SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 10-game road trip tonight with the 3rd of 4 games against the Kansas City Royals (1-1)…Seattle will also face the Houston Astros (3 G, Aug. 18-20) and Chicago White Sox (3 G, Aug. 21-23) on the trip…the Mariners are 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 won last night’s game by a 10-8 score in 10 innings, snapping a 3-game skid…the Mariners are 9-3 over their last 12, 11-4 over their last 15, 14-5 over their last 19, 17-7 over their last 24 and 26-13 over their last 39 games…the Mariners are 49-19 when scoring at least 4 runs and 15-36 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 34-28 at T-Mobile Park and 30-27 on the road this season…they are 21-20 in day games and 43-35 at night.
- Since July 1 – The Mariners have the 2nd-best record in the Majors since July 1…Seattle is 26-13 (.667) since then, trailing only the Dodgers (.703/26-11), while ranking ahead of Baltimore (.650/26- 14).
- Series-ly Great – Seattle has won 6 of its last 7 overall series and each of its last 5 road series.
- 20 In Julio’s Sights – 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.
- Happy Birthday! – Mariners outfielder Dominic Canzone celebrates his 26th birthday today.
- Programming Note – Sunday’s Mariners at Astros game will be televised live on Peacock.
- Baseball is Life! – Josh Rojas hit his first home run of the season in last night’s game, and is batting .429 (6×14) with a 1.181 OPS over his last 5 games.
LETS GET FRANCE-Y…Ty France recorded his 4th career 4+ hit game in last night’s game, going 4-for-6 with 1 home run and 3 RBI, including driving in the game winning run in the 10th inning…it marked his first 4 hit game since he went 5-for-6 with 1 home run and 5 RBI against Kansas City on April 23, 2022…over his last 17 games (7/28-c), France is batting .339 (20×59) with 6 runs, 4 doubles, 3 home runs and 11 RBI, getting on base at a .427 clip and slugging .559 (.986 OPS)…he has reached base safely in 14-of-17, hit safely in 10-of-17 and recorded 6 multi-hit games (3 3+ hit games) during that span.
TEO TWO-STEP…Teoscar Hernández went 5-for-5 in last night’s game, with 1 double, 1 home run and 3 RBI…it marked the 2nd 5-hit game of his career, after tallying 5 hits on Sept. 13, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay while with Toronto…since July 29, Teo is batting .345 (20×58) with 5 runs, 4 doubles, 2 home runs and 5 RBI, getting on base at a .367 clip and slugging .517 (.884 OPS).
FOUR BOMBS AND 21 YEARS AGO…the Mariners clubbed 4 home runs in the 4th inning of last night’s game, with Eugenio Suárez and Ty France going back-to-back to lead off the inning, matching the franchise record for most home runs in an inning (done 3 times)…the two previous 4 home run innings came on May 2, 2002 at Chicago-AL when Bret Boone and Mike Cameron went back-to-back twice in the 1st inning and Sept. 21, 1996 vs. Oakland when Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez went back-to-back-to-back and Paul Sorrento added a home run later in the 3rd inning.
JULIO NEARING 10 WAR…Julio Rodríguez has accumulated 9.8 Baseball-Reference Wins Above Replacement through his first 248 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.
SUÁREZ AND RODRÍGUEZ: THE GOLD STANDARD ON DEFENSE…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)…Julio Rodríguez leads Major League outfielders with 12 outs above average, ranking ahead of Luis Robert Jr.-CWS (10) and Brenton Doyle-COL (10)…Julio also ranks tied for 8th in the Majors and 4th among outfielders in fielding run value according to Baseball Savant.
WHAT A RELIEF SINCE JULY 1…the Mariners bullpen is 24-21 with a 3.44 ERA (151 ER, 395.0 IP) with 155 walks (13 intentional) and 443 strikeouts this season…they rank 2nd in MLB in ERA, trailing only the Yankees (3.22)…over the team’s last 38 games (7/1-c), Seattle relievers lead the Majors with a 2.48 ERA (34 ER, 123.1 IP), notching 15 saves with 46 walks and 147 strikeouts.
