SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners begin a 10-game road trip tonight with the 1st of 4 games against the Kansas City Royals…Seattle will also face the Houston Astros (3 G, Aug. 18-20) and Chicago White Sox (3 G, Aug. 21-23) on the trip…Seattle is coming off a winning 5-game homestand (3-2) against the San Diego Padres (2-0) and Baltimore Orioles (1-2)…tonight’s game in Kansas City will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Aaron Goldsmith on the call and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr. on the call.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped yesterday’s game to the Orioles by a 5-3 score in 10 innings…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 8-2 over their last 10, 10-3 over their last 13, 13-4 over their last 17, 16-6 over their last 22 and 25-12 over their last 37 games…the Mariners are 48-18 when scoring at least 4 runs and 15-36 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 34-28 at T-Mobile Park and 29-26 on the road this season…they are 21-20 in day games and 42-34 at night.
- Lid Lifters – The Mariners are 23-15 in series openers (11-7 on the road) this season.
- Series-ly Great – Seattle has won 6 of its last 7 overall series and each of its last 5 road series.
- Ju-li-o! – With his next home run, Julio Rodríguez will become the first player in Mariners history with 20+ home runs in each of his first 2 Major League seasons.
- 3 In The Top 5 – The Mariners have 3 pitchers in the top-5 in the AL in WHIP: George Kirby (1.00, 1st), Logan Gilbert (1.02, 3rd) and Luis Castillo (1.03, T-4th).
- Slugging Catchers – Cal Raleigh leads AL catchers with 20 home runs (he led MLB catchers with 27 HR in 2022)…Tom Murphy leads AL catchers with a .538 SLG percentage (min. 100 PA).
BEST IN THE JUNIOR CIRCUIT SINCE JULY…over the Mariners last 37 games (7/1-c), the team has gone 25-12 (.676), the best record in the American League during that span and 2nd-best in the Majors to only the Dodgers (.694/25-11).
WALTER THE WINNER…Logan Gilbert, who registered a career-high 12 strikeouts in his last start on Aug. 8 vs. San Diego, is 5-0 with a 2.58 ERA (13 ER, 45.1 IP) with 5 walks and 45 strikeouts over his last 7 starts (7/4-c)…the Mariners are 7-0 in Gilbert’s last 7 starts…the 26-year-old is 4-0 with a 1.23 ERA (4 ER, 29.1 IP) with 1 walk and 23 strikeouts over his last 4 road starts (6/23-c), best road ERA in the Majors (min. 20 IP) during that span.
WOOD BE WORTH YOUR WHILE…the Mariners pitching staff ranks atop the Major League leaderboard in several categories this season…the Mariners staff leads the Majors in ERA (3.68), fewest runs allowed (473), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.56), WHIP (1.16) and FIP (3.74)…they rank 2nd in MLB in opponent batting average (.230), 2nd in walks-per-9 innings (2.59), 7th in strikeouts-per-9 innings (9.21) and T-4th in home runs-per-9 innings (1.08).
MAYBE WE CAN START AGAIN…the Mariners starting rotation is 40-34 with a 3.81 ERA (281 ER, 663.1 IP) with 151 walks and 637 strikeouts this season…they lead the Majors in WHIP (1.11), walksper-9 innings (2.05) and hits-per-9 innings (7.92), ranking 2nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.22) and 5th in ERA (3.81)…over the team’s last 53 games (6/12-c), Mariners starters lead MLB in ERA (3.27), opponent batting average (.218) and WHIP (1.05)…Seattle starting pitchers have walked 3-or-fewer batters in 32 consecutive contests since July 6 coming into play tonight.
DO YOU RELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER LOVE?…the Mariners bullpen is 23-20 with a 3.45 ERA (148 ER, 386.0 IP) with 151 walks (13 intentional) and 437 strikeouts this season…they rank 2nd in MLB in ERA behind only the Yankees (3.23)…over the team’s last 16 games (7/26-c), Seattle relievers lead the Majors with a 1.63 ERA (9 ER, 49.2 IP), notching 7 saves with 15 walks and 54 strikeouts.
