SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 7-game road trip (4-1) tonight with the 3rd of 4 games against the Houston Astros (2-0)…the Mariners are coming off a series win at San Francisco (2-1) and have won back-to-back series…tonight’s game will be televised live on FOX with Joe Davis, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal 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 defeated the Astros by a 10-1 score last night…the Mariners have won 4 of 5 to begin the road trip and 6 of their last 7 since July 1…Seattle is 35-17 when scoring at least 4 runs and 9-26 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 24-20 at T-Mobile Park and 20-23 on the road this season…they are 13-18 in day games and 31-25 at night.
- That’s a Winning Trip – The Mariners clinched a winning road trip with last night’s victory.
- Programming Note – Tonight’s ballgame will air live on FOX with Joe Davis, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal on the call.
- Christmas In July – Seattle is 38-18 in July games since 2021, including 6-1 so far this season.
- Hold Me Closer – RHP Paul Sewald ranks 7th in the AL in saves (16)…Sewald is 2-0 with 16 saves and a 3.31 ERA (13 ER, 35.1 IP) with 11 walks and 49 strikeouts in 36 appearances this season.
- Roster Move – Yesterday RHP José Rodríguez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma…the Mariners Major League, 40-man roster is now at 38 players.
WOO WOO WOO, YOU KNOW IT…tonight’s starter Bryan Woo has been excellent over his last 5 starts, posting a 2.36 ERA (7 ER, 26.2 IP) with 7 walks and 35 strikeouts…the rookie right-hander tossed his first career quality start in his last outing on July 3 at San Francisco against his hometown team.
CAMPBELL MAKES MLB DEBUT…right-handed reliever Isaiah Campbell made his Major League debut last night… Campbell became the 6th player to make his Major League debut with Seattle this season, joining RHP Ty Adcock, RHP Bryce Miller, RHP Juan Then, RHP Bryan Woo and INF José Caballero.
IN THE BIG INNING…the Mariners scored 9 runs in the top of the 4th last night, their highest-scoring inning since scoring 9 runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning on Sept. 2, 2016 vs. the Angels…in last night’s 4th, Seattle scored 9 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks and 1 hit-by-pitch, including a Mike Ford 3-run double and 2 hits from Kolten Wong, including both an RBI single and RBI double…it marked Seattle’s highest-scoring inning on the road since scoring 9 runs in the 7th inning on June 2, 2016 at San Diego.
WHAT THE ROCK SAYS…Luis Castillo is 6-6 with a 2.85 ERA (34 ER, 107.1 IP) with 28 walks and 117 strikeouts in 18 starts this season…among American League pitchers, Castillo ranks 6th in ERA, 7th in strikeouts, 7th in WHIP (1.04) and 3rd in opponent batting average (.209)…the right-hander has gone at least 6.0 innings in all 18 of his starts this season, and 6.0+ innings in 11 of 18.
KING GEORGE…George Kirby twirled a gem against the Astros on Thursday, limiting them to one run over 6.2 innings of work…Kirby registered his 14th quality start this season, tied for most in the Majors with Marcus Stroman-CHC…Kirby is 8-7 with a 3.09 ERA (37 ER, 107.2 IP) with 10 walks and 89 strikeouts in 17 starts this season…he leads the Majors in strikeout-to-walk ratio (8.90) and walks-per-9 innings (0.8)… George has walked more than one batter in just one of 17 outings (2 BB, 7/1 vs. TB) this season.
JULIO EN JULIO…center fielder Julio Rodríguez is the third Mariners player to make multiple All-Star teams at age 22-or-younger, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (3x) and Alex Rodriguez (3x)…Julio has hit safely in 7 consecutive games (7/1-c), batting .394 (13×33) with 4 runs, 4 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 walk and 2 stolen bases, while getting on base at a .412 clip, slugging .515 with a .927 OPS in that stretch…between July last season and so far this year, J-Rod is batting .306 (33×108) with 16 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 25 RBI, 4 stolen bases and 7 walks with an .896 OPS in 26 July games.
ROTATIONAL PULL…the Mariners starting rotation over the team’s last 23 games (6/12-c) leads the Majors in ERA (2.54), ranking ahead of next-closest Philadelphia (3.05) by a wide margin…during that span, Seattle starters are 10-6 with a 2.54 ERA (39 ER, 138.0 IP) with 38 walks and 122 strikeouts…overall this season, Seattle ranks 2nd in quality starts (45) to Minnesota (46).
