SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners continue an 11-day, 8-game road trip with the second of 2 games against the San Diego Padres (1-0)…Seattle is coming off a 3-game series at Texas (0-3)…they will also visit the Los Angeles Angels (3 G, June 9-11) on the road trip…today’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Aaron Goldsmith 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 picked up the win in last night’s game by a 4-1 score, and are 8-6 over their last 14 games…Seattle is 22-11 when scoring at least 4 runs and 8-19 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 17-15 at T-Mobile Park and 13-15 on the road this season.
- Mo Munny Mo Problems – Andrés Muñoz made his first appearance since April 7 in last night’s game, tossing a scoreless inning with 2 strikeouts.
- Friar Fryers – In 5 career games against the Padres, Julio Rodríguez is batting .381 (8×21) with 3 homers, 2 stolen bases and a 1.219 OPS…Tom Murphy has a 1.071 OPS with 3 homers in 10 games and AJ Pollock has 23 home runs and a .906 OPS in 108 career games against San Diego.
- He Gets On Base – José Caballero’s .387 on base percentage through his first 35 career games is the 5th-best mark in franchise history, trailing Alvin Davis’s .467 on base percentage in 1984.
- All-Star Rock? – In 12 starts this season, Luis Castillo is 4-3 with a 2.55 ERA (20 ER, 70.2 IP) with 16 walks and a team-leading 82 strikeouts.
- Roster Moves – The Mariners yesterday activated RHP Andrés Muñoz from the 15-day Injured List and INF/OF Dylan Moore from the 10-day IL…to make room on the active roster, RHP Trevor Gott was placed on the 15-day IL with low back muscle spasm (retroactive to June 5) and INF/OF Sam
Haggerty was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
THE PITCHING STAFF…in 60 games this season, the Mariners pitching staff has posted a 3.92 ERA (234 ER, 537.2 IP) with 155 walks and 541 strikeouts…Seattle pitchers lead the Majors in strikeouts-to-walk ratio (3.49), ranking ahead of Houston (3.33)…the Mariners have allowed 155 walks (fewest in MLB) and 53 home runs (fewest in MLB)…Seattle pitchers rank 1st in fWAR (10.1), 1st in FIP (3.50), 1st in walk rate (6.9%), 1st in soft-contact percentage (18.4) and 3rd in WHIP (1.21)…Seattle starting pitchers are 20-20 with a 4.08 ERA (152 ER, 335.0 IP) with 75 walks and 311 strikeouts…Seattle relief pitchers are 10-10 with a 3.64 ERA (82 ER, 202.2 IP) with 15 saves, 80 walks and 230 strikeouts.
HERNÁNDEZ HEATING UP…Teoscar Hernández went 2-for-4 with 1 HR and 2 RBI in last night’s game…Teo’s 2-out, 2-strike homer traveled 420 feet and was hit at 108.2 mph…over his last 9 games, Teo is batting .324 (11×34) with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 2 walks and 1 stolen base, while getting on base at a .361 clip and slugging .529 (.890 OPS)…he has recorded 3-consecutive multi-hit games, and has hit safely in 8-of-9 during the span…dating back to May 3, Teo is batting .288 (34×118) with 4 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs and a .757 OPS.
JULIOOOOOOOO…Julio Rodríguez has hit safely in 12 of his last 14 games dating back to May 22… uring that span, he is batting .373 (22×59) with 9 runs, 4 doubles, 4 home runs, 12 RBI, 1 hit-by-pitch and is 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts, getting on base at a .383 clip, slugging .644 with a 1.027 OPS… Julio is 1 of just 5 players in the Majors with 10+ homers and 10+ steals, along with Ronald Acuña Jr.-ATL, Bobby Witt-KC, Corbin Carroll-ARI and Josh Lowe-TB…Julio’s .951 career OPS in interleague games is the 6th-highest mark in the Majors (min. 150 plate appearances)
GLOVE ME…the Mariners defense has a .990 fielding percentage this season, tied for best in the Majors with New York-NL, Arizona and Houston…Seattle has committed 22 errors, 3rd-fewest in the big leagues trailing only New York-NL and Arizona (21) who are tied for the league lead…Seattle is tied for 2nd in Outs Above Average (12) with Arizona and Detroit, trailing only San Diego (18)…Eugenio Suárez ranks tied for 1st among American League third basemen with 5 OAA…Julio Rodríguez is tied for 3rd among MLB outfielders with 5 OAA…José Caballero ranks 3rd among AL second basemen with 3 OAA.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE A PAUL STAR…in 26 games this season, Paul Sewald is 2-0 with 12 saves and a 2.84 ERA (8 ER, 25.1 IP) with 8 walks and 35 strikeouts…he is 12-for-13 in save opportunities, and his 11 saves are 6th-most in the American League…Sewald has a 0.950 WHIP and has held opponents to a .178 batting average (16×90).
