Mariners Game #113 Preview, 8/8/23: SDP at SEA

The Padres and the Mariners are two teams that have severely underperformed expectations this season, but they’re both very different teams from their last meeting in June. The Mariners opened the last two-game set in San Diego with a 4-1 win featuring homers by Teoscar and Julio and a strong start by Logan Gilbert, but then got the doors blown off in the series finale, losing 10-3 in what was one of George Kirby’s worst starts all season, as the Mariners offense got steamrolled by Literally Michael Wacha for six scoreless innings. The Padres would end the series at 28-33, and the Mariners, as has been their wont so often this season, at 30-30.

Flash forward a couple months and the Padres remain at a few games under .500, while the Mariners have parlayed a stretch of hot play into eight games over, thanks largely to a four-game sweep of the Angels. As a reminder, catch up with everything that’s been going on in Padresland and how the two teams match up in our series preview here:

Lineups:

Remember when everyone was all worried about Juan Soto? Yeah, me neither. Soto actually had a career day when the Padres blew the doors off the Mariners in June, with a career-high five hits; he’s been anchoring the Padres lineup since, while Gary Sánchez has found a home in San Diego, away from the prying eyes of the New York media. I’m happy for both of them, but if they could just kind of calm it down during this series, much appreciated.

Nick Martinez is listed as the starter but it’s likely this will be a bullpen day for the Padres. With Yu Darvish and his Infinite Pitches Playlist on the mound tomorrow, the Mariners would do well to take advantage of tonight’s matchup,

News:

Today is a busy day for news, with several roster moves as the Mariners try to shore up their pitching staff down the stretch. Here’s what we know so far; check out John’s blurb for more info.

• The headliner is Bryan Woo to the 15-day IL. Per Justin Hollander, the injury isn’t serious, but he came out of his last start feeling “more sore than normal,” so is headed to the IL out of an “abundance of caution.” Servais added that Woo also didn’t feel 100% after his last bullpen. He’ll have an MRI to confirm that there’s no structural damage or that they’re not missing anything in their diagnosis.
• RHP Emerson Hancock has been called up from Arkansas and will make the start in place of Woo tomorrow. Hollander says that despite a couple of poor outings for Hancock that have been “short and loud”, the team feels he is ready and that this year he’s shown the best he has since being drafted.
• RHP Ryder Ryan has also been summoned from Tacoma to provide some bullpen depth, although he’ll probably head back to Tacoma tomorrow to make room for Emerson Hancock. Hopefully he’s able to get into tonight’s game and culminate an eight-year stretch in the minors with a big-league appearance.
• RHP Ryan Jensen was also claimed off waivers from the Cubs. A 2019 first-rounder (27th overall), Jensen hasn’t really blossomed in the Cubs system. Per Hollander, the Mariners had Jensen on their draft board for that draft, but he was gone by their second-round pick. Jensen has struggled with walks in the upper minors and the Mariners apparently have “some ideas” on how to get him into the zone more, as well as the standard repertoire-adjustment that seemingly every Mariners waiver claim goes through. Jensen is apparently aware of the Mariners’ reputation for helping pitchers maximize their stuff and is “excited” to be here.

To make room for the Ryans, Matt Festa was DFA’d. Festa had just recently been placed on the IL with a forearm issue, so the Mariners are likely suspecting they can sneak him through waivers and keep him with the club.

Today’s game info:

Tonight and tomorrow night are both 6:40 starts, and they’re both value games, in case you’re on the fence about coming down to the park. Tomorrow night is Bark in the Park night, so you’d get to see some cute doggos, as a bonus. If you’re not coming out to T-Mobile, you can see the games televised on ROOT Sports NW or hear the audio broadcast on 710 AM Seattle Sports.

Today in Mariners history:

• 2001: Edgar Martínez reaches 1,000 career RBI with a two-run home run against Toronto.
• 2016: Hisashi Iwakuma wins his eighth consecutive home start, surpassing Félix Hernández for most wins in consecutive home starts in Mariners club history.
• 2016: Arquimedes Caminero makes his Mariners debut, marking the 28^th different pitcher used by the Mariners in a game that season, tied for the club record in a single season and inspiring a wealth of Simpsons “Canyonero” jokes.