SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners embark on their first road trip of the season, traveling to Cleveland (3 G, 4/7-9) and Chicago-NL (3 G, 4/10-12)…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.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped Wednesday’s rubber match to the Angels 4-3, finishing the homestand with a 2-5 record.
• Road Opener – The Mariners are 9-5 in their first road game of the season, dating back to 2009.
• E I E I O – Mariners minor league affiliates Double-A Arkansas and Single-A Modesto opened their seasons yesterday…High-A Everett will begin their 2023 season tonight.
• Cleveland Rocks – The Mariners make their only trip to Cleveland this season…the Mariners swept the Guardians in their only trip to Cleveland last season (Sept. 2-4)…dating back to June 13, 2021, the Mariners have won 4-consecutive games at Cleveland.
• Rock and Raleigh – Cal Raleigh went 4-for-9 with 4 runs, 3 home runs, and 7 RBI in 3 games at Progressive Field in 2022.
• Central to Success – The Mariners went 21-12 against AL Central opponents in 2022, going 2-4 against the White Sox, 6-1 against the Guardians, 6-1 against the Tigers, 4-2 against the Royals and 3-4 against the Twins.
• On the Road Again – The Mariners are scheduled to travel approximately 49,000 miles this season, 2nd most in the Majors, trailing only the Oakland Athletics…the Mariners will travel approximately 3,000 miles on this road trip.
GENO PLAYS THE HITS…Eugenio Suárez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI in Wednesday’s game…Geno has now recorded multiple hits in 4-consecutive games (4/2-c.), which is tied for a career-best streak (done 3x, last: May 24-27, 2019 w/CIN)…in 7 games this season he is batting .357 (10×28) with 4 runs, 3 doubles and 5 RBI with a .821 OPS and 134 OPS+…Geno has started all 7 games this season at third base for the Mariners, ammassing 2 outs above average according to Baseball Savant.
FRANCE-Y PANTS…Ty France has reached base safely at least twice in 5-of-7 games this season, after going 1-for-3 with 1 run, 1 walk, 1 hit-by-pitch, and 1 RBI in Wednesday’s game…overall this season, France is batting .357 (10×28) with 6 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI, 1 SB and 2 walks…he is getting on base at a .419 clip and slugging .607 (1.026 OPS) with a 193 wRC+.
LOGAN LUCKY…Logan Gilbert is making his 2nd start of the season in today’s game…in 5 career starts in March/April, Gilbert owns an 0.64 ERA (2 ER, 28.1 IP), which is the lowest ERA in any calendar month among active pitchers (min. 5 GS), ranking ahead of Tylor Megill-NYM who has a 1.04 ERA (3 ER, 26.0 IP) in 5 July starts and Tony Gonsolin-LAA, who has a 1.10 ERA (7 ER, 57.1 IP) in 11 August starts…Gilbert owns a 0.847 WHIP holding opponents to a .186 (19×102) average with 2 home runs, while striking out 29 in March/April.
CRUSHING THE CENTRAL…Ty France (.894) Tom Murphy (.849), Cal Raleigh (.824), Tommy La Stella (.823) and Julio Rodríguez (.816) all have an OPS above .800 against the AL Central for their careers…France has recorded 24 extra-base hits and 39 RBI in 62 career games, while Raleigh is slugging .533 with 9 homers in 34 games against the AL Central…3 Mariners pitchers have a career ERA under 3.00 against the AL Central…Paul Sewald has a 0.73 ERA (2 ER, 24.2 IP)…Logan Gilbert has a career 2.89 ERA (23 ER, 71.2 IP) in 14 games… Andrés Muñoz has a 2.93 ERA (5 ER, 15.1 IP).
BEFORE IT WAS PROGRESSIVE…The Mariners will play in Cleveland’s home opener for the first time since they played in the very first game at Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field) on April 4, 1994, losing 4-3 in extra innings…Randy Johnson threw 8 innings of 2-run ball for the Mariners before Cleveland’s Wayne Kirby had the walk-off single to win it in the 11th.
HIGH FIVE…Ty France, AJ Pollock, Cal Raleigh, and Eugenio Suárez are all tied for the team lead with 5 RBI this season…Seattle is one of 3 teams in the American League this season with at least 4 players with 5+ RBI (also: Tampa Bay and Texas).
