SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TODAY’S TILT…the Mariners wrap up a 3-game series (0-2) against the Chicago Cubs today, finishing a 6-game road trip after taking 2 of 3 against the Cleveland Guardians to begin the trip…following an off day tomorrow, Seattle welcomes the Colorado Rockies to T-Mobile Park for a 3-game set (4/14-4/16)… the Milwaukee Brewers (3 G, 4/17-4/19) and St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 4/21-4/23) will also come to Seattle on the homestand…today’s game against the Cubs 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 dropped last night’s ballgame to the Cubs by a 14-9 score…Seattle has a chance to finish the road trip with a .500 record after winning the first 2 games of the trip before dropping each of the last 3…Seattle is 2-5 at home this season and 2-3 on the road in the early going.
• Daylight Come And… – Seattle went 37-27 in day games last season…1-3 in 4 day games this season.
• #225 – Eugenio Suárez hit his 225th career home run, the 297th player in MLB history to hit 225 HR.
• Missed It… By That Much – Julio Rodríguez’ 112.0 mph lineout to first base as the game’s first batter was the hardest-hit ball of last night’s game per Baseball Savant.
• 15 Consecutive – Today marks the third of 15 consecutive interleague games for Seattle: at Chicago-NL (April 10-12), vs. Colorado (April 14-16), vs. Milwaukee (April 17-19), vs. St. Louis (April 21-23) and at Philadelphia (April 25-27)…Seattle will face interleague opponents in back-to-back series only one other time during the 2023 schedule: Sept. 1-3 at New York-NL and Sept. 4-6 at Cincinnati.
KRUSHIN’ KELENIC…Jarred Kelenic reached base 4 times last night, going 2-for-3 with a double, home run, RBI and 2 walks…it marked Jarred’s second home run of the season and his second in as many games…in the process, he extended his career-high hitting streak to 6 games (4/5-c)…during the streak, the 23-year-old is batting .450 (9×20) with 4 runs, 3 doubles, 2 homers, 4 RBI and 3 walks, getting on base at a .522 clip, slugging .900 with a robust 1.422 OPS.
TY IS THAT GUY…Ty France also reached base 4 times last night, going 3-for-4 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and a walk…Ty extended his hitting streak to a team-high 9 games (4/2-c)…during the streak, the 2022 All-Star is batting .341 (14×41) with 10 runs, 5 doubles, 5 RBI and 3 walks, getting on base at a .400 clip, slugging .463 with an .863 OPS…Ty’s 9-game hitting streak is tied for the 5th-highest active streak in the Majors.
MARINERS RETURN HOME FRIDAY…the Mariners return for a homestand at T-Mobile Park that begins Friday, April 14…April 14 vs. Colorado is Cal Raleigh Bobblehead Night, with the first 20,000 fans through the gates receiving the bobblehead featuring Cal’s unforgettable “clinch” moment from last season…Saturday, April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day, with all Mariners players and on-field staff wearing #42 and the first Mariners All-Star Ruppert Jones throwing that day’s ceremonial first pitch…other dates on the homestand include Little League Day (April 16), Rally Cap Night Ticket Special (April 17), Hello Kitty Night (April 18), Weather Education day (April 19), All-Star Hat Night (April 21) and much more…for more information, visit Mariners.com/Promotions or Mariners.com/Tickets.
HOT BAT AT THE HOT CORNER…Eugenio Suárez hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning last night, his first home run of the season…the Mariners third baseman has hit safely in 8 of his last 9 games (4/2-c), batting .359 (14×39) with 5 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 10 RBI and 2 walks, while getting on base at a .381 clip, slugging .487 with a .968 OPS during that span…Geno’s 10 RBI during that span lead the Mariners and are tied for 6th-most in the Majors.
FIRST INNING SUCCESS…in 12 games this season, the Mariners offense is batting .346 (19×55) with 11 runs, 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 10 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 7 walks in the 1st inning…Seattle has a .419 on-base percentage, .582 slugging percentage and 1.001 OPS in the opening frame…Seattle has scored in the 1st inning in 7 of their last 9 games since April 2.
TEOOOOOOO…Teoscar Hernández has hit safely in 6 of his last 7 games (4/4-c), batting .267 (8×30) with 3 runs, 1 double, 2 home runs and 6 RBI with an .813 OPS during that stretch…Teo ranks in the 86th percentile in sprint speed and 80th percentile in outs above average defensively, via Baseball Savant.