TY IS THAT GUY…over his last 13 games (5/22-c), Ty France is batting .340 (18×53) with 11 runs, 5 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 3 walks and 2 hit-by-pitches, getting on base at a .397 clip, slugging .604 with a 1.000 OPS…the Mariners first baseman has 7 multi-hit games (2 three-hit games) over that span… on the season, France is batting .273 (63×231) with 35 runs, 18 doubles, 5 home runs, 27 RBI, 16 walks and 9 hit-by-pitches, getting on base at a .342 clip, slugging .416 with a .758 OPS.
JARRED KELENIC: ALL-STAR OUTFIELDER?…Jarred Kelenic is batting .264 (55×208) with 27 runs, 14 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 27 RBI, 7 stolen bases and 19 walks, getting on base at a .328 clip, slugging .486 with an .813 OPS in 57 games this season…Kelenic has mashed left-handed pitchers this season, batting .321 (17×53) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 13 RBI with a 1.010 OPS in 57 plate appearances against southpaws…overall, Kelenic leads the Mariners in extra-base hits (25), slugging percentage and OPS
AS YOU MAY KNOW…George Kirby struck out 7 over 8.0 scoreless innings in his last start on May 31 vs. NYY, and now sits at 191 career strikeouts, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that with 9 strikeouts in today’s game, Kirby would be tied for the 3rd-fastest pitcher in franchise history to reach the 200 strikeout milestone, reaching the mark in just his 37th career game? He would match Logan Gilbert, while trailing Félix Hernández and Mark Langston, who both reached 200 strikeouts in their 35th career games.
MARINERS STARTER – RHP GEORGE KIRBY
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 5-4 3.04 11/11 71.0 66 24 24 6 58 7
Home 3-2 3.72 6/6 36.1 36 15 15 2 33 5
Road 2-2 2.34 5/5 34.2 30 9 9 4 25 2
vs. SDP 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ABOUT KIRBY…
- 25-year-old right-hander is making his 12th start of the season, 1st against San Diego…he is also making his 37th career start, and 1st career start against the Padres.
- Selected by the Mariners in the first round (20th overall) of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft; signed by Mariners scout Ty Holub.
- Played 3 seasons (2017-2019) at Elon University (NC), going 19-8 with a 3.30 ERA (88 ER, 240.0 IP) in 45 games (34 GS) with the Phoenix.
- Became the first rookie in MLB history to record a save in the postseason in his first career relief appearance.
- Graduated from Rye HS (Rye, NY) where he was named to the all-metro, all-state, all-section and all-league baseball teams 3 times.
LAST TIME OUT…ND in last start on 5/31 vs. NYY…allowed just 3 hits with 7 strikeouts over 8.0 innings pitched…his 8.0 innings pitched matched a career high set earlier this year (4/27 at PHI).
CAREER-HIGH STRIKEOUTS…matched his career-high in strikeouts at 9 on 5/9 against Texas…this marked the 4th time George has struck out 9 batters in a game (last: 8/24/22 vs. WSN).
THESE BOOTS WERE NOT MADE FOR WALKING…leads all qualified pitchers in the Majors with a 9.67 strikeouts-to-walk ratio, ranking ahead of Zach Eflin-TBR (7.13) and teammate Logan Gilbert (6.64).
KIRBY ON THE ROAD…is set to make his 18th road start of his career…Kirby has a 7-4 record on the road with a 3.09 ERA (32 ER, 93.1 IP) with 16 walks and 81 strikeouts…his 3.09 ERA in away games is the best among Mariners pitchers with multiple road starts since he joined the league 2022.
QUALITY KIRBY…pitched 8 consecutive quality starts (4/9-5/26), his longest quality start streak in his career…his previous high in consecutive quality starts was 2 (last: 9/10-9/17/22)…his 8-game quality start streak is tied for the longest streak in the Majors this season with Logan Webb-SFG…his 9 quality starts this season are tied for the 3rd-most in the Majors, trailing Marcus Stroman-CHC (11) and Framber Valdez-HOU (10).
MARVELOUS MONTH OF MAY…in 11 career starts in the month of May, Kirby has a 4-3 record with a 3.26 ERA (24 ER, 66.1 IP) and has allowed 7 walks while striking out 62.
TRIPLE SEVENS…pitched at least 7.0 innings in 3 consecutive starts (4/27-5/9)…this marked a career high in consecutive games with at least 7.0 innings pitched…prior to the streak, Kirby had never pitched 7.0+ innings in consecutive games…during the streak Kirby was 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA (4 ER, 22.0 IP) and allowed 2 walks while striking out 18.
KIRBY’S COMPLETE…pitched his first career complete game on 4/27 against Philadelphia, tossing 8.0 innings allowing just 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walks with 7 strikeouts…he became the first Mariners pitcher to lose a complete game since Taijuan Walker on Sept. 24, 2014 in a 1-0 loss at Toronto.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
No team release available.