JULIO NEARING 10 WAR…Julio Rodríguez has accumulated 9.8 Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement through his first 246 career games…he is on the verge of joining an exclusive list of players to amass 10.0+ bWAR through their first 2 Major League seasons…Julio would become just the 23rd player in MLB history to appear on that list, which is topped by Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (13.4 bWAR) and Johnny Pesky (13.4)…other players on that list include Hall of Famers Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Wade Boggs, Eddie Mathews, Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize, as well as Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Matt Chapman, Carlos Correa and Ichiro Suzuki.
EUGENIO SUÁREZ: GOLD GLOVE CANDIDATE…Eugenio Suárez leads qualified American League third basemen (min. 1,000 innings) in fielding percentage (.982) this season, committing just 5 errors…Geno ranks ahead of Matt Chapman-TOR (.971) and Alex Bregman-HOU (.960)…Suárez also ranks 2nd in Outs Above Average (7), trailing only Maikel Garcia-KC (11).
FIRST-YEAR BULLPEN STUDS…Justin Topa has a 9-game scoreless streak (7/24-c) and has allowed an earned run in just 1 of his last 19 outings (6/27-c)…during that span, he is 1-0 with 1 save, 4 holds and a 0.57 ERA (1 ER, 15.2 IP) with 3 walks and 14 strikeouts…Gabe Speier also has a 9-game scoreless streak (7/22-c), limiting opponents to 4 hits and no walks with 9 strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work during that stretch…Tayler Saucedo has an 8-game scoreless streak (7/21-c) and
has allowed a run in just 1 of his last 15 outings (6/28-c), going 1-0 with 2 holds and a 0.57 ERA (1 ER, 15.2 IP) with 15 strikeouts in that span…Topa, Speier and Saucedo are all in their first season with the Mariners.
YES HE CAN(ZONE)…Dominic Canzone’s game-tying home run in the bottom of the 9th inning yesterday was his first home run in a Mariners uniform and his 2nd career homer overall (1 with Arizona)…the 25-year-old became the first Mariners player to hit a game-tying homer in the 9th inning or later as his very-first homer with Seattle since Jeff Clement did it on Sept. 26, 2007 in game 2 of a doubleheader vs. Cleveland…it also marked Clement’s first career Major League home run.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…the Mariners begin a 10-game road trip today, but…DID YOU KNOW?… that the Mariners own the best road record in Major League Baseball since the start of July?… during that span, Seattle has gone 13-4 (.765) in 17 road games, ranking ahead of Toronto (.684/13- 6) and Baltimore (.667/14-7) in that stretch…the Mariners have won 5 consecutive road series in that span, taking 2 of 3 at San Francisco (7/3-7/5), 3 of 4 at Houston (7/6-7/9), 2 of 3 at Minnesota (7/24-7/26), 2 of 3 at Arizona (7/28-7/30) and a 4-game sweep at Los Angeles-AL (8/3-8/6) in their most recent road series.
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LOGAN GILBERT
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 10-5 3.66 23/23 137.2 117 59 56 24 138 17
Home 3-4 4.15 11/11 65.0 57 32 30 13 69 11
Road 7-1 3.22 12/12 72.2 60 27 26 11 69 6
vs. KCR 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 29-16 3.74 79/79 442.2 399193 184 101 440 53
Home 9-12 3.94 38/38 212.1 202 97 93 38 213 29
Road 20-4 3.56 41/41 230.1 197 96 91 63 227 24
vs. KCR 1-0 6.19 3/3 16.0 19 11 11 3 13 2
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
- The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 24th start of the season and 1st against Kansas City…he will also make the 80th start of his MLB career and 3rd career start against the Royals.
