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped last night’s contest to the Guardians by a 2-0 score…Seattle has dropped 2 in a row after winning on Opening Day…Seattle last season went 51-42 (.548) in the first half and 39-30 (.565) in the second half of the season…they went 46-35 (.568) at T-Mobile Park and 44-37 (.543) on the road…they went 34-22 (.607) in one-run games and 11-5 in extra innings…they went 27-24 in series openers.
• Kids Opening Day – All kids 14-and-under in attendance at today’s game will receive a Luis Castillo T-shirt.
• Bright and Early – Today marks the first day game of the 2023 season for Seattle…the Mariners went 37-27 (.578) during the day in 2022, compared to 53-45 (.541) at night..
• The Bullpen – Seattle’s bullpen is 1-0 with 1 save and a 1.54 ERA (2 ER, 11.2 IP) with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts through 2 games of action this season.
• Final Four – Ty France’s San Diego State Aztecs will take on the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Mens Basketball Championship on April 3 at 6:20 pm PT.
• The Skipper – Mariners manager Scott Servais is in his 8th season at the helm…going into tonight, Scott’s 529 wins as Seattle skipper rank 2nd in franchise history to Lou Piniella (840 wins).
THANOS…Mariners starter Marco Gonzales is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA (3 ER, 14.0 IP) with 2 walks and 10 strikeouts in 3 career appearances (2 starts) against the Cleveland Guardians…Marco faced the Guardians 1 time during the 2022 season, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing 1 run with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts in a 3-1 Mariners win at T-Mobile Park on Aug. 25…Marco’s 1.93 ERA against the Guardians is his 2nd-lowest against any opponents during his career (min. 2 GS), trailing only a 1.29 ERA (2 ER, 14.0 IP) in 2 starts vs. the Dodgers.
FUN IN THE SUN…Julio Rodríguez hit .306 (57×186) with 7 doubles, 1 triple, 13 home runs and 31 RBI during day games in 2022…Julio’s .927 OPS during the day in 2022 ranked 5th-best in the Majors, trailing only Paul Goldschmidt (1.104), Aaron Judge (1.076), Freddie Freeman (1.030) and Jose Altuve (1.014)…Teoscar Hernández ranked 7th in MLB with a .881 OPS during the day in 2022 (min. 200 PA).
HOMESTAND HIGHLIGHTS…tickets still remain for the final four games of the current homestand, including today’s game (Kids Opening Day) with all kids 14-and-under receiving a Luis Castillo t-shirt…Monday, April 3 is Bark at the Park Ticket Special, while April 3, 4 and 5 are all Mariners Value Games…to purchase tickets for an upcoming game at T-Mobile Park, visit Mariners.com/Tickets.
TEAM DEBUTS… Gabe Speier made his Mariners debut in last night’s game and tossed a 1-2-3 8th inning after being recalled from Triple-A Tacoma earlier in the day….Cooper Hummel and Trevor Gott each made their Mariners debuts on Friday night…Hummel went 0-for-3 but reached base via hit-by-pitch, also recording a stolen base…Gott tossed 1.1 innings in relief, allowing 3 runs (0 earned runs) on 4 hits on 35 pitches (24 strikes)… Teoscar Hernández, Kolten Wong and Tommy La Stella all made their Mariners debuts in the starting lineup on Opening Day…when AJ Pollock first appears in a game with Seattle, it will mark his team debut.
YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVES…yesterday the Mariners recalled left-handed pitcher Gabe Speier (spy-urr) from Triple-A Tacoma…left-hander Robbie Ray was placed on the 15-day Injured List (left flexor strain)…Speier was claimed off waivers by the Mariners from Kansas City on Nov. 9, 2022 and the left-hander shined in 9 spring appearances with Seattle, recording 13 strikeouts and no walks across 8.2 innings of Cactus League action… Ray, who tossed 3.1 innings in his season debut on Friday night, threw 91 pitches (51 strikes) in his start…Ray led the Mariners with 212 strikeouts last season, which ranked 4th in the American League.
THE BATTERS…the Mariners 26-man roster includes 13 position players: catchers Tom Murphy and Cal Raleigh, catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel, infielders J.P. Crawford, Ty France, Tommy La Stella, Eugenio Suárez and Kolten Wong, outfielders Teoscar Hernández, Jarred Kelenic, AJ Pollock and Julio Rodríguez and infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty…outfielder Taylor Trammell (right hamate fracture) and infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore (left oblique muscle strain) begin the season on the 10-day Injured List.
THE PITCHERS…the Mariners active 26-man roster has 13 pitchers: right-handers Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Luis Castillo, Matt Festa, Chris Flexen, Logan Gilbert, Trevor Gott, George Kirby, Andrés Muñoz, Penn Murfee and Paul Sewald and left-handers Marco Gonzales and Gabe Speier, who was recalled on Saturday.
FAMILIAR FACES…20 of the 26 players on the Mariners Opening Day roster had appeared in a game for Seattle last season, including 12 of 13 pitchers…the 6 players new to the organization are RHP Trevor Gott, C/OF Cooper Hummel, INF Tommy La Stella, INF Kolten Wong, OF Teoscar Hernández and OF AJ Pollock… the longest-tenured Seattle player is Marco Gonzales (team debut: Aug. 6, 2017)…the youngest player on the team is Julio Rodríguez (22 years, 91 days old on Opening Day)…the oldest player on the team is AJ Pollock (35 years, 115 days old on Opening Day).
TODAY’S MARINERS STARTER – LHP MARCO GONZALES
ABOUT GONZALES…
• 31-year-old left-hander is making his 1st start of the season, he is also making his 154th career appearance (146th career start) and his 4th career appearance against Cleveland (3rd start).
• 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…ND in last start on 10/5/22 vs. DET in the Mariners last game of the regular season…went 7.0 innings allowing 4 runs (3 ER) on 8 hits and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts.
HOME IS WHERE THE START IS…was 6-6 with a 3.58 ERA (41 ER, 103.0 IP) in 17 starts at T-Mobile Park in 2022, while going 4-9 with a 4.84 ERA (43 ER, 80.0 IP) in 15 road starts… held opponents to a .242 average (95×392) and a .708 OPS with 61 strikeouts at home while allowing a .305 average (99×325) and a .865 OPS with 42 strikeouts on the road.
BUILT DIFFERENT…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 21-41 when he tosses 5.2 innings or less over his career…when Gonzales tosses 7.0+ innings the Mariners are 25-9.
GOOD STRETCHES…over 11 starts from 5/13-7/7/22, he went 4-5 with a 3.00 ERA (23 ER, 69.0 IP)…over 8 starts from 5/29-7/7/22 he went 2-5 with a 2.82 ERA (16 ER, 51.0 IP).
STRIKEOUT-LESS IN SEATTLE…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.
MILESTONES…has 597 strikeouts with the Mariners, which is tied with Matt Young (597) for 11th-most in franchise history…is scheduled to make his 139th career start (147th appearance) with the Mariners which trails Gil Meche (143 GS) for 11th-most in franchise history…Gonzales’ 57 wins are the 9th-most in club history, trailing Joel Piñiero’s 58.
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).
