SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 10-game road trip (4-1) tonight with the 2nd of 3 games against the Houston Astros (1-0)…Seattle is coming off a series win against the Kansas City Royals (3-1)…following the current series in Houston, the Mariners will close out the road trip at the Chicago White Sox (3 G, Aug. 21-23)…tonight’s game in Houston will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Ryan Rowland-Smith 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 yesterday’s series opener by a 2-0 score, extending their winning streak to 4 games…the Mariners are 12-3 over their last 15, 14-4 over their last 18, 17-5 over their last 22, 20-7 over their last 27 and 29-13 over their last 42 games…the Mariners are 51-19 when scoring at least 4 runs and 15-36 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 34-28 at T-Mobile Park and 33-27 on the road this season…they are 22-20 in day games and 45-35 at night.
- Since July 1 – The Mariners have the 2nd-best record in the Majors since July 1…Seattle is 29-13 (.690) since then, trailing only the Dodgers (.700/28-12), while ranking ahead of Baltimore (.643/27- 15), Atlanta (.625/25-15) and Houston (.610/25-16).
- vs. Houston – Seattle is 6-2 vs. Houston this season and would take the season series with another victory over the Astros in the 5 remaining matchups this year…Seattle has not won the season series vs. Houston since 2018 (10-9)…Seattle has already secured a winning record at Minute Maid Park this season (4-1) for the first time since 2018 (7-2).
- Rising Tide – The Mariners are a season-high 12 games above .500 with a record of 67-55.
- Series-ly Great – Seattle has a chance to win it’s 7th consecutive road series with a win tonight… Seattle has won 7 of its last 8 overall series and each of its last 6 road series.
- Programming Note – Tomorrow’s game in Houston will be televised and streamed live on Peacock.
EVERYBODY IS WATCHING THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez went 4-for-5 in last night’s game, recording his 3rd-consective game with 4+ hits…he is batting .813 (13×16) over his last 3 games with 3 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 RBI and 4 stolen bases with a 2.125 OPS in that span…he is batting .467 (28×60) with a 1.308 OPS over his last 13 G (8/4-c) and is batting .339 (61×180) with a .945 OPS over his last 41 G (7/1-c).
- Julio is the first player in Mariners history to notch 4+ hits in 3 straight games and is just the 13th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat (last: Charlie Blackmon, 3 G, June 13-15, 2019)… only 1 player in Major League history has recorded 4+ hits in 4 straight games: Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins, 4 G, June 30-July 3, 1925.
- Julio recorded a hit in 9 consecutive at bats (Aug. 16-18), tying the franchise record for most consecutive hits, joining Raul Ibañez (Sept. 22-23, 2004) and Danny Valencia (June 2-4, 2017).
- Julio is the 7th player in MLB history to record 13+ hits in a 3-game span (last: Marcus Giles-ATL, 13×15, July 27-29, 2003)…Milt Stock-BRO holds the all-time record for most hits in a 4-game span with 16 (16×23, June 30 – July 3, 1925).
- Julio is has hit 49 career home runs through 151 career home runs…with 1 home run in his next 17 games, he would become the fastest player in Mariners history to reach 50 career home runs, chasing Alex Rodriguez (50 HR, 269 G) and Cal Raleigh (50 HR, 271 G).
NO RUNS FOR YOU…the Mariners shutout the Astros by a 2-0 score in last night’s game, recording their first shutout with 3 strikeouts-or-less since a 9-0 shutout win at Houston on Sept. 19, 2018…last night’s shutout was the 12th shutout of the season for the Mariners, tied for 3rd-most in MLB behind only Atlanta (14) and Cleveland (13)…the Mariners have held opponents to 1 run-or-less in 27 games this season (T2nd-most in MLB) and 2 runs-or-less in 50 games (T2nd-most in MLB).
AUGUST HEAT…Teoscar Hernández went 3-for-4 with 1 double in last night’s game, recording his 4th game with 3+ hits in the month of August…through 15 games in August, Teo is batting .351 (20×57) with 5 runs scored, 6 doubles, 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 2 walks, while reaching base at a .377 clip and slugging .561 with a .938 OPS…his .351 batting average in August, ranks 4th-best among American League outfielders during the month, trailing only Julio Rodríguez-SEA (.405), Ryan mountcastle-BAL (.390) and Kerry Carpenter-DET (.368).
