Mariners Game Information — March 28 vs. Boston (Opening Day)

AS YOU MAY KNOW…the Mariners have an excellent Opening Day record, winning 3 consecutive Opening Day games (2021-c), are 14–3 over their last 17 Opening Day games (2007-c) and 29–18 on Opening Day overall, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Seattle’s 29–18 all-time record on Opening Day ranks best among American League franchises and 2nd-best in MLB?…the Mariners .617 winning percentage on Opening Day trails only the New York Mets .661 winning percentage (41–21) on Opening Day, and…DID YOU ALSO KNOW?…that the Mariners have been even better on Opening Day at home?…the Mariners have a .655 winning percentage on Opening Day at home, going 19–10…that marks the 3rd-best record among active franchises, trailing only the Mets (.719/23–9) and Yankees (.679/38–18).

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners and Red Sox meet tonight in an Opening Day matchup at T-Mobile Park to begin the 2024 regular season…the Opening Day game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers on the call…the game will be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims on the call…the game is also available on MLB.TV.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners begin their 48th season as a franchise tonight…will mark the 2nd time in franchise history they face the Red Sox on Opening Day…the only other matchup was the first Opening Day in T-Mobile Park history, a 2–0 Red Sox win on April 4, 2000.

• The Rock — Luis Castillo is set to make his 2nd Opening Day start with the Mariners (4th total)…last Opening Day vs. Cleveland, “La Piedra” tossed 6.0 scoreless innings with no walks and 6 strikeouts.
• Great Scott — Manager Scott Servais enters his 9th season as Seattle’s skipper…Servais’ 616 managerial wins and .516 winning percentage both rank 2nd in Mariners history.
• Repeatedly Blank’d — In 2023, the Mariners pitching staff led the Majors with 18 shutouts, setting a franchise record for most in a season…the previous record was 15 shutouts in 2003.
• The Mitch Is Back — Mitch Haniger returns to the Mariners after playing 5 seasons (2017–19, ‘21–22) with Seattle…Mitch was a 2018 AL All-Star, and in 2021 set career-highs in home runs (39) & RBI (100).

OPENING DAY FESTIVITIES…before the Opening Day matchup between the Mariners and Red Sox, Mariners legend and 7-time MLB All-Star Nelson Cruz will throw the ceremonial first pitch…Mariners Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki is set to present Julio Rodríguez with his 2023 American League Silver Slugger Award…during the pregame ceremony, Make-A-Wish® child, 11-year-old Seton, will run around the bases.

FAVORABLE PROJECTIONS…Baseball-Reference projects the Mariners as the 5th-best team in MLB (92 wins; 1st in American League West Division)…FanGraphs projects the Mariners as tied for the 5th-best team in MLB (86 wins; T-3rd in AL)…MLB.com also named the Mariners starting pitching rotation as “the best in baseball”.

TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR OPENING HOMESTAND…tickets are still available for the remaining 6 home games, including the 3 remaining games against the Boston Red Sox (March 29–31) and Cleveland Guardians (April 1–3)…every night of the Guardians series is a Value Game with tickets starting as low as $10, and each night is also a Julio Rodríguez “No Fly Zone” Bobblehead Night (first 10,000 fans)…more information is available at Mariners.com/tickets.

THE ROSTER…the Mariners announced their Major League, 26-man Opening Day roster today…the roster includes 13 pitchers (5 starters + 8 relievers)…the 5 starters: Luis Castillo, George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock…the 8 relievers: Cody Bolton, Andrés Muñoz, Tayler Saucedo, Collin Snider, Gabe Speier, Ryne Stanek, Trent Thornton and Austin Voth…5 pitchers are on the Injured List: Eduard Bazardo (15-day IL), Matt Brash (15-day), Gregory Santos (15-day), Bryan Woo (15-day IL) and Jackson Kowar (60-day)…the roster includes 2 catchers: Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala; 1 designated hitter/catcher: Mitch Garver; 5 infielders: J.P. Crawford, Ty France, Jorge Polanco, Josh Rojas and Luis Urías; 3 outfielders: Dominic Canzone, Mitch Haniger and Julio Rodríguez; and 2 infielder/outfielders: Dylan Moore and Luke Raley, plus infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty (10-day IL).

NEW AND FAMILIAR FACES…of the 26 players on the Mariners active Opening Day roster, 16 appeared in a game for Seattle last season…the 10 newcomers are 4 pitchers: Cody Bolton, Collin Snider, Ryne Stanek and Austin Voth, and 6 position players: Seby Zavala, Mitch Garver, Jorge Polanco, Luis Urías, Luke Raley and Mitch Haniger…Haniger, who has played 5 seasons (2017–19, ‘21–22) with Seattle, is the only player of the 10 “newcomers” to previously appear with Seattle.

YOUTH MOVEMENT…Seattle’s age 26-or-younger group of players were recently ranked 3rd-best in the Majors by Yahoo Sports, ranking behind only Baltimore and Atlanta…outfielders Julio Rodríguez (age 23) and Dominic Canzone (26), along with pitchers George Kirby (age 26), Bryce Miller (25), Andrés Muñoz (25), Emerson Hancock (25), Bryan Woo (24), Gregory Santos (24) and Matt Brash (26) make up the age 26-or-younger on the Major League roster…top prospects in the minors include infielder Cole Young (age 20), catcher Harry Ford (21) infielder Colt Emerson (18), outfielder Lazaro Montes (19) and more.

SEASON 3 OF THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez comes into his 3rd season as the only player to win Silver Slugger Awards in each of his first 2 seasons since the award was first given out in 1980…the 23-year-old has also made the AL All-Star Team in each of his first 2 seasons…the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year followed up his sensational debut season with a stellar sophomore campaign, totaling 37 doubles, 32 home runs, 103 RBI and 37 stolen bases…Julio became the 4th player to join the “30/30 club” at age 22-or-younger, joining Alex Rodriguez-SEA (1998), Mike Trout-LAA (2012) & Ronald Acuña Jr.-ATL (2019).

THE LEADOFF MAN…J.P. Crawford had a career season in 2023, tallying career-highs in home runs (19), RBI (65), walks (94), on-base percentage (.380), slugging (.438) and OPS (.818), while receiving votes for AL MVP…the Mariners shortstop led the American League with 94 walks, becoming the first primary shortstop to lead his league in walks since Pee-Wee Reese (104 BB) for the 1947 Brooklyn Dodgers.

BIG DUMPER…Cal Raleigh hit 30 home runs last season, becoming the first Mariners catcher with a 30+ homer season and breaking his own team record for most homers by a catcher in a season (27 HR in 2022)…Cal was also a force behind the plate, becoming the first to lead MLB catchers in homers and catcher caught stealing (24) in a season since Mike Piazza-LAD in 1993.

SPRING RECAP…the Mariners wrapped up spring play with a 15–13–4 record (.531) over 30 Cactus League games and 2 exhibition contests in San Diego…Seattle’s offense had a potent spring, leading the Majors in runs scored (202), hits (302), total bases (518) and OPS (.825), while ranking 2nd in doubles (64), 4th in home runs (46), 3rd in walks (133), 5th in stolen bases (35), 3rd in OBP (.356) and 2nd in SLG (.469).