2/28/20: Mariners ST Game #7 Open Game Thread

The Mariners face the hometown Arizona Diamondbacks today at high noon (okay, high noon plus ten) at Salt River Fields. No TV, but at least the radio isn’t on a delay?

Yusei Kikuchi will make his second spring start, and we should also see Nestor Cortes, Zac Grotz, Wyatt Mills, and Joey Gerber again. Lefty Ian McKinney should make his spring debut, his first in a big-league camp since 2018 when he was with St. Louis and pitched one inning, giving up five runs on four hits. McKinney had a strong 2019 in Modesto after being released by St. Louis and earned a non-roster invite to camp this year. He’s an easy player to root for and it’s a shame St. Louis trains in Florida.

Here’s a thing the Diamondbacks do, apparently: tweet their lineups all by players’ Twitter handles. I enjoyed trying to guess who belonged to what handle. Yasmany Tomas definitely gets the award for best handle with “@eltanquetomas.” Most disappointing is Starling Marte, whose name has so much potential; StarlingMart sounds like a chain of Midwestern discount stores.

“Lunchboxhero45” is apparently Travis Snider and not Paul Goldschmidt, meaning my record of finding not a single thing interesting about Paul Goldschmidt stands. Alex Young will start for the Diamondbacks, and sorry to that man, but I am more excited to see (hear) Brazilian-born Bo Takahashi, who is scheduled behind him.

TV: Nein.

Radio: 710 ESPN will carry the game live.

Side note: if you are ever in Arizona for Spring Training or the AFL, prioritize going to see a game at Salt River Fields. It is the jewel of the Cactus League ballparks, with solid food and drink options, a big-league feel, and ample shade.