MURPHY’S LAW…catcher Tom Murphy has been a force at the plate for most of the season, batting .353 (24×68) over his last 23 games (4/27-c) after a slow start in which he batted .077 over his first 8 games… since April 27, the Mariners backstop has 8 doubles, 5 home runs, 10 RBI and 8 walks, getting on base at a .416 clip, slugging .691 with a 1.107 OPS.
AS YOU KNOW…Mike Ford had another monster game last night, reaching base 5 times and going 3-for-3 with 3 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 2 walks…over his last 12 games (6/24-c), Ford is batting .421 (16×38) with 8 runs, 3 doubles, 4 homers, 11 RBI and 5 walks with a 1.304 OPS, and…
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Kolten Wong reached base 4 times last night, going 2-for-3 with a double, 2 RBI and 2 walks, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that it marked the first time in over 20 years that the Mariners 8-hitter and 9-hitter both reached base 4+ times in a game?…Ford and Wong were the first 8-9 combo to do it since Dan Wilson (batting 8th) and Mike Cameron (9th) both reached base 4 times on Sept. 12, 2002 in a 7-3 loss at Texas, and lastly…DID YOU ALSO KNOW?…it was just the 4th time in franchise history it’s happened?…Ford/Wong joined Wilson/Cameron, David Bell and Dan Wilson (Aug. 8, 2001) and Bob Kearney and Spike Owen (May 1, 1984) as 8/9 hitters to reach base 4+ times in a game.
MARINERS STARTER
RHP BRYAN WOO
2023/Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 1-1 4.08 6/6 28.2 25 14 13 8 39 4
Home 0-0 2.53 2/2 10.2 9 4 3 1 16 2
Road 1-1 5.00 4/4 18.0 16 10 10 7 23 2
vs. HOU 0-0 -.– 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ABOUT BRYAN WOO… • The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 7th Major League start and 1st career start against Houston. • Selected by Seattle in the 6th round (174th overall) of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly Univer- sity…signed by Mariners scout Chris Hom. • Spent 3 seasons at Cal Poly before being drafted, mak- ing 31 appearances (6 GS) for the Mustangs. • Did not pitch in 2021 while recovering from right elbow surgery.
LAST TIME OUT…ND in his 6th Major League start at San Francisco, tossed 6.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 3 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts.
HIGH QUALITY…recorded his first career quality start in his last outing at San Francisco…his 6.0 innings pitched were a new career high.
AMONG MARINERS GREATS…Woo’s 39 strikeouts are tied for the 2nd most in Mariners history in a pitcher’s first 6 career starts, he trails only Félix Hernández (45) and is tied with Michael Pineda.
IN THE WIN COLUMN…Woo earned his 1st career win on 6/22 against New York-AL…he carried a no hitter into the 6th inning before giving up a 1-out single to Gelyber Torres…he became the 5th Mariners pitcher this season to carry a no-hitter into the 6th inning (also: Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, Easton McGee).
CAREER-HIGH PUNCHIES…recorded a new career high in strikeouts in his outing against the White Sox on 6/16 with 9…his Minor League career high is 11 which he achieved on 8/19/22 against Vancouver.
IN THE ZONE…has only allowed 8 walks while striking out 39 batters in 6 starts…his 4.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 3rd among Mariners starting pitchers this season.
NEXT MAN UP…Woo is making his 7th career start in place of Marco Gonzales who was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left forearm strain on June 3.
LAST DOUBLE-A START…W#3 in last start on 5/28 with Double-A Arkansas vs. Frisco…allowed 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts over 5.0 innings…threw 95 pitches, a season high.
WOO WHO?…Woo is ranked as the Mariners #6 overall prospect according to MLB.com and Seattle’s #7 overall prospect according to Baseball America.
PROSPECTING…became the 2nd top 10 Mariners prospect to debut this season…teammate Bryce Miller, who was ranked as the Mariners 2nd overall prospect by MLB.com, also debuted earlier this season.
POW POW…was named Mariners Minor League Pitcher of the Month in April and May while pitching for Double-A Arkansas…Woo was 0-0 with a 1.59 ERA (3 ER, 17.0 IP) with 27 strikeouts and 8 walks in 4 April starts and was 3-2 with a 2.33 ERA (7 ER, 27.0 IP) with 32 strikeouts and 8 walks in 5 starts in May.
ALMOST PERFECT…took a perfect game into the 7th inning on 5/11 vs. Northwest Arkansas before it was broken up…finished his start with 7.0 innings allowing 2 hits on just 74 pitches.