- 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…W#10 in 23rd start of the season against San Diego on 8/8, tossing 7.0 innings and allowing just 1 hit with 12 strikeouts…his 12 strikeouts are a new career high.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME…is making his 42nd career start on the road…Logan has a 20-4 road record with a 3.56 ERA (230.1 IP, 91 ER) with 63 walks and 227 strikeouts…his .833 away winning percentage is the highest in MLB history among pitchers with at least 30 road games started…since he joined the league in 2021 Gilbert’s 20 away wins are the 7th most in
the Major Leagues.
GOING THE DISTANCE…pitched his first career complete game shutout on 7/4 against San Francisco…this was the Mariners second complete game thrown this year…George Kirby threw his first career complete game on 4/27 at Philadelphia.
7 STRAIGHT STRIKEOUTS…he struck out 7 consecutive batters from the 2nd-4th innings on 5/8 against Texas…the streak of strikeouts tied a franchise record shared by Mark Langston (6/15/84) and Luis Castillo (9/7/22)…Logan finished the game with a season-high 10 strikeouts which is 1 off from his career-high.
K MORE WALK LESS…his 5.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 7th in the Major Leagues and 2nd on the Mariners among qualified pitchers…he trails only George Kirby who has a 8.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
FOURTH TIME AROUND…had a perfect game through 6.0 innings during his outing on 5/8 at Texas before allowing a leadoff single in the 7th…became the 4th
Mariners pitcher this season to carry a no-hitter into the 6th inning…he joined Luis
Castillo, Bryce Miller, and Easton McGee.
STRIKEOUT STREAK…he has recorded at least 6 strikeouts in 13 starts this season…in each of his first 7 starts, Gilbert recorded at least 6 strikeouts…this marked the first time in his career that he has pitched 7 straight games with 6+ strikeouts…the 7-game streak is tied for the 9th longest streak among starting pitchers in the Majors this season.
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has allowed 146 baserunners through his first 23 starts this season which is the fewest in the Major Leagues among pitchers who have made at least 23 starts this season…his 146 baserunners allowed are the 2nd fewest through a pitcher’s first 23 starts in a season in franchise history…he also ranks 1st on the list with 145 baserunners allowed through 23 starts in 2021.
ON A ROLL…Logan’s 138 strikeouts so far this season ranks second among Mariners starting pitchers…he trails only Luis Castillo (155)…he recorded 39 strikeouts in May which is a new career-high for the month…his 34 strikeouts in March/ April were also a career high to start the season.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
SPLIT WITH ST. LOUIS: Kansas City’s comeback bid came up short in Saturday night’s 5-4 loss to the Cardinals, forcing the Royals to settle for a 2-game split with their intrastate rivals…Cole Ragans was charged with 4 runs on 7 hits and 4 walks in 5.0 innings and suffered his 1st loss with the Royals…Nelson Velázquez hit a 2-run homer in the 3rd to mark the Royals only runs off Steven Matz…the Royals scored once in the 8th and 9th innings and brought the go-ahead run to the plate in both frames, but Kyle Isbel—who had an RBI single in the 8th—grounded into a double play to end the game in the 9th, stranding the tying run on second base.
The loss snapped the Royals 7-game home win streak, which was their longest in five years, since 2018.
ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced yesterday that outfielder Edward Olivares was optioned to Triple-A Omaha after Saturday night’s game…in a corresponding move, outfielder Drew Waters was reinstated from the Bereavement List…additionally, the Royals claimed outfielder Bubba Thompson off waivers from Texas and optioned him to Triple-A Omaha…Thompson, 25, was selected by Texas in the 1st round (26th overall) in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft, and was ranked as the league’s No. 48 prospect by Baseball Prospectus prior to the 2019 season…he hit .304 (105-for-346) with an .829 OPS and 49 stolen bases in 80 games at Triple-A Round Rock last season, and made his Major League debut last August…in 92 games in the Majors over the last two seasons, he’s hit .242 (54-for-223), has 22 stolen bases and has started at all three outfield positions.