HOT START FOR JULIO…Julio Rodríguez has reached base in 6-consecutive games dating back to March 31, including reaching base at least twice from 3/31-4/4…overall this season, he is batting .267 (8×30) with 3 walks, 7 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 7 games this season…Julio is getting on base at a .333 clip and slugging .500 (.833 OPS) with a OPS+ of 135 and a wRC+ of 136…in 11 career games against the Guardians, Julio is batting .265 (13×49) with 8 runs, 2 doubles and 3 home runs.
BULLPEN STANDOUTS…Mariners relievers have combined to put up a 3.14 ERA (10 ER, 28.2 IP) so far this season with 18 walks and 26 strikeouts…Gabe Speier has yet to allow a hit, striking out 3 in 2.2 innings…Trevor Gott has not allowed an earned run in 4.1 innings, while Penn Murfee has not allowed an earned run in 3.1 innings…Matt Brash has struck out 5 over 3.1 innings, allowing just 1 run…Gott, Murfee and Brash have each made 4 appearances, which is tied for the most in the Majors.
HIGHLY RATED…according to Major League Baseball research, the Mariners 3-0 shutout of the Guardians on Opening Night at T-Mobile Park scored a 7.3 rating on ROOT SPORTS, the highest rating for a Mariners game on ROOT since June 14, 2019 (a 7.9 vs. Boston)…the game was the most-watched telecast that week in the city of Seattle.
AS YOU KNOW…Julio Rodríguez is 4-for-5 with 2 walks in the 1st inning this season, including going 4-for4 with 2 walks in his last 6 plate appearances in the opening frame, and…AS YOU MAY ALSO KNOW… Rodríguez is a .446 (41×92) career hitter in the 1st inning, with 32 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 14 RBI, 6 stolen bases and 11 walks, getting on base at a .510 clip, slugging .848 with a 1.358 OPS and 78 total bases, but…DID YOU KNOW?…Rodríguez’s 1.358 OPS in the 1st inning is the highest OPS in MLB history?… he ranks ahead of Babe Ruth (1.150), Chris Shelton (1.107), Barry Bonds (1.097) and Ted Williams (1.072) among players with at least 100 plate appearances in the first inning.
TODAY’S MARINERS STARTER – RHP LOGAN GILBERT
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
• The 25-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his second start of the season…he will also make the 58th start of his MLB career and 5th career start against the Guardians.
• 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…L#1 in first start of the regular season against CLE on 4/1, tossing 6.0 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits (1 HR) and 1 walk with 7 strikeouts.
EARLY SEASON SUCCESS…holds a career 0.64 ERA in March/April, the lowest ERA among Mariners starting pitchers…in 5 games started in March/April Gilbert has thrown 28.1 innings and allowed 19 hits, 3 runs (2 ER), 5 walks and 2 home runs while striking out 29…opponents are batting .189 (19×102) against him.
UNDEFEATED IN CLEVELAND…today marks Gilbert’s 2nd start at Progressive Field…is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA (6.2 IP, 1 ER) and 6 strikeouts in one previous start in Cleveland…he last pitched at Progressive Field on 6/13/21.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME…has a 13-3 career record when pitching on the road, the best away winning percentage (.813) among Mariners starting pitchers… Gilbert has a 3.71 ERA (157.2 IP, 65 ER) in 29 games started away from home.
PLAYOFF PERFORMER…made 1 start in the playoffs, on 10/11/22 at HOU in Game 1 of the ALDS…ND after allowing 3 runs on 5 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts over 5.1 innings.
PITCHER OF THE MONTH…was named AL Pitcher of the Month for April 2022, the first time he has won the award…marks the first Mariners winner since James Paxton in July, 2017 and the 14th different player to win the award (19th instance).
MONTH OF MARVEL…his 0.40 ERA (1 ER, 22.1 IP) in April 2022 was the lowest ERA in a month in Mariners history, surpassing Mark Langston’s 0.50 ERA (3 ER, 53.2 IP) in September 1988 (min. 20.0 IP).
INNINGS EATER…ranked 9th in the AL in innings pitched last season with 185.2… he ranked second among Mariners starting pitchers trailing only Robbie Ray (189.0)…Gilbert threw 6.0+ innings in 18 starts last year.