SUÁREZ, RODRÍGUEZ & FRANCE: 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 and ranking ahead of Matt Chapman-TOR (.971) and Alex Bregman-HOU (.961)…Suárez also ranks tied for 3rd in Outs Above Average (5), trailing only Maikel Garcia-KC (10) and José Ramírez (6)…Julio Rodríguez leads Major League outfielders with 12 outs above average, ranking ahead 5 players with 9 OAA…Rodríguez trails only Dansby Swanson-CHC (14 OAA) and Bobby Witt Jr.-KC (13 OAA) for the MLB-lead at any position…Ty France leads qualified AL first basemen (min. 1,000 innings) with a .999 fielding percentage, having committed only 1 error, while ranking ahead of Nathaniel Lowe-TEX (.997) and Spencer Torkelson-DET (.994).
WHAT A RELIEF SINCE JULY 1…the Mariners bullpen is 24-21 with a 3.40 ERA (152 ER, 402.2 IP) with 156 walks (13 intentional) and 448 strikeouts this season…they rank 2nd in MLB in ERA, trailing only the Yankees (3.16)…over the team’s last 40 games (7/1-c), Seattle relievers lead the Majors with a 2.40 ERA (35 ER, 131.0 IP), notching 18 saves with 47 walks and 152 strikeouts…during that span, Justin Topa, Tayler Saucedo, Gabe Speier, Isaiah Campbell, Andrés Muñoz and Matt Brash all have a sub-3.00 ERA, led by Topa’s 0.49 ERA (1 ER, 18.1 IP), Saucedo’s 1.10 ERA (2 ER, 16.1 IP) and Speier’s 1.50 ERA (2 ER, 12.0 IP).
AS YOU KNOW…Julio Rodriguez has gotten on-base more than he has gotten out over his last 13 games (8/4-c), running a .508 on-base percentage, while batting .467 (28×60) with 9 runs scored, 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 21 RBI, 5 walks and 6 stolen bases with a 1.308 OPS, but…DID YOU KNOW?…over his last 75 games (5/22-c), Julio has been the 2nd-best player in the American League by FanGraphs WAR with a mark of 4.0 fWAR, trailing only Shohei Ohtani-LAA (6.1 fWAR)?…Julio’s 4.0 fWAR in that span is tied with Freddy Freeman-LAD for 3rd-best in MLB, trailing only Ohtani (6.1) and Mookie Betts-LAD (4.6)…overall this season, Julio has compiled 4.6 fWAR, ranking tied for 10th in MLB and tied for 7th in the American League…with 4.6 fWAR through 123 team games, Julio is on pace to reach 6.1 fWAR this season…he would be the first Mariners player to tally 6.0+ fWAR in a single season since Robinson Canó (6.8 fWAR, 2016) and the first Mariners player age 22-oryounger since Alex Rodriguez (7.9 fWAR, 1998).
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LOGAN GILBERT
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 10-5 3.80 24/24 142.0 124 63 60 26 143 19
Home 3-4 4.15 11/11 65.0 57 32 30 13 69 11
Road 7-1 3.51 13/13 77.0 67 31 30 13 74 8
vs. HOU 1-0 1.29 1/1 7.0 3 1 1 0 6 1
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 3.64 42/42 234.2 204100 95 65 232 26
vs. HOU 3-2 3.72 8/8 46.0 42 19 19 8 42 5
ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT…
- The 26-year-old right-handed pitcher is scheduled to make his 25th start of the season and 2nd against Houston…he will also make the 81st start of his MLB career and 8th career start against the Astros.
- 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 24th start of the season against Kansas City on 8/14, tossing 4.1 innings and allowing 4 runs on 7 hits (2 HR) and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts.
WINNING AWAY FROM HOME…is making his 43rd career start on the road…Logan has a 20-4 road record with a 3.64 ERA (234.2 IP, 95 ER) with 65 walks and 232 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 5.50 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 9.36 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 155 baserunners through his first 24 starts this season which is the fewest in the Major Leagues among pitchers who have made at least 24 starts this season…his 155 baserunners allowed are the 2nd fewest through a pitcher’s first 24 starts in a season in franchise history…he also ranks 1st on the list with 150 baserunners allowed through 24 starts in 2021.
ON A ROLL…Logan’s 143 strikeouts so far this season ranks second among Mariners starting pitchers…he trails only Luis Castillo (163)…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.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S GAME: Tonight at Minute Maid Park, the Astros will try to even up this three-game set and turn the tide against the Mariners, who they’ve gone 2-6 so far against this season… tonight’s pitching matchup is a good one with Astros All-Star LHP Framber Valdez opposing Mariners third-year starter RHP Logan Gilbert.