THE ROCK TO OUR ROLL…Luis Castillo is set to make his 25th start of the season in tonight’s game…he is 8-7 with a 3.14 ERA (50 ER, 143.1 IP), 36 walks and 163 strikeouts…among AL starters, Castillo ranks 7th in ERA, 5th in strikeouts, 7th in innings pitched, 3rd in opponent batting average (.210/112×534), 4th in WHIP (1.03) and 6th in SO/9 (10.23)…Castillo is also set to make his 36th start in a Mariners uniform in tonight’s game…through 35 career Mariners starts, his 3.14 ERA ranks 2nd in franchise history, trailing only Joel Piñeiro (3.09 ERA), while his 240 strikeouts are the most in franchise history through a players first 35 games with the club.
POWER SURGE…Since July 22 the Mariners lead the American League with 36 home runs, trailing only Atlanta (47) and Chicago-NL (37) for the MLB lead…during that span the Mariners also rank in the top 10 in the Majors in slugging percentage (T-7th, .466), OPS (7th, .799), average (8th, .260/198×762) and wRC+ (5th, 124)…Cal Raleigh leads Mariners hitters and ranks T-3rd in the Majors during that span with 8 home runs, while Julio Rodríguez (6 HR), Dylan Moore (4 HR), Eugenio Suárez (3) and Ty France (3) have all hit 3+ homers while 13 different Mariners players have left the yard since July 22.
AS YOU MAY KNOW…Teoscar Hernández went 5-for-5 in last night’s win, falling a triple shy of the cycle, while teammate Ty France went 4-for-6, with a home run and a game-winning 2 RBI single in the 10th, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Hernández and France are just the 8th set of teammates in franchise history to tally 4+ hits and a home run in the same game?…they joined Robinson Canó and Mitch Haniger (9/3/17 vs. OAK), Canó and Danny Valencia (5/10/17 at PHI), Kyle Seager and Mark Trumbo (9/9/15), Raúl Ibañez and Richie Sexson (9/25/06 vs. OAK), Yuniesky Betancourt and Ichiro Suzuki (6/7/06 vs. MIN), John Olerud and Alex Rodriguez (6/18/00 at MIN) and Bruce Bochte and Tom Paciorek (7/6/80 at KC).
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 8-7 3.14 24/24 143.1 112 58 50 36 163 23
Home 6-3 2.70 14/14 83.1 58 28 25 20 104 12
Road 2-4 3.75 10/10 60.0 54 30 25 16 59 11
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 56-62 3.52172/1721001.0834436 392 3401100 121
Home 33-29 3.04 89/89 539.1 412206 182 162 627 62
Road 23-33 4.09 83/83 461.2 422230 210 178 473 59
vs. KCR 0-1 3.74 4/4 21.2 22 13 9 8 19 2
ABOUT CASTILLO…
- The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 25th start of the season, 1st against the Royals…he is also making his 173rd Major League start and 5th career start against Kansas City.
- Has been named an All-Star in 2019 and 2022.
- Originally signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants on 12/23/11.
- Made MLB debut on 6/23/17 vs. Washington (w/ Cincinnati)
- Signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 24, 2022 after being acquired in a trade with Cincinnati on July 30, 2022.
LAST TIME OUT…W#8 in last start on 8/11 vs. BAL…tossed 6.0 innings and allowed 1 run on 2 hits (1 HR) and 2 walks with 8 strikeouts…Castillo’s 8 wins this season are tied for the 4th most in a season in his career.
INNINGS EATER…has made 6 starts this season where he has pitched at least 7.0 innings…his 6 starts of 7.0+ innings pitched are the tied for the 3rd most in a season in his career (also: 2022)…his career high in games with 7.0+ IP is 9 which he achieved in 2019 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…set a new season-high in strikeouts with 11 against the Twins on July 19….this marked the 3rd time this season and the 18th time in Castillo’s career that he has recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game (last: 6/6 vs. LAA)…his career-high in strikeouts in a single game is 13 which he achieved on 8/5/19 vs. LAA.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
COMEBACK COMES UP SHORT: The Royals suffered a 10-8 loss in 10 innings to the Mariners last night, a game in which they trailed 7-0 and 8-5, but scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings…Jordan Lyles was tagged for 7 runs—including 4 home runs—in the 4th inning, but Kansas City rallied with a 5-run 5th, including Bobby Witt Jr.’s 2nd grand slam of the season…the Mariners added an insurance run in the 7th before Kansas City scored 3 in the 9th, including a 2-run single by Michael Massey and a game-tying RBI single by Salvador Perez, a play on which Dairon Blanco was thrown out at third to end the inning…Ty France hit a 2-run single with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th, and the Royals went 1-2-3 in the bottom half.
ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced today that right hander Nick Wittgren was optioned to Triple-A Omaha following last night’s game…taking his place on the 26-man roster is right hander John McMillon (No. 58), who the Royals selected from Double-A Northwest Arkansas…to make room on the 40-man roster, right hander Brad Keller, who is on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, was transferred to the 60-day IL.
McMillon has already pitched at three levels this season, going 7-3 with 10 saves, a 2.10 ERA (12 ER in 51.1 IP) and 91 strikeouts (16.0 IP) in 37 appearances with Low-A Columbia, High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he recorded a 0.87 ERA (2 ER in 20.2 IP) and 30 strikeouts in 15 appearances.
He will be the fifth Royal to make his Major League debut this season, following Austin Cox (May 4), Samad Taylor (June 17), James McArthur (June 28) and Alec Marsh (June 30)…McMillon was originally selected by Tampa Bay in the 21st round of the 2016 Draft out of Jasper High School (Texas), but elected to attend Texas Tech University…was selected by Detroit in the 11th round of the 2019 Draft, but elected to return for his senior season…he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Royals on June 23, 2020.
SCORING CHANGE: The league last night announced a scoring change to Monday’s walk-off win vs. Seattle…the game-winning play was originally scored a sac. bunt for Dairon Blanco but has been changed to a bunt single.
HAPPY 816 DAY!: Today, Aug. 16, is celebrated as 816 Day by those in Kansas City, where 816 is the area code…in 2017, former Mayor Sly James declared Aug. 16 a city-wide holiday on which residents are encouraged to wear their Kansas City gear proudly and do something to celebrate the city they love, like going to a Royals game!
The Royals are 29-23 (.558) all-time on Aug. 16, including 6-2 over the last eight seasons since 2015.
STARTING SOMETHING: The Royals will use an opener tonight for the third time in 6 games and for the 11th time this season…they are 4-6 in games in which they use an opener, and those starting pitchers have combined for a 2.93 ERA (5 ER in 15.1 IP) with 9 hits (5.2 H/9) and 6 walks (3.5 BB/9) allowed and 18 strikeouts (10.6 K/9).
James McArthur will make his 1st Major League start tonight, and will become the 18th different starting pitcher used by the Royals this season, breaking a tie with Oakland for the most in the Majors while breaking a tie with the 2006 Royals for the most in franchise history…last season, the Rays led the Majors with 18 different starters and in 2021, the Mets and Dodgers each had 19 different starting pitchers.
McArthur, who threw 17 pitches in a scoreless 9th inning last night, will become the second pitcher in Royals history to start a game on zero days’ rest, following Josh Staumont, who pitched in relief on May 28 this season vs. Washington, and served as the opener the following day on May 29 at St. Louis, when he (1.0 IP) and Mike Mayers (6.0 IP) combined to retire the first 21 batters en route to a 7-0 win.
BOBBY BASEBALL: Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 2nd grand slam in 16 games last night, extending his on-base streak to 16 games since July 28, a stretch in which he leads the American League in extra-base hits (13), total bases (58), RBI (25), slugging percentage (.853) and OPS (1.339), is tied with Jose Altuve for the league lead in hits (30), is tied with Corey Seager and Zack Gelof for the league lead in home runs (7) and ranks 2nd to Altuve in both batting average (.441) and on-base percentage (.486) and is tied for 2nd behind Altuve with 6 steals.
He’s the second player to record at least 30 hits, 7 homers, 25 RBI and 6 stolen bases over any 16-game stretch, joining Hall of Famer Larry Walker, who did it from April 2-22, 1997, the year he won NL MVP.