DOUBLE DIGITS…struck out a season-high 10 batters on May 17 at Wichita…allowed 1 run on 7 hits (1 HR) and 1 walk.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will go for their 50th win of the season tonight as they try to snap a mini two-game losing streak against their division rival Mariners…on the mound tonight for the Astros will be their Opening Day starter and the 2023 All-Star LHP Framber Valdez, who’s returning to the rotation after missing his last start with right ankle soreness…he’ll be opposed by rookie RHP Bryan Woo, who’s facing the Astros for the first time in his young career.
FRAMTASTIC: All-Star LHP Framber Valdez has once again been one of the top hurlers in all of baseball in 2023 as he enters tonight’s start sporting the best ERA in the AL (2.49) and the second-best in the Majors, trailing only Atlanta’s RHP Bryce Elder (2.45)…among AL starters, he also ranks first in opponent OPS (.606) and second in home runs per 9.0 (0.60).
VS. THE MARINERS: This series is the Mariners first trip back to Houston since Games 1 and 2 of the 2022 American League Division Series, which was won by the Astros in a clean sweep… all three games in that series were nail-biters, with the two in Houston being decided by late-inning home runs by LF Yordan Alvarez…since that series, the Astros and Mariners did play a three-game series in Seattle earlier this season, with the Astros losing two of three from May 5-7.
THE 2023 DRAFT: The 2023 MLB Draft will commence tomorrow night at 6 p.m. CT with the first two rounds being announced that evening…the Astros will make two picks Sunday night, their first-round (#28 overall) and second-round (#61) selections…the draft will pick up on Monday (rounds 3-10) and conclude on Tuesday (rounds 11-20)…the Astros will make their Director of Amateur Scouting Kris Gross available via Zoom after each day of the draft…additionally, the Astros will make every effort to make their first round pick available via Zoom on Sunday night.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: A nine-run 4th inning for the Mariners doomed the Astros in their 10-1 loss last night…the offense produced five hits on the night, four singles and a double… the Astros used six pitchers on the night, including RHP Ryne Stanek, who tossed 2.0 scoreless frames.
OUT OF PLACE: With last night’s contest out of hand, the Astros turned to OF Bligh Madris to pitch the 9th…Madris allowed just one run in the outing, which was his first pitching appearance of his MLB career…this marked the 24th time in club history for a position player to pitch and the first time since IF Robel Garcia tossed an inning on June 29, 2021 vs. BAL.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have recalled RHP Joel Kuhnel (#60) from Triple A Sugar Land…he takes the roster spot of RHP Ronel Blanco, who was optioned to Triple A today.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: The Astros are one of three teams in the Majors with three players with 55-plus RBI in LF Yordan Alvarez, 3B Alex Bregman and RF Kyle Tucker (also, LAD, TEX)…this marks the fifth time in club history for the Astros to have three players with 55-plus RBI prior to the All-Star Break and the first time since the 2001 season (Moises Alou, Jeff Bagwell, Lance Berkman)…the five times this has occurred in Astros history: 2023, 2001, 1998, 1996, 1973, 1972.
THIEVERY: Since June 9, the date the Astros placed LF Yordan Alvarez on the IL, the Astros have 32 stolen bases in their 26 games, which ranks second in the Majors in that time span, trailing only the Reds (44)…prior to Alvarez’s IL stint, the Astros had 32 stolen bases in their first 63 games.
NOTHING FINER THAN YAINER: Rookie C Yainer Diaz has moved into an everyday role since the injury to LF Yordan Alvarez, starting 23 of the Astros 26 games since June 9…Diaz has responded to hit .271 (26×96) with five doubles, seven homers, 14 RBI and an .824 OPS in his 24 total games since that date…for the season, Diaz ranks first among AL rookies in slugging (.509) and is fourth in home runs (10) (min. 175 PA).
INJURY UPDATES: The Astros have been working through several injuries…below are a few updates on sidelined players:
- 2B Jose Altuve, who was placed on the 10-day IL on Thursday (retro to July 4), has been diagnosed with a left oblique strain… Altuve is hoping to return shortly after the All-Star break.
- LF Yordan Alvarez (right oblique strain) hit BP on the field yesterday for the first time since the injury…depending on his recovery today, he may hit in tomorrow’s simulated game on the field…Alvarez was originally placed on the IL on June 9 and was given a timetable of four-plus weeks for his return.
- OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery) has been shut down from all baseball activities…prior to this, Brantley had progressed to taking BP and throwing and running on the field.