QUALITY AND QUANTITY…recorded a quality start in his first start of the season… had 16 quality starts in 2022 the 3rd most among Mariners starting pitchers and tied 16th in the AL with Dylan Cease-CHW and Shoehei Ohtani-LAA …he trailed only Marco Gonzales and Robbie Ray who each had 18.
TURN IT UP TO 11…recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts on 9/19/23 at Los Angeles-AL…earned his 13th win of the season and pitched 6.0 innings while giving up 4 hits, 1 run, and 1 walk.
FIRST 50…made his 50th career start on 8/26/22, going 16-10 with a 4.01 ERA (120 ER, 269.0 IP) with 261 strikeouts…his 261 strikeouts are the 5th-most over a pitchers first 50 career starts in Mariners history, trailing Félix Hernández (295), Erik Hanson (279), Hisashi Iwakuma (266) and Taijuan Walker (263).
THE KING AND I…became the 3rd fastest Mariners starter to 300 career strikeouts when he struck out Vimael Machín on 9/30/22 vs. OAK…it took Gilbert just 56 starts to reach the milestone…only Félix Hernández (51 GS) and Erik Hanson (53 GS) reached the milestone in fewer games.
TRIPLE SEVENS…tossed 7.0 innings in 3-consecutive starts dating from 5/17-5/28/22…3 consecutive starts of 7.0+ innings marked the longest streak in his career, having never done it in consecutive starts prior to the streak…became the first Mariners pitcher with 3-consecutive starts of 7.0+ innings since Marco Gonzales had 4 consecutive from 9/11-9/29/19.
CAREER-HIGHS…set several new best marks in 2022 including ERA (3.20), games started (32), innings pitched (185.2), and strikeouts (174) in his first full season in the major leagues.
HE’S LIKE THE ROCKET, MAN…became just the 2nd pitcher in AL history to strike out 15-or-more batters while allowing no more than 1 walk and no more than 1 earned run over his first 3 starts of the season, joining Roger Clemens (1991) via Stats Perform.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER…Logan Gilbert (#28) and Jarred Kelenic (#4) made their MLB debuts on May 13, 2021 vs. Cleveland, becoming the highest ranking duo to debut in the same game since MLB.com began prospect rankings in 2011…there have only been 2 other instances where multiple Top-100 prospects debuted for the same team in the same game…on July 23, 2013, outfielders Jake Marisnick (#70) and Christian Yelich (#13) both debuted for Miami…on Sept. 21, 2016, outfielders Manuel Margot (#45) and Hunter Renfroe (#92) both debuted for San Diego.
AMONG STETSON ROYALTY…Gilbert is 1 of 3 active Stetson University players in the Major Leagues, joining Jacob deGrom-TEX, and Corey Kluber-BOS, which places Gilbert alongside 2 Cy Young Award winners…was the first pitcher from Stetson to be taken in the 1st round, and 1st batters 1st-rounder since 2003 (Brian Snyder)…drafted as highest pick in Stetson history at #14…during his 3 seasons with Stetson, Gilbert was 23-3 with a 2.48 ERA… started in 33 of his 52 appearances, and pitched a total of 250.2 innings for the Hatters…ranks 1st in Stetson history for lowest opponent batting average (.201), 2nd in most strikeouts per 9 innings (11.24), 4th in most strikeouts (313), and 1st in most strikeouts looking (84)…in final season with the Hatters, he ranked 1st in the nation in fewest hits allowed per 9 innings (5.4), 2nd in total strikeouts (163), 4th in ERA (2.72), and 4th in WHIP (0.80).
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDIANS SNAG THIRD EXTRA-INNING WIN
The Guardians moved into first place and capped a 5-2 road trip with a 10-inning, 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday afternoon at The Coliseum…marked the club’s third extra-inning affair in four games…Cleveland has won 5 of last 6 and holds a one-half game lead over 2nd-place Minnesota in the AL Central standings…Guardians enjoyed the club’s first scheduled off day of ’23 on Thursday.