Witt Jr. is the 10th different Royal to hit multiple grand slams in the same season, and the first since Salvador Perez, who did it in back-to-back games vs. these Mariners from Aug. 26-27, 2021…the single-season club record is 3 grand slams, done by Danny Tartabull in 1988 and Yuniesky Betancourt in 2010.
The home run last night was his 23rd of the season and 21st as a shortstop, matching Jay Bell (1997) for the club record at the position…according to Dave Holtzman, Bobby last night became the second Royal to hit an inside-the-park HR and grand slam in consecutive games, following Tartabull in 1987.
Through 121 team games—and with 41 games remaining—Bobby is on pace for 30 home runs and 45 stolen bases, a combination that has been matched only five times in Major League history, by Bobby Bonds in 1969, Eric Davis in 1987, Barry Bonds in 1990, Álex Rodríguez in 1998 and Mike Trout in 2012.
TURN OUT THE LIGHTS: Tonight marks the last of 9 straight night games for the Royals, a run that began with 4 games last week in Boston, 2 games last weekend vs. St. Louis and the 1st 3 games of this series…starting tomorrow, the Royals will play 4 straight day games, including 3 1:20 p.m. CT starts this weekend at Wrigley Field.
HITS DIFFERENT: Maikel Garcia had 2 hits last night—including a single to begin the bottom of the 1st— to extend his career-high hit streak to 17 games, a stretch in which he’s batting .348 (24-for-69)…it’s the longest active hit streak in the Majors, the longest hit streak by a rookie in Royals history and is the longest streak by a Royal since Whit Merrifield’s franchise-record 31-game streak from Sept. 10, 2018-April 10, 2019.
He has a leadoff hit in 10 of 38 games (26%) in which he’s batted leadoff and is batting .311 in those games.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Royals scored at least 7 runs last night for the ninth time in their last 17 games since July 28 (52.9%), after doing so just 15 times through 104 games (14.4%)…in fact, the Royals lead the American League since July 28 in several offensive categories, including runs per game (6.0), hits (184), total bases (302), batting average (.305), slugging percentage (.501) and OPS (.849)…they rank 2nd in the AL during this stretch with 60 extra-base hits and are tied for 2nd with 25 home runs…they also lead the Majors since July 28 with 30 steals in 17 games, 9 more than the Diamondbacks (21), the next closest team.
VS. SEATTLE: After playing 119 games this season without facing the Mariners once, the Royals are playing them seven times over a 14-day span, 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 won 2 of 3 here at Kauffman Stadium last September, including a 13-12 win in their home finale in which they overcame an 11-2 deficit to match the largest comeback win in franchise history…the Royals have now won 3 of their last 5 games vs. Seattle since last September, after losing 16 of the previous 23 since 2018.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP JAMES McARTHUR (0-0, 13.50)
He is making his 1st Major League start tonight, but he’s made 53 minor league starts, including 6 at Triple-A Omaha this year…in three years at Ole Miss from 2016-18, 40 of his 43 appearances were starts.
James spun a scoreless 9th last night vs. Seattle, and tonight will become the second pitcher in Royals history to start a game on zero days’ rest, following Josh Staumont, who pitched in relief on May 28 this season vs. Washington, and served as the opener the following day on May 29 at St. Louis, when he (1.0 IP) and Mike Mayers (6.0 IP) combined to retire the first 21 batters en route to a 7-0 win.
This marks his third stint with Kansas City and was last recalled on Aug. 4 from Triple-A Omaha, where he had a 3.38 ERA (5 ER in 13.1 IP)
McArthur made his Major League debut on June 28 vs. the Guardians after being recalled from Triple-A Omaha for Jackson Kowar, marking his first stint on a Major League roster…James was acquired from Philadelphia on May 8 for minor league outfielder Junior Marin and cash considerations.
James resides in Castle Rock, Colo., with his wife, Kate, and their two children: daughter, Lennie, and son, Maddox…his father, Greg, played four seasons in Baltimore’s minor league system from 1978-82, and played on the same Double-A Charlotte team as Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. in 1980.