REHABBING ROYALS: The Royals announced today that right hander Brad Keller will begin a rehab assignment tonight in the Arizona Complex League…Keller, who last pitched with the Royals on May 15 due to a right shoulder impingement, was returned from his previous rehab assignment on July 27…left hander Jake Brentz is expected to begin his rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Wednesday… Brentz hasn’t pitched since April 29, 2022, after which he underwent season-ending elbow surgery.
ROYAL RUNDOWN: Despite Saturday night’s loss to St. Louis, the Royals are 9-6 (.600) in their last 15 games since July 28, tied with Tampa Bay for the 5th-best record in the American League during that time, behind Seattle (11-4), Baltimore (11-5), Texas (10-5) and Houston (10-6), and have outscored opponents 87-71 (+16).
Following yesterday’s off day—the first known originally scheduled off day on a Sunday in Royals history—the Royals return to action tonight with the 1st of 4 games vs. the Mariners…after this series, the Royals have only three homestands—including 18 home games—remaining on their 2023 schedule.
VS. SEATTLE: After playing 119 games this season without facing the Mariners once, the Royals will play them seven times over the next 14 days, including a 4-game series this week at Kauffman Stadium and a 3-game set in Seattle that will cap the upcoming 10-day road trip…the Royals lost the season series vs. the Mariners in 2022, 4-2, but in their last meeting in Kansas City’s home finale last Sept. 25, the Royals overcame an 11-2 deficit to win 13-12 over the playoff-bound Mariners, matching their largest comeback in franchise history.
MIKEY LIKEY: Maikel Garcia singled in the 1st and 2nd innings Friday night before exiting with left upper body discomfort, and was not in the lineup Saturday night…he enters tonight with a career-best 15-game hit streak, during which he’s batting .333 (20-for-60)…it’s the longest active streak in the Majors and is tied with David DeJesus (twice in 2004) and Mike Moustakas (2011) for the longest hit streak by a rookie in Royals history…it’s also the longest by any Royal since Whit Merrifield’s 15-game run from June 29-July 17, 2019…prior to that, the last longer streak by a Royal was Merrifield’s franchise-record 31-game streak from Sept. 10, 2018-April 10, 2019.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Royals lost Saturday night despite out-hitting the Cardinals, 11-9, continuing a 15-game stretch in which they’ve been one of the hottest-hitting teams in the league…in fact, they lead the American League since July 28 in several offensive categories, including hits (155), total bases (264), extra-base hits (57), batting average (.294), slugging percentage (.501) and OPS (.839)…they also rank 2nd in the AL with 5.8 runs per game and are tied for 3rd with 23 home runs…the Royals lead the Majors since July 28 with 29 stolen bases in 15 games, 9 more than the Diamondbacks (20), the next closest team.
Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded a hit in 13 of his last 14 games since July 28, a stretch in which he leads the American League in total bases (47) and RBI (20), is tied for the lead in extra-base hits (10), ranks 2nd in hits (25), slugging percentage (.797) and OPS (1.265) and 3rd in batting average (.424).
After entering as a defensive replacement in his Royals debut, Nelson Velázquez has homered in his 1st 2 starts with the Royals, joining Calvin Pickering (2004) and Michael A. Taylor (2021) as the only players in franchise history to homer in each of his 1st 2 starts with the team…including his brief time with the Cubs, Velázquez has 10 hits in 16 big league games this season, including 7 for extra bases and 5 HR.
MJ Melendez has a hit in 22 of 27 games since the All-Star break, during which he’s batting .283 (28- for-99) with 12 extra-base hits—including 6 HR—for an .872 OPS…he enters tonight with a career-high tying 8-game hit streak, during which he’s batting .379 (11-for-29) with 6 extra-base hits for a 1.136 OPS.
Michael Massey is batting .260 (19-for-73) with 6 HR and 14 RBI over his last 20 games with an .869 OPS.
