Mariners Moose Tracks, 3/21/21: Justin Dunn, Darin Gillies, Jack Leiter

Sorry for the late links today; my power has been out all weekend, for the fifty millionth time this year. Luckily we had two great caps covering the past two games: definitely check out Matthew’s March Madness-inspired cap from Friday and Addie’s cryptozoologist special from yesterday if you haven’t. Addie’s is especially impressive considering it was 1) her first recap; 2) with little notice, swooping in to save the day; and 3) a non-televised affair with scant info, so make sure to stop by and give her some props.

In Mariners news:

• Jarred Kelenic didn’t play in last night’s contest against the Rangers, but he did some damage on the backfields nonetheless:

Here’s the full boxscore from the B game if you’re interested.

• Justin Dunn joined Pitching Ninja to talk about his pitch grips, including that new Frankenstein changeup.
• Congratulations to former and now-current Mariners pitcher Darin Gillies, who was released last year in that massive wave of minor-league cuts and has now re-signed with the team. Gillies worked hard since being released and has added a new cutter to his repertoire.
• Speaking of former Mariners, David Freitas is playing in the KBO this season with the Kiwoom Heroes and is apparently living his best life doing so.

Around the league:

• It’s not the league quite yet, but it might as well be: Vanderbilt pitcher Jack Leiter personally peeled away every eyeball that was on March Madness and focused them on his 16-K no-hitter yesterday.

• Pirates fans are probably wondering how soon Leiter or Rocker can get to them, with news that pitcher Stephen Brault is suffering some arm tightness.
• In good pitching news, Rays oft-injured pitcher Brent Honeywell is scheduled to make a start against the Red Sox on Monday—his first time pitching against another team since September of 2017. We wish him well.
• Rangers top prospect Josh Jung will be out of commission for a while with a stress fracture in his foot.
• The Mariners aren’t on TV today, but if you want something to watch, Ohtani will be both batting leadoff and pitching in today’s Angels game. If that’s your kind of thing or whatever. Historic things and whatnot.

Tabletop Games with Kate!

Speaking of cryptids (thanks Addie), there’s a tabletop game called Cryptid that I recently got and my friends really enjoyed playing. It’s a little bit logic and deduction, a little bit misdirection, and a lot of fun, and fits my “easy to learn/fun to play” requirement for introducing a new game. Also joining my games rotation (thanks, birthday presents!): the Parks game, which is both fun to play and gorgeous to look at; Danger Park, a lighthearted take on New Jersey’s infamous Action Park that has a gross-out factor younger teens would appreciate; and my new favorite, Seven Summits, a beautifully designed game where you send a team of climbers to tackle the seven highest mountains on each continent. All of these games made passing a weekend with no power a little more pleasant.