MILWAUKEE BREWERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: Is game 8 (4-3) of a 10-game trip to Arizona (1-2), San Diego (3-1) and Seattle (3g)…..following this trip and an off day on Thursday, the team returns to American Family Field for a 9-game homestand against Boston (3g), Detroit (3g) and Los Angeles-AL (3g).
IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM: RHP Jason Alexander (right rotator cuff), LHP Aaron Ashby (left labrum), RHP Adrian Houser (right groin), OF Tyrone Taylor (right elbow), INF Luis Urías (left hamstring), RHP Gus Varland (right hand), LHP Justin Wilson (left elbow) and RHP Brandon Woodruff (right shoulder) are on the injured list…..Alexander, Ashby and Wilson are on the 60-day IL.
IN THE STANDINGS (18 days): The Brewers have spent the following number of days alone or tied at each position in the NL Central standings: FIRST: 16, SECOND: 0, THIRD: 2, FOURTH: 0, FIFTH: 0…..the team is currently in first place, leading the second-place Cubs by 2.0 games.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Brewers are 4-1-0 in series play.
Game 1: 3-2, Game 2: 4-1, Game 3: 3-2, Game 4: 1-0
Sweep Wins (1): vs. NYM (3g, 4/3-4/5)
Sweep Losses (-): None
AT HOME: The Brewers are 5-1 at home, going 2-0-0 in series play…..the team went 46-35 at home last season, going 15-8-4 in series play.
ON THE ROAD: The Brewers are 6-4 on the road, going 2-1-0 in series play…..the team went 40-41 on the road last season, going 9-12-5 in series play.
MANAGER: Craig Counsell – the longest-tenured active manager in the National League and third in the majors – is in his ninth season as Brewers manager (626-560) and eighth full season…..he has the most wins (626) and games managed (1,186) of any manager in franchise history…..Counsell was named the 19th manager in franchise history on 5/4/15, replacing Ron Roenicke…..he is signed through the 2023 season.
COACHES: First base coach Quintin Berry (3rd season), hitting coach Connor Dawson (2nd season), bullpen coach Jim Henderson (2nd season), pitching coach Chris Hook (5th season), third base coach Jason Lane (8th season, 3rd as 3B coach), associate pitching, catching and strategy coach Walker McKinven (4th season), bench coach Pat Murphy (8th season) and hitting coach Ozzie Timmons (2nd season) all returned from the 2022 staff…..Néstor Corredor, who had previously been bullpen catcher (2021-22), is now a coach.
2022 IN REVIEW: The Brewers went 86-76 last season, missing the postseason for the first time since 2017…..the team was eliminated from NL Central contention on September 27 and eliminated from postseason contention on October 3, snapping their franchise-record four consecutive years of making the playoffs…..the team won at least 86 games for the fifth consecutive full season (since 2017), joining the Dodgers (since 2012), Astros (since 2017) and Yankees (since 2017) as the only teams to accomplish the feat during this stretch (does not include 2020).
LET’S GO TO THE VIDEO TAPE: The Brewers have made three replay challenges this season, going 1-2…..their last challenge (lost) came on 4/12 at Arizona as an out call at first base (Willy Adames) stood.
BREWERS vs. MARINERS
SUMMARY: Are 123-119 all-time, including 8-7 in Interleague Play….. the teams last met 6/25-6/27, 2019 with the Mariners taking 2 of 3 games in Milwaukee.
at MIL: Are 66-55 all-time, including 5-4 at American Family Field and 61-51 at County Stadium.
at SEA: Are 57-64 all-time, including 3-3 at T-Mobile Park and 54-61 at the Kingdome…..the Brewers last visited Seattle from 8/19-8/21, 2016 with the Mariners taking 2 of 3 games.
TONIGHT’S STARTER: #39 – RHP CORBIN BURNES (3gs, 1-1, 5.19)
BURNES AT A GLANCE: Corbin Burnes, 28, is making his fourth start…..Burnes last started last Wednesday at Arizona in a 7-1 win (8ip, 3h, 0r, 0bb, 8k, 89 pitches)…..the team is 2-1 in his starts…..he has 1 quality start…..opponents are batting .215 (14-for-65, 2hr)…..Burnes was selected by Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Mary’s (CA) College…..he is under club control through 2024.
