Mariners GameDay — July 31 at Texas
Game #105: Mariners (56–48) at Rangers (36–67) | First Pitch: 4:05 pm PT / 6:05 pm CT | Globe Life Field
Starting Pitchers: LHP Tyler Anderson (5–8, 4.35 w/PIT) vs. LHP Taylor Hearn (2–3, 4.41)
Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network…also Mariners.com (for MLB.tv subscribers)
TV: The game will be televised in HD on ROOT SPORTS
Live Stats: MLB Gameday (live box score with pitch-by-pitch data)
AS YOU KNOW…Abraham Toro went 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of runs scored in his 3rd game with the Mariners…through his first 3 games (2 starts), he is batting .500 (5x10) with 4 runs, 1 double, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 1 stolen base and 1 walk…BUT, DID YOU KNOW?…that Toro is just the 6th Mariners player to record an extra-base hit in each of his first 3 games with the team?…he joins Ron Roenicke (July 27–29, 1983), David Segui (March 31-Apr. 3, 1998), Domingo Santana (March 20–28, 2019), Tim Beckham (March 20–28, 2019) and Kyle Lewis (Sept. 10–12, 2019)…Segui, Santana and Beckham registered extra-base hits in each of their first 4 games with the Mariners.
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue their 10-game, 3-city road trip with the 2nd of 3 games against the Texas Rangers (1–0)…will also travel to Tampa Bay (3 G, 8/2–8/4) and New York-AL (4 G, 8/5–8/8)…Seattle is coming off a winning homestand (4–3) against AL West Division counterparts Oakland (3–1) and Houston (1–2)…tonight’s game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS, as well as broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network.
ODDS AND ENDS…won last night by a 9–5 score vs. Texas to improve to 21–13 (.618) in series openers…are 5–2 in their last 7 games, 11–6 in their last 17, 22–12 over their last 34, 25–13 over their last 38 and 35–22 over their last 57…are 21–14 in day games and 35–34 at night…are 33–23 at T-Mobile Park and 23–25 on the road…are 47–16 when scoring at least 4 runs and 9–32 when scoring 3 or fewer runs…are 39–3 when out-hitting their opponent…the Mariners are 9–4 in their last 13 road contests.
- Last 12 Series — The Mariners have won or split 10 of their last 12 series, owning an 8–2–2 series record over their last 12.
- Saturday Night Fever — Seattle is 42–22 (.656) between Thursday and Sunday this season, compared to 14–26 (.350) between Monday and Wednesday.
- Vs. Texas — Seattle looks to even up the all-time series vs. Texas, coming into play tonight with an all-time record of 347–348 against the Rangers.
- 1-Run Record — The Mariners own the best 1-run record (23–8, .742) in MLB, leading Los Angeles-AL (17–9, .654)…they also have the most 1-run wins (23), leading New York-NL (22).
- Most Players — 58 players have appeared in a game for Seattle this season, which leads the Majors…Seattle’s 34 pitchers used is tied for 2nd-most in the Majors.
WINNING MONTHS…the Mariners clinched a winning month of July…they are 14–9 (.609) going into their final contest of the month tonight…after a 14–12 (.538) June, Seattle has put together back-to-back winning months and also 3 of 4 winning months to begin the season…went 15–12 (.556) in April and 13–15 (.464) in May…dating back to Sept. 2020 (12–11, .522), the Mariners have recorded winning records in 4 of their last 5 months.
CASTILLO MAKES DEBUT…Diego Castillo made his first appearance in a Mariners uniform last night, tossing a 1–2–3 bottom of the 9th…the right-hander has allowed just 3 walks and hits over his last 11 appearances (10.0 IP) since June 23…his 0.30 WHIP in that span is lowest in the Majors (min 10 IP).
COUNT ON SEAGS…Kyle Seager reached base 3 times last night, going 1-for-3 with a run scored, RBI and 2 walks…he has a season-high 5-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games…in 13 games since the All-Star Break, Seager is batting .250 (12x48) with 10 runs, 1 double, 5 home runs, 12 RBI and 10 walks…he’s gotten on-base at a .379 clip, slugging .583 with a .963 OPS in that span…in 162 games played since the start of 2020, Seager’s totaled 29 doubles, 30 home runs, 102 RBI and 71 walks.