- RHP José Urquidy (right shoulder discomfort) is scheduled to throw a 2.0-inning simulated game tomorrow morning (timing is TBD)…should all go well, he could go on a rehab assignment next week.
ROOKIE RUMBLE: Of the nine starters the Astros have used this season, four are rookies, including each of the club’s last three starters…Houston has received 35 starts from rookie pitchers, ranking third in the Majors behind Oakland (45) and Cleveland (40)…all nine starting pitchers used by the Astros in 2023 are products of their minor league system.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: LHP FRAMBER VALDEZ
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 7-6 2.49 16 16 105.0 86 34 29 24 110
CAREER: 48-29 3.23 114 92 619.1 521 250 222 233 607
vs. SEA W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2022: 1-0 3.95 2 2 13.2 13 6 6 2 15
CAREER: 5-0 1.94 9 7 51.0 33 12 11 20 53
LAST START – 6/27 AT STL: allowed 4 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts in 6.0 innings…in the month of June, he recorded a 2.73 ERA (10ER/33IP) with 9 walks, 33 strikeouts, a 1.06 WHIP, a .218 opponent batting average and 3 quality starts…missed his last start due to right ankle soreness.
ALL-STAR GAME: was selected to his second career All-Star Game…was also selected to the All-Star Game in 2022.
- made his first career All-Star Game roster in 2022 after being selected through the player vote to Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium…picked up the winning decision in a 3-2 victory for the American League, after tossing a perfect 3rd inning in relief…was the 1st Astros pitcher and 5th Dominican-born pitcher to collect ASG winning decision and 1st since Pedro Martinez in ‘99. SOUTHPAW: for his career, he’s recorded a 3.23 ERA (222ER/619.1IP), which is the 4th lowest among left-handed starting pitchers since 2018 behind only LAD Clayton Kershaw (2.79), ATL Max Fried (3.02) and SD Blake Snell (3.23)…it is also the lowest ERA among AL starting left-hander pitchers since 2018.
COMPLETE GAME: on May 21 vs. OAK, Valdez delivered the 2nd complete-game shutout of his career, striking out 7 batters while allowing 4 hits and no walks through 9 scoreless innings…was the 1st complete-game shutout from an Astros pitcher since Valdez’s 1st career complete-game shutout on Sept. 12, 2022 at DET…was the 5th complete-game shutout from an Astros pitcher since 2017 with Valdez and Justin Verlander tossing 2 of them (May 16, 2018 at LAA, Sept. 1, 2019 at TOR), and Gerritt Cole contributing the other on May 4, 2018…were the fewest hits allowed in Astros complete-game shutout since Verlander’s no-hitter on Sept 1, 2019 at TOR…the last Astros pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout without issuing a walk was Dallas Keuchel on May 30, 2015 vs. CWS…is 1 of 5 AL pitchers to throw a complete-game shutout this season.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: in the AL, he ranks 1st in ERA (2.49), 1st in opponent OPS (.606), 9th in WHIP (1.05) 10th in opponent batting average (.225), 11th in innings (105.0) and 11th in strikeouts (110).
REVERSE, REVERSE: has posted reverse splits to open his ‘23 campaign, holding right-handed hitters to a .221 batting average (73×330) while lefties are batting .245 (13×53)…traditionally, has been extremely tough on left-handed hitters, holding them to a .209 average (91×436) and a .613 OPS throughout his career, allowing just seven homers.
VS. SEA: will make his 10th career appearance (8th start) against the Mariners in his career.
- he’s recorded a 1.94 ERA (11ER/51IP) with 53 strikeouts, a 1.04 WHIP, a .188 opponent batting average and a 5-0 record…has tossed 5 consecutive quality starts against the Mariners dating back to Aug. 14, 2020.
STAYING GROUNDED: among AL starters this year, ranks 1st in groundball percentage (57.6)…directly ahead of teammate RHP Hunter Brown (54.9).
- owns a career 65.1% groundball percentage, which ranks as the lowest percentage in the Majors since 2018 (min. 300 IP)…SF RHP Logan Webb is the next-closest over that span at 57.4 %… since ground ball percentage started being tracked in 1987, Valdez career ground ball percentage is the highest ever posted by a starting pitcher (min. 300 IP).
OPENING DAY STARTER: made his 2nd consecutive (and career) Opening Day start…is the first Astros pitcher to make back-to-back Opening Day starts since Justin Verlander (2018-21).
- was the third LHP in Astros history to make back-to-back Opening Day starts, joining Dallas Keuchel (2015-17) and Dave Roberts (1973-74)
