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Remember when the Mariners last played the Twins? They didn’t win a single game in a three-game set. Tom Murphy pitched in one of those games. All of their margins of defeat were by at least five runs. To put the cherry on top, we didn’t get to see Nelson Cruz, who had been on the injured list with a wrist strain. Ouchie.
If nothing else, we’ll at least see Cruz hitting third for Minnesota tonight, and he and his best friend Kyle Seager seized their chance to catch up:
Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager are having a hug party on the field.
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) June 11, 2019
Extremely wholesome content:
Just like old times.#TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/YGUsn1zaNN
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 11, 2019
Lineups!
Mariners-Twins lineups, 5:10 p.m. PT at Target Field. Dee Gordon back at 2B for Seattle. Nelson Cruz has homered in 4 straight games for Twins ... pic.twitter.com/kPHMqZNTA8
— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) June 11, 2019
Welcome back, Dee! While Gordon’s return will undoubtedly - and unfortunately - cut into Shed Long’s playing time, we should expect to see him in the outfield in at least one of the games this series, per Shannon Drayer. Long played nine games in left field during his time in Tacoma, so it isn’t completely foreign for him. For today, though, Mac Williamson gets another day in left.
Martín Pérez dismantled the M’s the last time he faced them on May 17th, allowing just one run over 6.2 innings. Pérez is still in the midst of a career renaissance after three straight average years in Texas, with his strikeouts at a far-and-away career high. He can still get a little wild, and the M’s will need to capitalize on that if they hope to scratch out a win against the best-hitting team in baseball.
Game Time: 5:10 PDT
TV: ROOTNW, MLB.tv
Radio: 710 ESPN, MLB At Bat