Mariners Game Notes — April 5 at Milwaukee

AS YOU KNOW…Logan Gilbert has been one of the best pitchers in the American League since the start of the 2022 season, ranking among the qualified AL leaders in ERA (7th, 3.43), SO/9 (10th, 8.71), BB/9 (2.02), SO/BB (5th, 4.31), Opp. AVG (8th, .236/343x1451), WHIP (5th, 1.12), GS (2nd, 65), IP (3rd, 383.1) and fWAR (10th, 6.6), but…DID YOU KNOW?…that since Gilbert made his MLB debut, the Mariners are 56–33 (.629) in games started by Gilbert?…the 56 wins are T-2nd most in a pitcher’s starts during that span (also: José Berríos-MIN/TOR), trailing only Corbin Burnes-MIL/BAL (57 wins).

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners and Brewers meet for the first of 3 games at American Family Field in Milwaukee…following the series with the Brewers, the Mariners will travel to Toronto (3 G, April 8–10) before returning home…Seattle is coming off a 3–4 homestand against Boston (2–2) and Cleveland (1–2)…tonight’s 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.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped Wednesday’s game by a score of 8–0 and are 3–4 on the season…the Mariners will open their 2024 road schedule in tonight’s game with Milwaukee.

· At Home Away From Home — 6 different Mariners have a career OPS of at least .800 in road games (min. 200 PA)…Luke Raley (.842 OPS) leads Mariners hitters, followed by Julio Rodríguez (.836), Mitch Garver (.812), Mitch Haniger (.809), Jorge Polanco (.807) and Cal Raleigh (.802).

· Roster Moves — INF/OF Samad Taylor was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma today…INF Ty France was placed on the Paternity List in a corresponding move.

· The Return — Luis Urías will face the Milwaukee Brewers for the first time since he was traded to Boston from Milwaukee on Aug. 1, 2023…Urías appeared in 330 games for the Brewers from 2020–23.

· Brew Crusher — Mitch Haniger hit .321 (9x28) with 4 runs, 1 double, 2 home runs, 6 RBI and a .916 OPS in 7 games against the Brewers in 2023.

· Spring Preview? — The Mariners faced Brewers starter Freddy Peralta twice during the 2024 Cactus League campaign, batting .364 (12x33) with 3 home runs against him.

ROAD WARRIORS…the Mariners open their road schedule tonight, coming off a 43–38 (.531) road record in 2023…the Mariners offense hit .249 (707x2844) with a .328 on base percentage and a .429 slugging percentage (.757 OPS) on the road last season, while Mariners pitchers had a 4.07 ERA (319 ER, 705.1 IP) with 197 walks and 658 strikeouts away from T-Mobile Park in 2023…since the start of the 2021 season the Mariners are 131–112 (.539) on the road, the 6th-best road record in the Majors and 3rd-best in the American League in that span, trailing only Houston (146–97, .601) and Toronto (138–113, .550) in the AL.

NASTY ‘PEN…in 7 games this season, the Mariners bullpen is 1–0 and 2-for-2 in save opportunities…Seattle relievers have posted a 2.10 ERA (6 ER, 25.2 IP) with 5 walks and 24 strikeouts…the Mariners bullpen leads the Majors in strikeouts-to-walks (4.80), while ranking 6th in ERA, 5th in WHIP (0.94) and 7th in opponent OPS (.544)…Mariners relievers Collin Snider (3.0 IP), Ryne Stanek (1.2 IP), Gabe Speier (2.1 IP) and Austin Voth (4.1 IP) have all yet to allow a run this season.

JOSHIN’ AROUND…Josh Rojas has hit safely in each of his first 4 games to start the season, batting .417 (5x12) with 1 run, 1 double, 2 RBI and a .917 OPS…over his last 11 games dating back to last season (9/25/23-c), he is batting .375 (12x32) with 5 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run and 4 RBI with a .906 OPS.

SEASON 3 OF THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez, who recorded his first career walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th inning against Boston on Saturday, enters 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).

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 Logan Gilbert (age 26), George Kirby (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.

THE BIG DUMPER…Cal Raleigh hit 30 home runs during the 2023 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.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 MARINERS…the Mariners have had 994 different players appear in a game for the franchise since 1977…C Seby Zavala, RHP Collin Snider RHP Ryne Stanek, RHP Cody Bolton, DH/C Mitch Garver, INF Jorge Polanco, OF Luke Raley, INF Luis Urías and RHP Austin Voth have all made their team debuts this season…INF/OF Samad Taylor is the only player on the Mariners active roster that has yet to appear in a game for the club.

FAVORABLY PROJECTED…prior to Opening Day, Baseball-Reference projected the Mariners as the 5th-best team in MLB (92 wins; 1st in American League West Division)…FanGraphs projected 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”.

ONE-RUN FUN…each of the Mariners first 3 wins this season have been 1-run victories…since Scott Servais took over as Seattle manager in 2016, the Mariners lead the Majors in 1-run victories (217), ranking ahead of San Francisco (201), Milwaukee (199) and Philadelphia (182)…the Mariners have the 2nd-best 1-run game winning percentage (.565) in that span, trailing only Milwaukee (.573/199–148).

THE NEXT HOMESTAND…following the Mariners upcoming road trip, the Mariners return home to face the Chicago Cubs (April 12–14) and the Cincinnati Reds (April 15–17)…the homestand is highlighted by Mariners Hoodie Night on April 12, Salute To Armed Forces Night on April 13, Little League Day on April 14, Jackie Robinson Day on April 15 and Ken Griffey Jr. “Home Run Robbery” Bobblehead from April 15–17, where the first 10,000 fans at each game will recieve a bobblehead…for more information visit Mariners.com/tickets.