The contest’s later chapters cost Guardians starter HUNTER
GADDIS a shot at his first MLB win despite firing 6.0 scoreless frames of one-hit ball (6.0IP, 1H, 0R-ER, 2BB, 4SO, 77 pitches)… following a lead-off walk in the 1st, Gaddis set down 9 of the next 10 batters before surrendering his only hit on a lead-off double to start the 4th; re-grouped to retire each of the next 9 straight to finish his outing…appearing in his second game of the trip, backstop CAM GALLAGHER supplied a 2-0 lead with his first hit as a member of the Guardians, a 2-run double in the 6th…ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ made it 4-0 with a 2-run single in the 7th, but the advantage would be short-lived, as Ryan Noda (solo shot) and Jesus Aguilar (3-run) smacked a pair of homers to post a 4-spot against Cleveland’s ‘pen in the 8th…after a scoreless 9th, a lead-off walk and wild pitch in the 10th set the stage for WILL BRENNAN’s go-ahead RBI-groundout and STEVEN KWAN’s RBI-single.
IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK
After 7 consecutive road games to start the season, the Guardians return home to begin their 30th campaign at Progressive Field, beginning with a 3-game series against the Seattle Mariners… Seattle hosted Cleveland for a 4-game set starting on Opening Day, with the Guards taking 3 of 4…this is the third straight season the Guards have opened the season on the road, starting at Kansas City in 2022 and at Detroit in 2021.
The Guardians have been victorious in 4 of their last 6 Progressive Field Openers but have dropped back-to-back Home Openers…Cleveland picked up W’s each year from 2017-2020, then fell 3-0 to Kansas City in 2021 and dropped a 4-1 decision against San Francisco in 2022…all-time, the Guardians are 15-14 (.517) in Home Openers played at Progressive Field.
Cleveland played its first ever Home Opener and game at Progressive Field against Seattle, at then, Jacob’s Field, on April 4, 1994…the Guardians won 4-3, on a walk-off single by Wayne Kirby in the 11th inning, scoring Eddie Murray…Sandy Alomar Jr. got the first of the game and in Progressive Field history, breaking up Randy Johnson’s no-hitter with no outs in the 8th inning…the only other time Cleveland hosted Seattle for the Home Opener was April 6,2007…the game made it to the top of the 5th until being called for rain…the series was postponed and later made up.
2-OUT RALLY
The Guardians scored all 6 of their runs on Wednesday with 2 outs…the club’s .249 batting average and 207 RBI with RISP and 2 outs in 2022 ranked 2nd in the AL and 6th in MLB…Cleveland is currently 12th in MLB with a .267 average with RISP and 2 outs, but rank T3rd in the AL and T4th in MLB with Texas in RBI (13) with RISP/2 outs.
ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ hit .387 in these situations in 2022, ranking 4th in the AL and 6th in MLB…his 24 hits led MLB…he is 2-for-3 with one double and 3 RBI with RISP and 2 outs in 2023.
A.L. BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS W/ RISP & 2 OUTS, 2022
Name Team .AVG H RBI .OBP
Brad Miller TEX .429 9 15 .571
Aaron Judge NYY .405 17 32 .881
Nathaniel Lowe TEX .388 19 18 .612
Andres Giménez CLE .387 24 33 .726
Luis Robert Jr. CWS .385 15 24 .692
EXTRAS EXTRAS READ ALL ABOUT IT!
After winning 6-4 in extra innings on Wednesday, the Guards got their MLB-leading, third extra-inning win of the season…there have only been 4 extra-inning games this season…with the win, Cleveland is the sixth team in MLB history to have 3 extra-inning victories within the first 7 games of the season…the last team to accomplish the feat was the 1994 Cincinnati Reds.
In 2022, the Guardians (13-6, .684) were 2nd in the AL in extrainning win percentage, trailing the Mariners (11-5, .688)…Cleveland tallied the most extra-inning wins in MLB and ranked 4th in MLB in extra-inning win percentage last year…the Guards beat Seattle on Sunday in MLB’s first extra-inning contest of 2023.
LATE-INNING WORK, EARLY IN THE SEASON
The Guardians bullpen has been featured heavily through the club’s first 7 games, working 30.1 total innings of relief, the second most in MLB behind Boston (32.2IP) and only 4.0 innings fewer than Cleveland’s starting rotation…five relievers have already made 4 relief appearances and pitched 4.0-or-more innings…the pen’s 4 wins are currently leading MLB…Seattle’s bullpen enters today ranked 3rd in MLB in innings pitched (28.2).