LAST SEASON: Burnes went 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 33 starts last season, finishing seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting after winning the award in 2021…..Burnes was an All-Star for the second straight season and was named Brewers Most Valuable Pitcher for the second year in a row…..his career-high 243 strikeouts led the National League and ranked second in the majors behind the Yankees’ Gerrit Cole (257)…..he became the first pitcher in franchise history to lead his league in strikeouts…..he also ranked among the NL top five in starts (T1st, 33), AVG (2nd, .197), K/9IP (2nd, 10.83), H/9IP (2nd, 6.42), innings pitched (4th, 202.0), K/BB (4th, 4.76), quality starts (T4th, 21) and WHIP (5th, 0.97)…..the team went 20-13 in his starts.
CY BURNES: Burnes won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award after going 11-5 with a Major League-best 2.43 ERA in 28 starts…..he became the third pitcher in franchise history to win a Cy Young Award, joining Rollie Fingers (1981) and Pete Vuckovich (1982)…..he became the first pitcher in franchise history to lead his league in ERA.
CAREER: Is 36-20 with a 3.28 ERA in 138 games/77 starts (533ip, 194er)…..is in his sixth Major League season, all with the Brewers (2018-23)…..is 28-17 with a 3.01 ERA as a starter (451ip, 151er) and 8-3 with a 4.72 ERA in relief (82ip, 43er)…..Burnes is a two-time All-Star (2021-22) and was a 2021 All-MLB First Team selection.
CAREER AT AMERICAN FAMILY FIELD: Is 17-12 with a 3.61 ERA in 67 games/40 starts (277ip, 111er)…..is 0-0 with a 12.46 ERA in 1 start this season (4.1ip, 6er)…..went 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 18 starts last season (109.2ip, 37er)…..
CAREER ON THE ROAD: Is 19-8 with a 2.92 ERA in 71 games/37 starts (256ip, 83er)…..is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 2 starts this season (13ip, 4er)…..went 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 15 starts last season (92.1ip, 29er).
CAREER vs. MARINERS: Burnes has never faced the Seattle, Washington Mariners.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 9-game, 10-day homestand with the first of 3 games against the Milwaukee Brewers…Seattle just wrapped up a 3-game series sweep over the Colorado Rockies… they will also host the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-23) at T-Mobile Park on the homestand…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers 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 defeated the Rockies by a 1-0 score to capture their first series sweep of the season…Seattle has won a season-high 4 consecutive games…with yesterday’s 1-0 win, Seattle improved to 2-4 in 6 one-run games.
• Shutout! – Seattle earned its second shutout win of the season yesterday.
• Flexible – RHP Chris Flexen takes the mound for Seattle tonight…in 67 games with the Mariners since 2021, he has started (55) or finished (12) all of his games. • Programming Note – Tomorrow’s Mariners game will be telecast live on ROOT SPORTS Plus.
• Yesterday’s Roster Move – LHP Brennan Bernardino was claimed off waivers by the Boston Red Sox…Bernardino was designated for assignment on April 12.
CASTILLO THROUGH 4 STARTS…Luis Castillo went 7.0 scoreless innings in yesterday’s win, allowing just 2 hits with 9 strikeouts…Castillo carried a perfect game into the 7th inning, retiring the first 18 batters he faced before Jurickson Profar singled…in 4 starts this season, Castillo is 2-0 with a 0.73 ERA (2 ER, 24.2 IP) with 4 walks and 26 strikeouts, limiting batters to a .131 (11×84) batting average…the right-hander is the first pitcher in MLB history with 3 outings of 5.0+ scoreless IP and 2-or-fewer hit allowed within his team’s first 16 games of a season…he’s also the third pitcher in MLB history with a sub-1.00 ERA, 11-orfewer hits allowed, 4-or-fewer walks and 25+ strikeouts through his first 4 starts, joining Cliff Lee-CLE (2008) and Corbin Burnes-MIL (2021)…Lee and Burnes both won the Cy Young Award those seasons.
RE-PETED-LY BLANKED…Seattle pitchers Luis Castillo (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 9 SO), Justin Topa (HLD, 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) and Paul Sewald (SV, 1.0 IP, 3 SO) combined to shut out the Rockies in yesterday’s 1-0 win, allowing just 3 combined hits with no walks and 13 strikeouts…the Mariners are the only team in the Majors with multiple shutouts with no walks this season (3/30 vs. CLE, 4/16 vs. COL)…in fact, there are only 2 other instances around the Majors combined this season: Milwaukee, 4/4 vs. New York-NL and Pittsburgh, 4/9 vs. Chicago-AL.