Since Freddy Fermin’s average fell to .206 on June 19, he’s batting .370 (37-for-100) in 29 games (24 starts), which leads the AL (min. 100 at-bats) and ranks 3rd in the Majors behind Cody Bellinger (.394) and Willson Contreras (.387)…he has 12 multi-hit efforts, 14 extra-base hits and 19 RBI during this stretch with a .630 slugging pct. and 1.015 OPS, while starting half of the team’s games at catcher.
Kyle Isbel is batting .314 (22-for-70) with a .500 slugging percentage and .819 OPS in his last 20 games.
THE RUNNING ROYALS: In 28 games since the All-Star break, the Royals lead the Majors with 39 steals in 44 attempts for an 88.6% success rate, which ranks 4th in the Majors…their 39 steals since the break are 7 more than the Cubs (32) for the Majors lead, and are 16 more than the Guardians (23) for the American League lead.
After recording only 40 stolen bases in 56 games through the end of May, the Royals rank 2nd in the Major Leagues and lead the American League with 75 steals in 63 games since June 1…for the season, they rank 4th in the Majors with 115 steals, trailing Cincinnati (134), Tampa Bay (129) and Arizona (122).
Nine different Royals players have recorded at least 5 steals this season, which trails only the Reds, who have 10 players with at least 5 steals…Kansas City’s leading base stealer is Bobby Witt Jr., who ranks 4th in the Majors with 34 steals behind Ronald Acuña Jr. (55), Esteury Ruiz (46) and Corbin Carroll (36).
Dairon Blanco has 9 steals since the break, 1 behind Willi Castro (10) for the American League lead.
ARMS RACE: The Royals lead the Majors with 28 outfield assists this season, which are 6 more than the Tigers, Cardinals, Rockies and Red Sox (22 each), and are 5 more than their total from all of last season… the Royals are attempting to lead the Major Leagues in outfield assists for the first time since 2011 and 2012, when they had 51 in both seasons, which were the most by any team since Cleveland had 51 in 1993.
Nine different Royals have recorded an outfield assist this year, led by MJ Melendez’s 7 outfield assists.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP BRADY SINGER (8-8, 5.05)
BRADY SINGER is making his team-high 24th start of the season and 87th of his career tonight vs. Seattle…it’s his 3rd career start (4th appearance) vs. the Mariners… Singer is in his fourth season in the Majors and was selected by Kansas City in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the Univ. of Florida.
THE LAST TIME: Singer earned his team-best 8th win in last Tuesday night’s 9-3 victory at Fenway Park, in which he allowed 3 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in 6.2 innings, with 4 strikeouts…he retired 12 of 14 through the 4th, before Boston scored 2 runs on 3 hits in the 5th on a solo home run by Adam Duvall and an RBI single by Connor Wong, snapping Brady’s season-high scoreless streak at 13.0 innings…he issued a walk to Alex Verdugo to begin the 7th but got 2 outs before exiting in favor of Angel Zerpa, who allowed the inherited runner to score on a double by Jarren Duran.
The Royals have supported Singer with at least 8 runs in 4 of his last 7 starts.
I’M STILL STANDING: Following a breakout season in 2022, Brady has struggled through ups and downs this year, as he’s been charged with at least 4 earned runs in 10 of his 23 starts, something that happened in only 5 of his 24 starts last season… the Royals, predictably, are 2-8 in games that he allows at least 4 earned runs…but on the flip side, he’s held opponents to 3 earned runs or fewer in his other 13 starts, in which the Royals are 9-4…after going 2-4 with an 8.82 ERA (33 ER in 33.2 IP) and 7 home runs allowed in his 1st 7 starts of the season, Singer is 6-4 with a 3.71 ERA (39 ER in 94.2 IP) with only 6 home runs allowed (0.6 HR/9) in his last 16 starts.