EVERYONE’S CONTRIBUTING…a season-high 6 different Mariners recorded an RBI in last night’s game: Eugenio Suárez (3 RBI), Ty France (2), Cal Raleigh, Teoscar Hernández, Jarred Kelenic and Kolten Wong…the Mariners were 7-1 last season when at least 6 different players recorded an RBI.
LA PIEDRA ‘ROCKS’…Luis Castillo has shined through 3 starts this season…in his 3 outings to begin the year, he is 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA (2 ER, 17.2 IP) with 4 walks and 17 strikeouts…the right-hander did not allow a run in either of his first 2 starts to begin the season, becoming just the third Mariners pitcher to do that, joining Félix Hernández (2007) and James Paxton (2017)…Castillo is scheduled to take the mound again on Sunday vs. Colorado.
ONE OUT IN THE INNING…through 12 games this season, the Mariners offense has had its most success with one out in the inning…with one out, Seattle is batting .277 (41×148) with 14 doubles, 4 home runs, 22 RBI, 5 stolen bases and 14 walks with an .800 OPS…with 2 outs, the offense is hitting .197 (26×132) and with no outs are hitting .218 (31×142).
SEVEN AND SEVEN (AND SEVEN)…7 different pitchers are tied for the Major League lead for most appearances this season with 7 apiece…3 of those pitchers are Mariners: Matt Brash, Trevor Gott and Penn Murfee…Brash has a 4.76 ERA (3 ER, 5.2 IP) with 3 walks and 12 strikeouts…Gott has a 1.13 ERA (1 ER, 8.0 IP) with no walks and 7 strikeouts…Murfee has a 0.00 ERA (0 ER, 5.0 IP) with 5 walks (3 intentional) and 3 strikeouts.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Jarred Kelenic went 2-for-3 with a double, home run and a pair of walks last night, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Jarred joined a small group of Mariners age 23-or-younger to record both 2+ extra-base hits and 2+ base on balls within the same game?…Kelenic became the 8th different Mariners player age 23-or-younger to do so, joining Ruppert Jones (2x, 6/25/1977 and 9/3/1978), Julio Cruz (5/7/1978), Jim Presley (6/23/1985), Ken Griffey Jr. (2x, 6/1/1990 and 4/19/1993), Jesús Montero (5/30/2012), Ketel Marte (8/16/2015) and Shed Long Jr. (5/29/2019).
TODAY’S MARINERS STARTER – RHP LOGAN GILBERT
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
• The 25-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 3rd start of the season…he will also make the 59th start of his MLB career and 1st career start against the Cubs.
• 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…ND in 2nd start of the regular season at Cleveland on 4/7, tossing 4.0 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts.
EARLY SEASON SUCCESS…holds a career 1.39 ERA (32.1 IP, 5 ER) in March/ April, the lowest ERA in the Majors among starting pitchers with at least 6 games started in the first two months of the season…in March/April, Gilbert has allowed 25 hits, 6 runs (5 ER), 7 walks and 2 home runs while striking out 35…opponents are batting .210 (25×119) against him.
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES…today marks Gilbert’s 1st career start against the Cubs and 1st at Wrigley Field…Logan has only faced three current Cubs batters entering into today’s game…combined they are batting .333 (2×6) against him.
VS. NATIONAL LEAGUE…is making his 5th career start against interleague opponents…holds a 2-2 record with a 3.00 ERA (21.0 IP, 7 ER) with 13 walks and 20 strikeouts…interleague opponents are batting .203 (16×79) against Gilbert…the Cubs will be the 4th different NL team that Gilbert has faced (also: San Diego, Philadelphia, Miami).
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME…is making his 2nd road start of the season…has a 13-3 career record when pitching on the road, the best away winning percentage (.813) in the Majors among starting pitchers with at least 30 away games started… in those 30 games Gilbert has a 3.04 ERA (161.2 IP, 68 ER).
ON A ROLL…in each of his first 2 starts this season Gilbert has recorded at least 6 strikeouts…this marks the 4th time in his career that he has recorded back-toback games with 6+ strikeouts (last: 9/1-9/6/22)… as achieved his career high of 3 consecutive games with 6+ strikeouts on 4 different occasions.
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.
