Mariners Game #140 Preview: 9/7/23, SEA @ TBR

This evening, the Mariners will play their first game of the season against the scenic backdrop of beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida. [holds earpiece] Wait, I’m being told this game will take place at the dimly lit, sparsely populated Tropicana Field. Alas.

The Trop is, however, home to two of my favorite home run calls of recent vintage. One from Dave:

And one from Aaron:

(The Rays have since installed netting over the pool.)

Lineups

Luis Castillo takes the bump for Seattle. Althoug he’s getting Cy Young buzz, he’s been a little inconsistent this year, and one of his poorer performances was against the Rays, allowing seven hits, two homers, and four runs over six innings, though the offense bailed him out. It shouldn’t be too big a surprise, as the Rays have the highest team wRC+ in the American League.

The Mariners will face Zack Littell, who’s a too young to call a journeyman, but at 27 is fulfilling the archetype. He was actually originally drafted by the Mariners in 2013, but Jerry sent him to the Yankees in exchange for James Pazos and his fantastic mustache. Littell didn’t appear for the Yankees, but is already on his fourth MLB team, having hovered around league average the whole time. Here’s hoping the Mariners don’t get Litt up.

Game Info

First Pitch: 3:40 PDT
TV: ROOT Sports (Sims and Wilson)
Radio: 710 KIRO and mariners.com (Rizzs and Goldy)

This Day in Mariners History

1991: Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the first Mariner to reach 40 doubles in a season.

1997: Junior becomes the first Mariner to reach 50 home runs in a season.

1998: The Kid reaches 50 home runs again—September 7 was really Junior’s day, or at least one of his days.

2014: After using 14 position players already, Lloyd McClendon throws a Hail Mary by sending in reliever Danny Farquhar in to pinch run for Kendrys Morales in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game. Farquhar goes first to third on a Kyle Seager single, but ends the game 90 feet away.

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