4/12/22: Open Game Thread

After a disappointing finish to their series in Minnesota, the Mariners head to Chicago for a three-game set before returning home (with, it bears pointing out, no off-day in between). Unfortunately their task won’t get any easier in Chicago, as the beefy crew of White Sox sluggers seem well-primed to take advantage of a Seattle rotation that’s struggled to start the year. However, the Mariners will be sending their top two pitchers out during this series, and the series starts today with Matt Brash’s debut. Happy Matt Brash Day, indeed.

Yes, it appears to be an off-day for Julio; the Mariners are cleverly keeping this game watchable (seriously, Julio was about the only watchable part of those last two games against Minnesota) by timing Matt Brash Day with the less-fun Julio Off Day.

In addition to sending a lesser-known rookie and their two top pitchers to the bump in this series, the Mariners also get to miss Lucas Giolito, currently on the IL with an abdominal strain. They also miss Yoán Moncada, out with an oblique strain since the spring, and recently-signed A.J. Pollock, who’s down with a hamstring injury. all of which should help make Matt Brash’s debut a little softer, or at least as soft as it can be considering the firepower in the top half of this lineup. Fun fact: a native of Kingston, Ontario, Brash becomes the 259th Canadian player in baseball, and the 15th for the Mariners. Mikey went over what you can expect to see out of Brash here.

Today’s game starts at 1:10 PM and you can find it on ROOT Sports (TV) or 710 Seattle Sports (radio). Also, if you’re an out-of-market fan who doesn’t have MLB TV but does have ESPN+, the game will be broadcast there. (And if you don’t have ESPN+ but want to sign up for it—it’s much cheaper than MLB TV, although it doesn’t have all the games, or you can bundle it with Disney+—please consider using our affiliate link to do so, as that helps support the site.)