Mariners Game #55 Preview

I’m a big LoGi guy, as you may know. He stores his stuff in his hair and his anger in his mustache, and that’s all you want from a tall pitcher. I mean, if he was left handed, the comparisons would come natural. After all, many moons ago, there was once a tall, long-haired, mustachioed Mariners pitcher who made his joy carving up the Yankees’ lineup. Maybe history is repeating itself. Or at least rhyming.

Tonight’s lineup:

That is a lovely lineup even including the fact that Pollock, as fish are want to do, has swum upstream. I especially like Haggerty in the nine hole with J.P. and Ty right behind. J.P.’s K% has been dropping and his xwOBA has been rising. With Haggerty’s speed, the two could be an RBI threat tonight.

It’s an off day for Cal, which is always sad when those fall on Walter days, since the two are so close. If you want to see them goofing off, the Mariners twitter account has you covered:

Notes from Scott Servais’s pregame presser:

• In case you missed it, JULIOOOOOOOO has been named the American League Player of the Week. Servais: “Julio has had an awesome, awesome homestand, which is great to see. The timing is there, he’s swinging at the right pitches, hitting the ball hard, hitting it over the fence, doing all of the things we’re used to seeing. So, well deserved. He has had a great week. I hope the guy on the other team [Judge] doesn’t get the player of the week next week, because he got off to a pretty good start yesterday.”
• Jarred Kelenic is okay, per Servais, just getting a spell tonight and will probably come in later as a pinch-hitter as the game demands. “He hit his head pretty good,” says Servais, saying it’s a combination of the collision at the wall, a lefty starter on the mound, and also just a need to get Jarred a rest during this long stretch of games.
• If you missed the roster move, the Mariners optioned Juan Then to Tacoma today (although he was still in the clubhouse a few hours before game time today) and recalled RHP Darren McCaughan in order to gain some length in their bullpen. Servais was complimentary of Then, saying he saw him not just learn his stuff played in the big leagues but also that his stuff improved while he was up, specifically the slider and his ability to throw strikes and execute pitches.
• “It’s been a while since we had a roster move around here,” remarked Servais as he was discussing Then, and he was not wrong: stats magician Alex Mayer confirms this is the longest time between roster moves in Servais’s tenure as manager of the Mariners. Their last roster move was May 6, when Juan Then was recalled from the Travelers to replace Penn Murfee, who went on the IL.

Today’s game info:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: ROOT Sports NW, MLB TV (out of area only), with Dave Sims and Dan Wilson on the call

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith on the call

Today in Mariners history:

• 1989: Randy Johnson made his Mariners debut at Yankee Stadium by holding the Bronx Bombers to just two runs on six hits while striking out six in six innings. Ken Griffey Jr. hit a pair of home runs to lead the offensive attack as the Mariners hung on to win, 3-2.
• 2001: Mark McLemore ties a team record and sets a career-high with four stolen bases in one game.
• 2003: Joel Pineiro strikes out a career-high 12 in a 6-0, complete game win at the Metrodome. He allowed a career-best four hits in the complete game effort.
• 2004: Mike Cameron hits his first career pinch-hit home run.
• 2018: James Paxton struck out the Rangers’ Nomar Mazara in the top of the 1^st inning to record his 500^th career strikeout. He became the 14^th pitcher in club history with at least 500 strikeouts as a Mariner, and the first pitcher in club history with a cheering section named after a natural feature.