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 Hatters 1st-rounder since
CHICAGO CUBS NOTES:
WELL, THAT WAS A WILD ONE: The Chicago Cubs, down 7-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning, last night plated eight third-inning runs en route to a 14-9 victory over the Seattle Mariners to capture the three-game series heading into today’s finale … last night’s game was the team’s first in which it erased a deficit of at least seven runs en route to a win since erasing a 10-2 deficit to win 14-10 over the Braves April 14, 2018, at a freezing Wrigley Field.
Like, where do we even begin about last night? … in that eight-hit, eight-run third frame, Nelson Velázquez blasted his first career grand slam to give the Cubs an 8-7 lead and Dansby Swanson’s second hit of the inning increased the lead to 9-7.
Ed Hartig notes the previous time the Cubs won a game by at least five runs after falling behind by at least seven runs was June 30, 1929, in a 14-8 win at the Cardinals … Chicago had fallen behind 8-1 at one point.
ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that prior to last night Chicago had lost its last 79 games in which it trailed by seven or more runs … the Cubs became the first MLB team since Sept. 27, 2001 to trail by seven runs in the second inning and lead by the end of the third (Rockies were down 8-0 to the Padres in the second but led 11-8 heading into the fourth inning).
‘STRO SHOW: Today’s starting pitcher Marcus Stroman enters having spun 12.0 scoreless innings to open the season thanks to consecutive 6.0-shutout inning performances, Opening Day vs. Milwaukee and April 7 vs. Texas … Stroman is the first Cubs pitcher since Mike Bielecki in 1991 to open the season with consecutive starts of at least 6.0 shutout innings.
The last pitcher to open a season with three starts of at least 6.0 shutout innings is Seattle’s James Paxton, who turned the trick April 5-15, 2017.
Stroman has posted a 1.67 ERA (10 ER/54.0 IP) in his last nine starts dating to Aug. 30 of last season, the fourth-best ERA in that span behind only the Angels Shoehi Ohtani (1.08), Tampa Bay’s Jeffrey Springs (1.14) and the Dodgers Julio Urías (1.52).
SO FAR, A RELIEF: Cubs hitters have posted a .302 average (45-for-149) against relief pitchers this season, the second-highest mark in the majors behind Milwaukee (.313 average against relief pitchers) … Chicago’s .367 on-base percentage against bullpen arms ranks third-best in the majors, trailing only Milwaukee (.388) and San Francisco (.382).
SOME NICE ANNIVERSARIES: Today marks the 25th anniversary of Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood’s major league debut, April 12, 1998, at Montreal … 90 years ago today, April 12, 1933, beer was sold at the park for the first time under the name Wrigley Field … when prohibition began in 1919, the park was known as Cubs Park … prohibition ended in time for the Cubs to sell beer at the park on Opening Day, a 3-0 win over the Cardinals.
IT STARTED WITH LESTER’S GAME-WINNING BUNT: The Cubs have won each of their last seven games against the Mariners, starting with the July 31, 2016, ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game in which Jon Lester laid down a game-winning sac bunt to plate Jason Heyward for a 7-6, 12-inning victory (the game took four hours, 18 minutes).
This seven-game winning streak against Seattle is Chicago’s longest against an A.L. club since interleague play began in 1997 … this surpasses six-game winning streaks against Baltimore from Aug. 22, 2014-July 16,2017, as well as against the White Sox (June 22, 2007-June 22, 2008) and Minnesota (June 20, 2015-Sept. 18, 2020).
ABOUT THE ROTATION: Cubs starting pitchers have a 3.70 ERA (20 ER/48.2 IP) in the season’s early going, the third-best mark in the N.L. and ninth in the majors … through the first 10 games of last season, the rotation had a 4.84 ERA (and a 5.32 ERA through the first 11 games of last year).
CURRENT EVENTS: The Cubs, who have won five of their last six games, enjoy an offday tomorrow before starting a six-game west coast swing against the Dodgers (3 games beginning Friday) and Athletics (3 games starting April 17).
The Cubs open the season with 15 of their first 24 games through April 27 at Wrigley Field … of those first 24 tilts, just five are against their own division, the N.L. Central: the season-opening Brewers series and the abbreviated two-game set against the Reds, April 3-4 … in fact, the Cubs are in the sixth game (4-1) of 29-straight games outside of the division until hosting the Cardinals for three games, May 8-10.
