Mariners Game #36 Preview, 5/9/23: Texas at Seattle

After failing to produce any offense outside of a Ty France home run in support of an excellent Logan Gilbert start last night, the Mariners will try to avoid the same fate with George Kirby on the mound tonight.

Lineups:

A rare Sam Haggerty appears! Lefty Kolten Wong gets the day off, and fellow southpaw J.P. Crawford gets a second consecutive day off. Both are a little banged up—Kolten got hit by not one by two pitches yesterday, and J.P.’s knee is still somewhat swollen from when he took a foul ball off it—so hopefully a day of rest can refill their health meters somewhat. Of note: Jarred Kelenic not only is in the lineup, but is hitting third, a nice challenge for him.

Injury news:

• Evan White will undergo another hip surgery to deal with the issue that’s kept him off the field so far this year. A late August return is possible, but not likely.
• Dylan Moore is getting closer to returning to baseball activity and might be able to head out on a rehab assignment in the next week or so.
• Andrés Muñoz’s rehab assignment has been delayed after an MRI showed some inflammation in his deltoid (shoulder muscle). He’s been shut down after receiving a PRP injection and will hopefully be able to resume his rehab assignment late this month or early next month.

Tonight’s game info:

Tonight’s game starts at 6:40 PT and can be seen on ROOT Sports NW, with Dave Sims and Dan Wilson on the call. (The Kraken game, which starts at 6:30, is televised nationally on ESPN.) If you’re watching the Kraken and listening to the Mariners game on 710 AM Seattle Sports, you’ll hear Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith on the call.

Today in Mariners history:

A little Mr. Mariner appreciation day!

• 1986: Alvin Davis set a Mariners single-game record, and an AL season best with 8 RBI. In the Mariners’ shellacking of the Blue Jays (13-3) he went 3-for-4, including a grand slam and a three-run HR, his first-ever multiple home run game. This all came in the middle of a career-high 14-game hitting streak (May 1-14).
• 1988 - Alvin Davis was named AL Player of the Week for the week May 2-8 with four home runs, including a grand slam. Sometimes it feels like Davis gets a little overshadowed in Mariners lore, playing well for some pretty bad Mariners teams, but he was truly the linchpin of those 80s Mariners clubs.

• 2016: Félix Hernández wins his 146th career game with the Mariners, passing Jamie Moyers for the club lead.