NO SECRETS BETWEEN FRIENDS: There are no secrets between LHP Framber Valdez and the Mariners and RHP Logan Gilbert and the Astros, as the two have combined for 20 career games against their opponent tonight…Valdez has been perfect against the Mariners in his career, going 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA (15ER/62.2IP) in 11 career games, including nine starts, one coming in the postseason…Gilbert is 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA (22ER/51.1IP) in nine career starts against the Astros, including one postseason start.
ABOUT VALDEZ: LHP Framber Valdez, who’s just two starts removed from tossing the 16th no-hitter in franchise history on Aug. 1 vs. CLE, enters tonight’s start sixth in the AL in opponent average (.229), sixth in innings pitched (149.2), eighth in WHIP (1.08) and ninth in ERA (3.31)…also, he is once again leading the AL in groundball percentage (55.1%), a distinction he has held in each of the last three seasons (2020-22).
VS. THE MARINERS: The Astros and Mariners, who are separated by just 2.5 games in the standings, have been the best in the AL over the last two months, with these two teams having the top two records in their league dating back to June 20… the Mariners have bested the Astros so far this season series, with Houston going 2-6 against Seattle thus far, including 1-4 at Minute Maid Park.
Top Record in AL (since 6/20) AL West Standings
- Houston: 31-19 1. Texas: 72-50
- Seattle: 32-20 2. Houston: 70-53 (2.5 GB)
- Baltimore: 31-20 3. Seattle: 67-55 (5 GB)
WINNING WAYS: With a win tonight, the Astros would move to 18 games above .500, which would match their season high… they’ve gotten here by not losing any of their last five series, which includes four series wins and one four-game split…. going back even further, the Astros have won or split 12 of their last 14 series dating back to June 27.
UP TO THE CHALLENGE: The Astros are 14-9 thus far while in the midst of a month-long stretch of games (July 24-Aug. 24) in which six of their nine scheduled opponents are currently at .500 or better…in this stretch, the Astros will see the Rangers (2-1), Rays (1-2), Guardians (3-0), Yankees (2-2), Orioles (2-1), Angels (2-1), Marlins (2-1), Mariners (0-1) and Red Sox.
ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros were shut out by the Mariners last night, losing the series opener by a score of 2-0…RHP J.P. France (2ER/6IP) pitched well, but was handed the tough-luck loss, which snapped his seven-game wining streak…the Astros offense was limited to four hits on the night, including a two-hit night by 1B Yainer Diaz.
WELCOME CHAMPS!: The Astros will celebrate the recent NIKE RBI World Series titles won by the Astros Youth Academy in both the senior baseball and softball divisions today at 4 p.m. in the press conference room…additionally, prior to the game, both teams will be recognized in an on-field ceremony.
2K JOSE: 2B Jose Altuve enters tonight with 1,998 career hits, needing just two hits to become the third player in club history to reach 2,000 career hits, also 2B Craig Biggio (3,060) and 1B Jeff Bagwell (2,314)…per Elias, the Astros have had five players reach 2,000 career hits while playing for the Astros:
OF José Cruz (1985), Biggio (2001), Bagwell (2003), SS
Miguel Tejada (2009) and OF Carlos Lee (2011).
HIP HIP JOSE!: The Astros are celebrating eight-time All-Star 2B Jose Altuve this weekend with a pair of giveaways…tonight, 10,000 fans will receive a Jose Altuve Silver Slugger Bobblehead, presented by Woodforest National Bank…last night, 10,000 fans received a Jose Altuve ‘90s Throwback Replica Jersey, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors.
MVP NUMBERS: RF Kyle Tucker owns a share for the AL lead in RBI (92), while ranking second in OPS (.903) and third in SLG (.526)…he’s also one of just three players in the Majors with 24-or-more home runs and steals, joining NL MVP candidate Ronald Acuña Jr. (27 HR, 55 SB) and SS Bobby Witt Jr. (24 HR, 34 SB)…defensively, Tucker, the reigning AL Gold Glove winner, has more starts (116) than any other AL player in right field, and has committed just one error in his 234 total chances.
