Mariners Game Notes — April 8 at Toronto

AS YOU MAY KNOW…Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has terrorized the Blue Jays during his career, batting .320 (16x50) with 14 runs scored, 2 doubles, 8 home runs, 16 RBI and 3 walks, while reaching base at a .352 clip and slugging .840 with a 1.192 OPS in 14 career games against Toronto (12 regular season + 2 postseason), but…DID YOU KNOW?…Cal leads all active players with a 1.305 career OPS (regular & postseason) at Rogers Centre (min. 20 PA)?…in 7 career games at Rogers Centre, Cal is batting .333 (9x27) with 9 runs scored, 1 double, 5 home runs, 10 RBI and 2 walks…Cal’s 1.305 OPS at Rogers Centre is 5th-best in the ballpark’s history (min. 20 PA), trailing only Wilson Ramos (1.633), John Marzano (1.538), Andre Ethier (1.538) and Mike Lamb (1.479).

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners and Blue Jays meet tonight for the first of 3 games at Rogers Centre…Seattle opened the current road trip with a 3-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers (1–2)…following Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays, the Mariners will return home for a 6-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs (3 G, April 12–14) and the Cincinnati Reds (3 G, April 15–17)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers on the call…the game will be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped yesterday’s rubber match to the Brewers by a score of 12–4, falling to 0–2 in rubber games this season wth a 0–2–1 series record overall.

• Keep Your Friends Close, And Your Enemies Closer — Seattle is 3–1 in games decided by 1 run this season, and 4–2 in games decided by 2-or-fewer runs, accounting for each of their 4 wins.
• Who Are These Guys? — Luis Castillo is making his 3rd career start against the Blue Jays in tonight’s game…his 2 career starts against Toronto are his 4th-fewest against any team in the Majors…Castillo has faced Baltimore only 1 time in his career and has never faced Cincinnati or Seattle.
• On This Date — Julio Rodríguez made his Major League debut exactly 2 years ago as the Opening Day center fielder on April 8, 2022 at Minnesota.

JOSHIN’ AROUND…Josh Rojas went 2-for-3 with 1 run scored, 1 RBI and 1 walk in yesterday’s game and has now hit safely in 5 of his 6 games this season…Rojas currently leads the Mariners with a .915 OPS, ranking ahead of Dylan Moore (.900) and Mitch Haniger (.823)…his .915 OPS is 2nd-best in his career through his team’s first 10 games of the season, trailing only a .965 OPS after 10 games with the Diamondbacks in 2023.

DOING MOORE ON THE ROAD…Dylan Moore has hit safely in each of the 3 games on the current road trip, batting .429 (3x7) with 1 double, 2 walks, 1 hit-by-pitch and 1 stolen base, while reaching base at a .600 clip and slugging .571 with a 1.171 OPS…in 36 road games during the 2023 season, Dylan posted a .821 OPS, compared to his .614 OPS in 31 games at home…overall, Dylan holds a .760 career OPS in 227 road games, compared to a .655 OPS in 228 career home games.

SEASON 3 OF THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez has reached base safely in each of the 3 games on the current road trip, batting .250 (3x12) with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and 1 hit-by-pitch…Julio is 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 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 UPCOMING HOMESTAND…following the Mariners current road trip, they will 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.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 MARINERS…Samad Taylor made his Mariners debut on Monday night, becoming the 995th different player in franchise history…in addition to Taylor, 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.

WE ARE YOUNG…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 ROSTER…the Mariners Major League, 26-man 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 IL), Gregory Santos (15-day IL), Bryan Woo (15-day IL) and Jackson Kowar (60-day IL)…the roster includes 2 catchers: Cal Raleigh and Seby Zavala; 1 designated hitter/catcher: Mitch Garver; 4 infielders: J.P. Crawford, Jorge Polanco, Josh Rojas and Luis Urías; 3 outfielders: Dominic Canzone, Mitch Haniger and Julio Rodríguez; and 3 infielder/outfielders: Dylan Moore, Luke Raley and Samad Taylor, plus infielder/outfielder Sam Haggerty (10-day IL)…Ty France is on the Paternity List (4/5).

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”.