CHANGE OF TUNE: Brady has thrown 42 changeups in 5 starts since the All-Star break, which have accounted for 8.6% of his pitch count during that time…he’s 3-0 with a 2.94 ERA (11 ER in 33.2 IP) over those 5 starts, and his changeup has helped keep left-handed batters off balance, as he’s held them to a .125 average (10-for-80)… in 18 starts before the break, Singer threw 88 changeups, which accounted for 5.4% of his pitch count…he went 5-8 with a 5.80 ERA (61 ER in 94.2 IP) during that time, and left handers hit him to the tune of a .292 average (64-for-219) and .862 OPS.
Brady’s .198 opponents’ average (24-for-121) since the break ranks 5th in MLB, and he’s one of 11 pitchers with at least 3 wins and no losses since the break.
SONG OF THE SOUTH(PAWS): Opponents have stacked their lineups with lefthanded batters vs. Singer, who is mostly a two-pitch pitcher, as his sinker and slider account for 93.5% of his pitches…of the 556 batters Singer has faced, 337 of them (60.6%) have been left handers, which is the highest rate in the Majors (min. 500 BF)…as noted above, his increased changeup usage in 5 starts since the break has helped him hold left handers to a .125 average (10-for-80) and .395 OPS…eighty pitchers have faced at least 50 left handers since the break, and only Corbin Burnes has held them to a lower average (.083) than Singer’s mark of .125.
WALK THIS WAY: Brady has pitched at least 5.0 innings without issuing a walk in 15 of his 47 starts since last year, which 1 start behind George Kirby and Aaron Nola (16 each) for the most in the Majors during that time…but on the flip side, Singer has issued multiple walks in 14 of his 23 starts this season, which are 6 more than his total of multi-walk starts from all of last season, when he made 24 starts…he’s walked 40 in 128.1 innings this year for a 2.8 BB/9, already 5 more than his walk total in 153.1 innings last season (35), when he had a career-best 2.1 BB/9.
CALL ME MAYBE: In 47 starts since his recall on May 17 of last year, Brady has induced a called strike on 879 of 4,489 pitches (19.6%), 4th most in the Majors behind Logan Webb (944), Aaron Nola (882) and Gerrit Cole (882)…since his 2020 debut season, Singer’s called-strike rate of 20.4% ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 5,000 pitches), trailing only Adam Wainwright (20.8%).
CAN’T TOUCH THIS: Singer has recorded 450 strikeouts in 474.1 innings since his 2020 debut for an 8.5 K/9, which is the best rate in Royals history among pitchers who’ve started at least 70 games, ahead of Ian Kennedy (8.4), Jakob Junis (8.1) and Danny Duffy (8.1)…his 450 strikeouts are the 2nd most by a Royals pitcher through 89 career appearances, 5 behind Royals Hall of Famer Steve Busby, who had 455.
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: Brady has had success in his career following a Royals loss, and he’ll attempt to be the stopper again after Kansas City’s 5-4 defeat Saturday night…in 55 career appearances following a Royals loss, Singer is 19-14 with a 3.91 ERA (128 ER in 294.2 IP), and 6 of his 8 wins this season have followed a Royals loss.
HELLO, SEATTLE: In 3 career appearances (2 starts) vs. Seattle, Singer is 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA (2 ER in 13.2 IP) and .167 opponents’ average (8-for-48)…in his most recent start vs. the Mariners last Sept. 23, Brady earned a 5-1 win and allowed 1 run—a solo homer by Cal Raleigh—in 7.0 innings, with 8 strikeouts.
TAKE ME HOME: Singer is 5-4 with a 4.12 ERA (36 ER in 78.2 IP) in 14 starts at Kauffman Stadium this season…his ERA is more than 2 points lower at home than it is on the road, where he’s 3-4 with a 6.52 ERA (36 ER in 49.2 IP)…Brady has held opponents to 2 runs or fewer in 9 of his 14 home starts, including 7 of the last 8, a stretch in which he’s 4-1 with a 1.98 ERA (11 ER in 50.0 IP) and only 2 home runs allowed in 50.0 innings (0.4 HR/9).
The Royals have won each of Singer’s last 4 home starts since the beginning of July, during which they’ve scored 27 runs in his 28.0 innings.