ROOKIE RESULTS: As pointed out by MLB.com reporter Brian McTaggart, the Astros have had seven top-five finishers in the last eight years in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting… they’re on pace to do so again this season with three rookies having strong seasons: RHP J.P. France (2.7 WAR), C Yainer Diaz (2.1 WAR) and RHP Hunter Brown (1.6 WAR). Astros Top 5 Finishers in AL ROY Voting (2015-22)
2022: SS Jeremy Peña (5th) 2017: 1B Yuli Gurriel (4th)
2021: RHP Luis Garcia (2nd) 2016: RHP Chris Devenski (4th)
2020: RHP Cristian Javier (3rd) 2015: SS Carlos Correa (1st)
2019: OF Yordan Alvarez (1st)
BRANTLEY’S ASSIGNMENT: OF Michael Brantley is scheduled to play left field tonight for Triple A Sugar Land in what will be his third game of an injury rehab assignment…Brantley last played on Thursday, going 1×4 with an RBI…over his two rehab games so far with the Space Cowboys, Brantley is 2×7 with a homer and three RBI…Brantley has missed the entire season while working his way back from right shoulder surgery.
FROM THE TRAINER’S ROOM: Here are a few updates on the Astros sidelined players:
- 1B José Abreu (lumbar spine inflammation) will continue to be progressed in all baseball activities…his 10-day IL stint was backdated to Aug. 10, causing him to miss eight games so far.
- RHP Phil Maton (right elbow contusion) will again play catch on the field today and is scheduled to throw off a mound…Maton has missed six games since being placed on the IL on Aug. 12.
- OF Kyle Tucker was a late scratch yesterday due to illness… he is considered day-to-day.
TOMORROW’S START TIME: Please take note, tomorrow’s game has a unique start time of 12:05 p.m. CT…the early game will be televised by Peacock with Geoff Blum being joined by Dave Sims and Ryan Roland-Smith on the telecast.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: LHP FRAMBER VALDEZ
LAST START – 8/14 AT MIA: allowed 4 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts in 7.2 innings… allowed 2 of his 3 earned runs in the 8th inning off back-to-back home runs by Jorge Soler and Luis Arraez…also recorded his 15th quality start of the season, which ranks T-5th in the American League.
ABOUT THE NO-NO: tossed the 1st no-hitter of his career and the 15th regular-season (16th overall) in Astros franchise history on 8/1 vs. CLE…allowed just 1 baserunner via a walk and struck out 7 batters through the 9 shutout innings…was his 6th career complete game and his 3rd complete-game shutout.
- Valdez’s no-hitter was the Astros’ first since a combined no-hitter started by RHP Cristian Javier in Game 4 of last year’s World Series at PHI. It was also the first Astros no-hitter by a single pitcher since RHP Justin Verlander’s on September 1, 2019, at TOR.
- the last Astros regular-season no-hitter was also a combined effort started by Javier, which came on June 25 of last season at NYY.
- was the first Astros no-hitter tossed by a LHP.
- Valdez needed only 93 pitches and per Sarah Langs, this ranks as the third-lowest total in a no-hitter since pitch counts started being tracked in 1988…the others were tossed by the Astros RHP Daryl Kile (83) on Sept. 8, 1993, and the Yankees RHP David Cone (88) on July 18, 1999.
- per STATS, the Astros have thrown five no-hitters in five years (2019-23), including the postseason… that’s the most no-hitters by any team over a five-year span in MLB history.
- became the ninth Dominican-born player to throw a no-hitter in Major League history, with the last being NYY RHP Domingo German’s perfect game earlier this season.
- Valdez faced the minimum of 27 batters, which is the first time that’s been achieved out of all the Astros no-hitters.
- was the 3rd no-hitter thrown in the Majors this season, along with German’s perfect game on June 28 at OAK and a combined no-hitter by DET on July 8 vs. TOR.
- is the only player in the Majors to throw two complete-game shutouts this season, also doing so on May 21 vs. OAK.
LEAGUE LEADERBOARD: ranks 9th in the AL in ERA with a 3.31 ERA…in the AL, also ranks 1st in groundball percentage (55.1), 6th in pitching WAR (3.5), 5th in opponent OPS (.645), T-5th in quality starts (15), 6th in innings pitched (149.2) and 9th in strikeouts (148).
VS. SEA: in his career vs. Seattle (reg & postseason), he’s recorded a 2.15 ERA (15ER/62.2IP) with 65 strikeouts, a .191 opponent batting average and a 1.07 WHIP in 11 games including 9 starts…he also has a 5-0 record against the Mariners with the Astros going 8-3 in his starts…of his 9 career starts against Seattle, 6 of them have been quality starts.
K-DAY: struck out 13 batters on July 15 at LAA, which are T-2nd for most in a single game in the Majors this season, trailing only a 16-strikeout game from RHP Lance Lynn on June 18 at SEA…they were the most strikeouts in a game from an Astros pitcher since his previous 13-strikeout effort on July 3, 2022 vs. LAA