J.P. GETS ON BASE…J.P. Crawford went 1-for-2 with a walk yesterday…the Mariners shortstop has gotten on-base at a .393 clip in 16 games this season…over his last 5 games, J.P. is batting .462 (6×13) with 6 runs, 2 doubles, 1 RBI and 6 walks…he is the first Mariners player to both record a hit and draw a walk in 5 consecutive games (4/11-c) since Crawford did it himself in 5 straight games from June 4-9, 2021…in fact, J.P. is the only Mariners player to accomplish the feat since 2016…the last Seattle player to both record a hit and draw a walk in 6 consecutive games was Kyle Seager from Sept. 1-7, 2015.
TY ONE ON…Ty France drew 2 walks last night…in 16 games this season, he has reached base safely in 15 of 16 and hit safely in 13 of 16…Ty is batting .328 (21×64) with 15 runs, 7 doubles, 1 home run, 11 RBI, 1 stolen base, 8 walks and 3 hit-by-pitches, getting on base at a .427 clip, slugging .484 with a .911 OPS…his 7 doubles are tied for 3rd-most in the AL.
SUÁVE SUÁREZ…Eugenio Suárez went 1-for-4 in yesterday’s 1-0 victory…the Mariners third baseman has reached base in 13 consecutive games (4/2-c)…during that stretch, Geno is batting .315 (17×54) with 6 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 13 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .367 clip, slugging .463 with an .830 OPS.
YOU GOT ME SAYING TEOOOOO…Teoscar Hernández over his last 7 games (4/9-c) is batting .323 (10×31) with 3 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 5 RBI and 1 stolen base, slugging .452 with a .774 OPS… Teoscar has started in each of Seattle’s 16 games this season.
ONE-TO-NOTHING…the Mariners won yesterday by a 1-0 score, the 59th time in franchise history they won 1-0…it marked the 29th time they won 1-0 at T-Mobile Park…the 13 strikeouts by the Mariners pitching staff were tied for the 2nd-most in a 1-0, 9-inning game, trailing only the 14 strikeouts the staff combined for in a 1-0 win on July 1, 2018 vs. Kansas City.
BONE KNOWS…according to FanGraphs, Seattle has registered the 7th-most Defensive Runs Saved (7) in the Majors, trailing Milwaukee (19 DRS), Toronto (13), New York-NL (12), Arizona (10), Minnesota (10) and Tampa Bay (8)…according to Baseball Savant, Seattle has recorded 4 Outs Above Average, which ranks 3rd in the Majors behind Arizona (8) and Kansas City (6)…J.P. Crawford (2 OAA) and Eugenio Suárez (2) are tied for 7th in OAA in the Majors.
BULLPEN GUYS…Paul Sewald struck out the side in his save yesterday…in 9 appearances this season, he is 1-0 with 4 saves and a 3.00 ERA (3 ER, 9.0 IP) with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts…Sewald and Matt Brash are tied for most appearances in MLB with 9…in 8 games, Penn Murfee is 1-2 with a 0.00 ERA (0 ER, 6.2 IP) with 7 strikeouts…in 6 games, Gabe Speier has a 0.00 ERA (0 ER, 6.1 IP) with 6 strikeouts.
WELL-ATTENDED…Seattle has drawn a total of 302,691 fans through 10 games of action at T-Mobile Park this season…the 302,691 ranks 3rd in the American League and 6th in the Majors so far…the Mariners average home attendance of 30,269 ranks 6th in the AL.
ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners still have 6 games remaining on the 9-game homestand (3-0) at T-Mobile Park, including the following events: Rally Cap Night Ticket Special (tonight, April 17), Hello Kitty Night (April 18), High School Media Day (April 18), Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Jarred Kelenic contributed yesterday’s lone RBI in the 1-0 win, a line drive single to right field that gave the Mariners a 1-0 lead in the 6th…Kelenic also made a potential run-saving, diving catch in the 8th, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Kelenic wrapped up a week (April 10-16) in which he ranked among the American League leaders in nearly every offensive category?…among players with at least 20 plate appearances during the week, Kelenic led AL hitters in batting average (.476), on-base percentage (.545), slugging percentage (1.211) and OPS (1.756)…he ranked T1st in extra-base hits (6), T1st in home runs (4), T2nd in total bases (23), T8th in hits (10), T10th in RBI (6), T4th in runs scored (6) and T12th in times on base (12).