JARRRRED…Jarred Kelenic went 2-for-5 with 2 runs, a 3-run home run and a career-high 4 RBI in last night’s 9–5 win…he’s reached base in 6 consecutive games, batting .227 (5x22) with 5 runs, 1 home run, 7 RBI and 4 walks in that span with a .346 on-base percentage…Kelenic’s 7 RBI since July 24 are 2nd-most on the Mariners in that span, trailing only Kyle Seager’s 9 RBI.
FRANCE-Y MEETING YOU HERE…Ty France went 1-for-5 with a double and run scored last night…he has hit safely in 8 consecutive games and 12 of his last 13…he is 1 game away from tying his career-high 9-game hitting streak (6/12–6/20/2021)…in 57 games since May 24, France is batting .306 (66x216) with 29 runs, 14 doubles, 6 home runs, 30 RBI, 11 walks and 12 hit-by-pitches…he’s gotten on-base at a .368 clip, slugging .454 with an .821 OPS in that span…the Mariners own a 35–22 (.614) record in those games.
THE HANI MAN CAN…Mitch Haniger went 1-for-4 with a run batted in, hit-by-pitch and stolen base last night…it was his first stolen base attempt of the season and his first since recording a stolen base on May 8, 2019 at Yankee Stadium…in 99 games this season, Haniger is batting .258 (101x391) with 70 runs, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 25 home runs and 63 RBI…he’s gotten on-base at a .315 clip, slugging .501 with an .816 OPS…he leads American League outfielders in runs scored (70), is tied for 3rd in RBI (63) and is tied with Joey Gallo-TEX/NYY for most home runs (25).
LONG DIVISION…the Mariners play the 9th of 10 consecutive games against the American League West Division, their 3rd-longest intra-divisional streak this season…Seattle is 5–3 during the current divisional stretch and 26–18 (.591) in 44 overall games against the AL West this season and 30–30 in 60 games outside the division…Seattle went 9–5 during a season-high 14-game stretch against divisional opponents from May 24-June 6…the Mariners play their final 13 games of the regular season within the division.
THE BULLPEN…the Mariners bullpen is 27–14 with 29 saves and a 4.08 ERA (182 ER, 402.1 IP) with 353 hits allowed, 145 walks and 405 strikeouts this season…FanGraphs rates Seattle relievers as the 2nd-most valuable by Wins Above Replacement (4.8) this season, trailing only Tampa Bay (5.4) and ranking ahead of New York-AL (4.5), Boston (3.8) and Chicago-AL (3.8).
TRADES RECAP…the Mariners made 3 trades between July 27–29:
- 7/27: Acquired INF Abraham Toro and RHP Joe Smith from the Houston Astros in exchange for RHP Kendall Graveman and RHP Rafael Montero.
- 7/27: Acquired LHP Tyler Anderson from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league C Carter Bins and minor league RHP Joaquin Tejada.
- 7/29: Acquired RHP Diego Castillo from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP JT Chargois and minor league INF Austin Shenton.
- RHP Vinny Nittoli and OF Jake Hager were designated for assignment as corresponding moves to clear room on the 40-man roster…Nittoli cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma…Hager was claimed off waivers by Arizona.
GRAB THE CLUTCH…the Mariners have a .478 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position this season, ranking 3rd in the Majors behind Toronto (.489) and Houston (.479)…Seattle’s .265 (200x755) average with RISP ranks 6th in the American League and 7th in the Majors…J.P. Crawford is batting .344 (21x61) with RISP, Ty France is batting .329 (28x85), Kyle Seager is batting .322 (28x87) and Mitch Haniger is batting .315 (23x73)…FanGraphs rates the Mariners as the most clutch offense in the Majors with a “Clutch” metric of 7.30…they lead Philadelphia (3.93) and Boston (3.92).