MLB BULLPEN INNINGS PITCHED LEADERS, 2023
TEAM IP SO ERA AVG
BOS 32.3 26 3.31 .258
CLE 30.1 36 3.56 .167
SEA 28.2 26 3.14 .234
HOU 28.1 32 4.13 .236
TODAY’S STARTER – 43 AARON CIVALE RHP
TODAY’S START
The 27-year-old right hander is slated to start today’s home opener, marking his second start of 2023 in the beginning of this 3-game series vs. Seattle and his 5th career start and appearance against the Mariners…will be pitching on 5 days’ rest after hurling 7.0 scoreless frames in Cleveland’s 2-0 victory on April 1 at Seattle…possesses an active 4-game win streak, featuring a 2.48 ERA (8ER/29.0IP), just 3 walks, and 26 strikeouts while holding hitters to a .168 average in his last 5 starts dating back to last season (last loss on 8/28/22 at SEA).
LAST TIME OUT
Civale held the Mariners bats scoreless for 7.0 innings (7.0IP, 2H, 0R/ER, 1BB, 3SO, 80 pitches) in a pitcher’s duel with Seattle’s Logan Gilbert (6.0IP, 1R/ER, 1BB, 7SO, 85 pitches) and earned the win in the Guardians 2-0 victory…allowed a leadoff single to Julio Rodriguez (2-for-4), then retired 7 of his next 8 batters faced (a Teoscar Hernández walk)…Rodriguez added a second single to his name in the 3rd inning, then the right hander retired the next 7 Mariners in a row…after Seattle’s J.P. Crawford (0-for-2, BB) reached via throwing error to start the 6th, Civale retired his final 5 batters faced…the 27-year-old induced 12 ground balls in the start, his most since April 27, 2021 vs. Minnesota (16)…Civale became the first pitcher to work 7.0-or-more scoreless innings with 80 pitches or fewer since Carlos Carrasco on August 16, 2014 (79 pitches).
CAREER VS. SEATTLE
This will be his 5th career start against Seattle…holds a 2-2 record with a 2.89 ERA (9ER/28.0IP), 5 walks and 25 strikeouts in his earlier 4 starts while holding Mariners bats to a .147 batting average…before his April 1 start this season, he faced the Mariners once in 2022, suffering the loss after giving up 4 R/ER in 6.1 innings in a 4-0 defeat on August 28 in Seattle.
Toed the rubber once at Progressive Field against Seattle on June 11, 2021, putting together one of the best performances of his career…he recorded a personal-best 11 strikeouts while walking just one in 8.0 innings of one-hit baseball, the only performance of one-or-fewer hits in his MLB career.
Civale’s only two career starts of 7.0-or-more-IP and 0R/ER have both come against Seattle (4/1/23 and 6/11/21).
Is 5-3 with a 3.21 ERA (20ER/56.0IP), 9 walks, 54 strikeouts and .177 opposing batting average across 9 career G/GS against the AL West.
2022 RECAP
It was a tale of two halves for the 27-year old in 2022…thru his first ten starts, Civale had a 2-5 record with a 7.04 ERA (36ER/46.0IP) as batters put together a .301/.364/.522 slash line… Civale was allowing 10.96 H/9 and 2.93 BB/9 during that span… the right-hander turned it around in his final 10 starts, posting a 3-1 record with a 3.00 ERA (17ER/51.0IP) and a 0.86 WHIP, limiting opponents to a .198/.232/.326 (37-for-187) slash line while striking out 53 and walking 7 (7.57 SO/BB) in those starts…over that stretch, he ranked highly among A.L. pitchers (min. 50.0) in WHIP (2nd), opp. OPS (6th, .559) and opp. batting average (6th, 1.98)… Cleveland went 7-3 in his final 10 starts
Civale struck out hitters at a higher rate than at any point in his career in 2022…posted career highs in SO% (24.1%), SO/9 (9.09) and SO/BB (4.45).
Earned the win in Cleveland’s AL Central-clinching 10-4 victory on Sept. 25 at TEX (5.0IP, 3H, 2ER, 7SO)…started ALDS Game 5 at NYY on Oct. 18, lasting just 5 hitters and equaling the shortest postseason start in Cleveland history (Doc Gooden, 1998 ALDS vs. BOS and Ray Caldwell, 1920 WS vs. Brooklyn).
