8/23/22: WSH at SEA Open Game Thread

The Mariners will try to shrug off a disappointing weekend series against the A’s with a quick two-game set against the Washington Nationals, who are in many ways the Oakland A’s of the NL East. It’s also the beginning of Ichiro Week, so prepare your celebrations accordingly.

Lineups:

Link to this week’s series preview in case you do not know what an Alex Call nor Joey Meneses is (fun prop bet: number of times I mistype his name as “Menses” in tonight’s recap?)

Notes from Scott Servais’s pre-game presser:

• You’ll note a disappointing lack of Swaggy Ham in tonight’s lineup. Haggerty had an MRI that revealed a strained deltoid; there’s no decision yet on whether or not he’ll have an IL stint or if he’s able to grit through it and maybe get some pinch-running in.
• Scott on Nelson Cruz: “Nothing Nelson Cruz does surprises me.” Says he’s one of his favorite players he’s ever managed, crediting Cruz’s superhuman work ethic, coachability, and clubhouse leadership.
• When asked what Robbie Ray has done to improve over the past few outings, Servais was blunt: “He’s not pitching against the Astros, that helps.” Notes the importance of Ray keeping his walks in check and controlling the count.
• When asked about Ty France: There’s a trust factor, a longer leash with a player with a track record like that; notes how France has picked the rest of the team when everyone else was struggling. Servais also praises France’s competitive at-bats and says he’s had some unlucky bounces lately. “No panic on my part. At all.”
• The shorter starter outings in Oakland were by design, with the off-day coming up and a relatively fresh ‘pen.
• Servais had a clearly pre-rehearsed response to a question about players possibly getting tired down the stretch of the final 40 games: “I’m going to make a statement on the 40 games left. I’m going to make it today, and I’m not going to talk about it again. We can only play one game today. We can only win one game today. You can’t win games in bulk, you can’t play games in bulk. We’re not Costco. Costco does everything in bulk. We don’t. We play one game, okay? So the biggest, most important game of the year? Guess what it is? It’s today.”

Game info:

• Game time: 7:10 PT
• TV: ROOT Sports NW
• Radio: 710 Seattle Sports
• Stream: FuboTV or MLB TV (out-of-area)