INTERLEAGUE INTERLUDE: With MLB’s new schedule format for the 2023 season, the Cubs will play every A.L. club this regular season, totaling 46 games … Chicago is 4-1 this season, and 220-220 (.500) all-time against the A.L. since interleague play began in 1997 … the team was 6-14 (.300) in interleague play last season.
OH, HAPPY DAY!: Cubs left fielder Ian Happ has reached safely in each of his first 10 games this season, hitting safely in eight of those … he’s opened the year with a .314 average (11-for-35) with four doubles, one homer, six RBI, seven runs and 10 walks to contribute to a .467 on-base percentage and a .981 OPS.
Since June 12 of last year, Happ is batting .345 (20-for-58) with six doubles, a triple, two homers, seven RBI and a .415 OBP in 15 interleague contests … he’s hit safely in 13 of those games.
Cubs vs. Mariners
The Cubs and Mariners meet for the first time since the 2019 campaign when Chicago swept four-game season series two at both Wrigley Field and Safeco Field … Chicago has won its last seven contests against the Mariners dating to July 31, 2016.
Starting Pitcher – #0 RHP Marcus Stroman (2-0, 0.00)
Last Time Out
Marcus earned the win and threw his second-straight scoreless outing to begin the 2023 season, tossing 6.0 innings against the Rangers … extended his scoreless streak to 12.0 IP to begin the season … set new career high in consecutive outings of throwing 6.0 innings and allowing zero runs (three, dating to October 2, 2022).
Date Opp. Result IP H R ER BB SO PC-S Left
4/7 TEX W, 2-0 6.0 2 0 0 3 6 89-52 1-0
2023 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 2-0 0.00 2 2 12.0 5 0 0 6 14
Road – – – – – – – – – –
AVG vs. LHB: .150 (3-for-20) / AVG vs. RHB: .105 (2-for-19)
Marcus is scheduled to make his third start of the 2023 season today vs. Seattle … has not allowed a run in 12.0 IP to begin the 2023 campaign … dating to Aug. 30, 2022, has allowed one run or fewer in seven of his last nine starts, pitching to a 1.67 ERA (10 ER/54.0 IP) during the run.
Made his third career Opening Day start March 30 vs. Milwaukee (0 ER/6.0 IP), earning the win … improved to 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (3 ER/21.0 IP) in his three career Opening Day starts.
In three Cacuts League starts with the Cubs, went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA (1 ER/10.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts.
Made two starts for Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, posting a 3.00 ERA (3 ER/9.0 IP).
2022 Splits and Season Notes
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
Home 3-5 5.18 12 12 64.1 63 39 37 22 63
Road 3-2 2.06 13 13 74.1 60 22 17 14 56
AVG vs. LHB: .258 (69-for-268) / AVG vs. RHB: .210 (54-for-257)
Sept. 16 vs. Colorado, tossed 5.2 hitless innings to begin the game, his second-longest no-hit bid of his career (6.0 IP, July 24, 2014 vs. Boston; source: Elias).
Faced Toronto for the first time in his career August 30 (1 ER/5.0 IP).
Went 1-0 with a 2.23 ERA (11 ER/44.1 IP) in eight starts from July 9-August 20 … the 2.23 ERA was the fifth-lowest in the MLB during that span (min. 8 GS).
Was on the 15-day injured list, June 10-July 9 with right shoulder inflammation.
Pitched to a 1.80 ERA (6 ER/30.0 IP) in five starts from April 26-May 29, the third-lowest ERA in the N.L. (min. 30 IP) during that span.
Made his Cubs debut on April 10 vs. Milwaukee (1 ER/5.0 IP).
Career Notes
Marcus is in his ninth major league season since debuting in 2014 with Toronto … signed a three-year contract with the Cubs on December 1, 2021.
Has made 30-or-more starts in four of the five full seasons since 2016, tied for the second-most such campaigns in the majors.
Since making his big league debut with Toronto in 2014, his 0.85 home runs allowed per 9.0 innings are second-lowest among all pitchers with at least 190 starts in that span.
His 57.7-percent ground ball rate ranks second-highest since the start of 2014, surpassed by Dallas Keuchel (59.3).
Started two series-clinching wins for the Blue Jays in the postseason … started Game 5 of the 2015 ALDS vs. Texas and the 2016 A.L. Wild Card game … delivered a quality start in both games to help Toronto advance.