TONIGHT’S MARINERS STARTER – RHP CHRIS FLEXEN
ABOUT FLEXEN…
• 28-year-old right-hander is making his 3rd start (4th appearance) of 2023 and 1st start against the Brewers this season…he is also making his 67th career start (95th appearance) and 1st career start (3rd appearance) against Milwaukee.
• Signed with the Mariners as a free agent, agreeing on a 2-year contract with an option for 2023 on 12/18/20.
• Was originally selected by the Mets in the 14th round of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Newark Memorial (CA) High School…made his ML debut with New York-NL on 7/27/17 at SD.
• Graduated from Newark Memorial High School (CA) in 2012…played 4 years of baseball and was a quarterback on the football team for 2 years… was committed to Arizona State University before signing with the Mets. • Appeared in parts of 8 minor league seasons with Mets organization (2012-19)…overall, went 43-31 with a 3.61 ERA (236 ER, 588.0 IP) with 192 walks and 513 strikeouts in 122 games (105 starts)…in 2013, was named Topps Appalachian Player of the Year.
• In his Mariners debut on 4/3/21, became the 900th Seattle Mariners player in franchise history. • Recorded his 100th career strikeout when he struck out Cavan Biggio on 6/29/21 against Toronto (in Buffalo).
LAST START…L#2 in second start of the 2023 season on 4/11 vs. Chicago Cubs…tossed 2.1 innings allowing 8 runs on 10 hits (2 HR), and 2 walks with 1 strikeout.
HIT REFRESH…Flexen is coming off of 5 days rest after his last start on 4/11… since joining the Mariners in 2021 Flexen is 9-8 with a 3.59 ERA (135.1 IP, 54 ER) with 90 strikeouts and 32 walks and .529 winning percentage when he has 5 days rest between starts…his winning percentage ranks third among active Mariners starting pitchers with at least 20 starts with 5 days rest since 2021…he trails Marco Gonzales (.765) and Logan Gilbert (.733).
NEXT MAN UP…after beginning the season as a member of the bullpen, Flexen is making his second start of the season in place of the injured Robbie Ray…Ray was placed on the 15-day IL on 4/1 with a left flexor strain.
PREVIOUSLY VS. MILWAUKEE…is set to make his 1st career start (3rd ap- pearance) against the Brewers…each of his previous appearances against Milwaukee have been at Miller Park…Flexen is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA (3.1 IP, 5 ER) all-time against Milwaukee.
INTERLEAGUE PLAY…is making his 13th career start against an interleague opponent…his last appearance against an interleague opponent came on 4/11 at Chicago.
I’M A RELIEVER…made his first appearance out of the Mariners bullpen this season on 3/31…pitched 4.0 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 strikeout.
LOS BOMBEROS…made 11 appearances as a reliever in 2022 going 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA (3 ER, 16.2 IP) with 12 strikeouts and recording 2 saves
out of the bullpen.
BIRTH MONTH BOOM…in 5 July starts in 2022, Flexen went 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA (6 ER, 27.2 IP) with 18 strikeouts…his 3.57 ERA (25 ER, 63.0 IP) in 12 career July starts is his lowest ERA in any individual calendar month…Chris celebrates his birthday on July 1.
FLEX ON ‘EM…tied for the longest winning streak by a Mariners starting pitcher in 2022 after winning 4 consecutive decisions (6/24-7/13)…Logan Gilbert and Robbie Ray also recorded 4 game win streaks last season.
HIGH QUALITY…recorded 9 quality starts last season, the 5th most on the team…his last quality start was on 7/25/22 against Texas when he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks while striking out 5.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS…had decisions in each of his first 7 starts of the 2022 season (1-6)…the last Mariners pitcher to start the season with 7-or-more decisions in a row were Aaron Harang (2-5) and Brandon Maurer (2-5), both in 2013.
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…struck out a season-high 8 batters on 7/4/22 at San Diego, matching his career high…this marked the third time Flexen has struck out 8 batters in one game.
HOME IS WHERE THE START IS…since he joined the Mariners, Flexen is 12-10 with a 3.54 ERA (66 ER, 168.0 IP) with 117 strikeouts and 40 walks in 33 appearances at T-Mobile Park and 10-7 with a 4.15 ERA (77 ER, 160.2 IP) with 109 strikeouts and 58 walks in 34 games on the road.
WINNING WAYS…Flexen’s 8 wins last season was tied for 4th on the team with George Kirby…he trailed Logan Gilbert (13), Robbie Ray (12), and Marco Gonzales (10)…7 of his wins came as a starter and 1 win came as a reliever.
