Mariners Game Information — May 4 at Houston

AS YOU KNOW…Mariners starting pitchers have gone 20 consecutive games allowing 2-or-fewer earned runs…the rotation has allowed a total of 20 earned runs over those 20 starts, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that if Logan Gilbert allows 2-or-fewer earned runs tonight, that it will tie the 2nd-longest streak in Major League history, which was set 107 years ago?…the only teams to reach 21+ consecutive starts with 2-or-fewer earned runs since 1913 (when ER were tracked in both the American and National League) are the 1915 Washington Senators (MLB record 22 G) and the 1917 Chicago White Sox (21 G)…the 1917 Sox won the World Series, their only World Series in team history prior to winning it all in 2005…thanks to Elias Sports Bureau for providing the data.

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 7-game road trip tonight with the 2nd of 3 games at Minute Maid Park against Houston (0–1)…following the current series against the Astros, Seattle will travel to Minnesota (4 G, 5/6–5/9) as the second leg of the trip…Seattle is coming off a 4–2 homestand with a pair of series wins against the Diamondbacks (2–1) and Braves (2–1)…tonight’s game will be televised live on FOX with Aaron Goldsmith and A.J. Pierzynski on the call, and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims on the call.

ODDS AND ENDS…Seattle fell to Houston in last night’s series opener by a 5–3 score…despite back-to-back losses, the Mariners are 7–4 over their last 11 games (4/21-c), 11–5 over their last 16 games (4/15-c) and 13–7 over their last 20 games (4/10-c).

• Programming Note — Tonight’s game is televised live on FOX.
• First and Foremost — The Mariners are in 1st place in the AL West Division by a half-game over the 2nd place Texas Rangers (17–16) and 1.5 games over the 3rd place Oakland Athletics (16–17).
• I Got 5 On It — Seattle comes into the Houston series having won 5 consecutive series…Seattle has won consecutive series vs. Cincinnati (3–0, 4/15–4/17), at Colorado (2–1, 4/20–4/21), at Texas (2–1, 4/23–4/25), vs. Arizona (2–1, 4/26–28) and vs. Atlanta (2–1, 4/29–5/1).
• Leading — The Mariners are 15–2 when leading going into the 7th inning this season.
• Winning Month — Seattle finished March/April with a 17–13 record (.567), its 9th-best March/April record in franchise history and best since going 16–11 (.593) in 2018.

LOGAN’S RUN…Logan Gilbert is 2–0 with a 2.03 ERA (9 ER, 40.0 IP) with 9 walks and 44 strikeouts in 6 starts this season…the right-hander has posted a 0.800 WHIP and 4.89 strikeout-to-walk ratio, limiting opponents to a .163 batting average (23x141)…among American League leaders, Gilbert ranks 5th in ERA, T-6th in strikeouts, 4th in opponent batting average and 2nd in WHIP.

HISTORIC PITCHING OVER LAST 20 GAMES…since April 10, the Mariners pitching staff has led the team to a 13–7 record with a 1.76 ERA (35 ER, 179.0 IP), 48 walks and 191 strikeouts.

• Straight Up! Dominant — Since April 10, Mariners pitchers lead the Majors in ERA (1.76), WHIP (0.87), hits-per-9 innings (5.43), opponent batting average (.171), opponent OPS (.526) and quality starts (17).
• Star(t)gazing — Since April 10, Mariners starters are 11–4 with a 1.47 ERA (20 ER, 122.1 IP) with 29 walks and 130 strikeouts, leading the Majors in ERA, Opp. AVG (.166) and WHIP (0.82).

OVERALL PITCHING…while Mariners pitching has been particularly sensational over its last 20 games, on the season overall Seattle ranks 1st in MLB in WHIP (1.04), 1st in hits-per-9 (6.90), 1st in opponent batting average (.209), T-2nd in ERA (3.04) and 2nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.75).

POLO…Mariners second baseman Jorge Polanco blasted his 5th home run of the season last night…Polanco has hit safely in 5 consecutive games (4/28-c), batting .286 (6x21) with 3 runs, 2 home runs and 5 RBI with an .857 OPS during that stretch.

HIGH-QUALITY STUFF…Seattle’s 20 quality starts lead the Majors this season, ranking ahead of Philadelphia (18), Kansas City (16), Toronto (15) and San Francisco (15)…the Mariners have 5 pitchers with 3+ quality starts: Logan Gilbert (5), Bryce Miller (4), Luis Castillo (4), George Kirby (4) and Emerson Hancock (3)…the Mariners starting rotation is the only team in the Majors to have 5 pitchers record 3+ quality starts, with only San Francisco having 4 different starters to record 3+ quality starts.

WELCOME TO THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez is batting .343 (23x67) over his last 16 games (4/15-c) with 9 runs, 3 doubles, 1 home run, 6 RBI, 3 walks, 5 stolen bases and an .804 OPS during that span…Julio has tallied 4 Outs Above Average (via. Baseball Savant) this season, 2nd-most by any outfielder in the Majors behind only Daulton Varsho-TOR (7 OAA).

THE BULLY ‘PEN…seven of 8 current members of the Mariners bullpen have an ERA under 3.00…Cody Bolton (1.74 ERA), Tyson Miller (2.08), Andrés Muñoz (2.25), Gabe Speier (2.45), Tayler Saucedo (2.45), Austin Voth (2.63) and Trent Thornton (2.70) all tote sub-3.00 ERA’s…Muñoz leads Mariners relievers in strikeouts (16), while Speier (15), Voth (13), Saucedo (12), Thornton (11), Ryne Stanek (11) and Miller (11) all have reached double-digits.

IT’S A BIG BUILDING WITH PATIENCE…the Mariners are the only team in the Majors that has yet to allow an opposing starting pitcher to complete 7.0+ innings against them this season…Mariners hitters have averaged 4.06 pitches per plate appearance, ranking 2nd in MLB to only the Yankees (4.07), while ranking ahead of the Angels (4.05) and Pirates (4.00).

LAST YEAR IN HOUSTON…the Mariners went 6–1 (.857) at Minute Maid park in 2023, compiling the most wins of any visiting team at the ballpark last season…Seattle’s .857 winning percentage at Minute Maid Park was 4th-best all-time among visiting teams that played at least 5 games at the ballpark in a season…the 2023 Mariners (6–1, .857) trailed only the 2000 Giants (6–0, 1.000), 2013 Rangers (9–1, .900) and 2013 Athletics (8–1, .889)…overall, the Mariners are went 9–4 against the Astros during the 2023 season, outscoring Houston 63–42 (+21) over 13 games…Seattle batters scored 4.8 runs/game, batting .270 as a team, while Mariners pitchers limited the Astros to 3.2 runs/game and a .234 team batting average.

NEXT HOMESTAND…following the current road trip at Houston and Minnesota, Seattle will return home for a 6-game homestand against the Oakland Athletics (3 G, 5/10–12) and Kansas City Royals (3 G, 13–15)…the upcoming homestand is highlighted by Cal Raleigh Funko POP! Night (May 10), Mother’s Day — Mariners Crossbody Bag (May 12), Little League Day — J.P. Crawford Poster (May 12) and 3 Mariners Value Games from May 13–15 with tickets as low at $10.