Friday’s Line-Up

Game #68: Seattle Mariners (29-38) at Oakland A’s (41-27) | 7:07 p.m. | O.co Coliseum
Pitching Match-Ups: LHP Joe Saunders (4-6, 5.12) vs. LHP Tommy Milone (6-5, 3.69)
Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network…also available at Mariners.com (for subscribers to MLB.tv)
TV: The game will be televised in HD on ROOT Sports…also available via MLB.tv (outside Mariners TV territory)
Live Stats: MLB Gameday will provide a live box score with pitch-by-pitch data
Starting Lineups: Starting lineups will be posted on MarinersMedia.com and Twitter when they become available
Game Information: Mariners | A’s | Mariners-A’s History

All-Star Voting | Game-by-Game Results | 2013 Statistics | Standings | Roster | 2013 Media Guide | 2013 Schedule
Social Media: From the Corner of Edgar & Dave | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | MarinersMedia.com

Throughout the season, Mariners broadcaster Aaron Goldsmith will provide content on From the Corner of Edgar & Dave, giving a behind-the-scenes look at the Mariners players and organization. This weekend he sat in as Mariano Rivera met with a group of our Mariners Fielders pre-game.

The legend that is Mariano Rivera is retiring soon. Make no mistake, despite his elite numbers once again this year, the 43-year-old is adamant that this is his final season.

Known almost as much for his character as he is for his cutter, Rivera came up with the idea to pay a visit to those who work “behind the scenes” at all the ballparks the Yankees visit this season. Friday at Safeco Field before batting practice, the future Hall of Famer met with roughly a dozen Mariners student employees.

Mariano Rivera meets with Mariners fielders.

I was fortunate enough to be a fly on the wall in this very special roundtable that lasted around 45 minutes. Rivera talked about everything from his cutter to his church work. Here are some of the quotes from the Yankees’ closer I scribbled down.

- On finding success: “Ask yourself what are your tools? What do you need? What will you face?”

- “We are all going to fail.”

- “If you love where you are, you’re in the right place.”

- “The Lord gave me a pitch.”

- “I always try to stay level.”

- “The best tool we have is being humble. That’s not being soft.”

- “You have to pray.”

- “Only you can stop yourself.”

- “Love and passion move everything.”

I realize this is a jumbled list of quotes, but hopefully it gives you a glimpse of what makes the game’s greatest closer so successful.

KOMO 4’s Steve Pool, Ted Buehner of the National Weather Service, KOMO’s Scott Sistek and Department of Natural Resources firefighter Charley Burns addressed students at Safeco Field’s 7th Annual Weather Education Day.

As Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs says, “it was a beautiful day for baseball,” on Wednesday, as the Mariners prepared to take on the Chicago White Sox. But before the game, on a rare sun-splashed June afternoon, some 5,000 students from Puget Sound area schools gathered at the ballpark to learn about the Northwest’s changeable weather.

KOMO 4 Lead Weathercaster Steve Pool talked to the kids about what makes our weather so unpredictable, and about the differences between weather and climate. With the help of the HD MarinersVision screen, Pool quizzed students on their weather knowledge. The students learned that despite Seattle’s reputation for rain, Miami is actually the rainiest city in America. They found out that hurricane, typhoon and cyclone are three different names for the same weather condition. And that yes, it is true that no two snowflakes are alike.

Next up, Scott Sistek, KOMO Meteorologist and blogger, explained how weather affects baseball games. According to Sistek, cold dense air slows down a flying baseball. When the weather is warm, balls can travel farther and faster. For example, for every four degrees warmer, a ball travels one foot father. When it’s 81-degrees, a ball will travel four feet farther than on a 65-degree day, and a hitter has a 10% better chance of hitting a home run on a warm day than a cold one.

Kids from around the Seattle area got a day at the ballpark and a chance meeting with the Mariner Moose on Weather Education day at Safeco Field.

Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs talked about some crazy weather experiences when we was broadcasting in the minor leagues in Amarillo, Texas, including a wind storm that was so powerful it blew six-inches of dirt off the stadium’s infield.

Then Ted Buehner of the National Weather Service, and Charley Burns, a Department of Natural Resources firefighter, told students about how their two agencies work closely together to predict and fight fires. Burns, dressed in full fire-line gear including helmet, shovel, flame-resistant shirt and pants, and smoke-jumper boots, demonstrated how he could unpack and take cover in a portable fire shelter within the 25 seconds, the time a firefighter on the lines would safely have to take cover.

After the program, students were treated to a hot dog lunch, and a beautiful day for baseball at Safeco Field.