Mariners GameDay — May 20 at Boston

Game #40: Mariners (17–22) at Red Sox (16–22) | First Pitch: 4:10 pm PT / 7:10 pm ET | Fenway Park

Starting Pitchers: LH Robbie Ray (4–3, 4.62) vs. RH Michael Wacha (3–0, 1.38)

Radio: Seattle Sports (710 AM) and Mariners.com

TV: ROOT Sports

Live Stats: MLB Gameday (live box score with pitch-by-pitch data)

AS YOU MAY KNOW…tonight’s Mariners starter Robbie Ray has recorded at least 9 strikeouts in each of his last 2 starts…he struck out a season-high 10 batters on May 10 vs. Philadelphia and struck out 9 in his last start on May 15 at the New York Mets, but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Logan Gilbert has also struck out at least 9 batters in each of his last 2 starts?…the duo of Ray and Gilbert are the only American League teammate duo to each record 9+ strikeouts in back-to-back outings this season…there have only been 7 such streaks in the AL (by 6 pitchers) this season: Ray (5/10-c), Gilbert (5/11-c), Dylan Cease-CWS (2x; 4/27–5/2, 5/12-c), Kevin Gausman-TOR (4/26–5/1), Luis Garcia-HOU (5/6–5/12) and Gerrit Cole-NYY (5/8–5/13)…AND FINALLY…if Ray records 9+ strikeouts in tonight’s start, he will become the first Mariners pitcher to record 9+ strikeouts in at least 3 consecutive outings since James Paxton did it in 4 consecutive starts from June 21-July 7, 2018.

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 4-game series against the Boston Red Sox (0–1) tonight at Fenway Park…Seattle is coming off a series victory against the New York Mets (2–1) and a series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays (1–2) to begin the road trip…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers on the call…the game will also be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped last night’s series opener to the Red Sox by a 12–6 score, falling to 6–7 in series openers (3–5 on the road) this season…Seattle is 14–7 when scoring at least 4 runs and 3–15 when scoring 3 or fewer runs this season…the Mariners are 9–7 at T-Mobile Park and 8–15 on the road.

• Swing Set — The Mariners pitching staff has induced a swing on the first pitch 33.8 percent of the time, most in the Majors…Houston (33.7%) and Detroit (33.0%) rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
• 10 Plus — Seattle recorded 10+ hits last night for the 12th time in 2022, falling to 9–3 in those games.
• Series Record — The Mariners own a 4–7–1 series record (1–5–1 on the road) this season.

WELCOME TO THE J-ROD SHOW…Julio Rodríguez went 3-for-5 with a run scored, home run and RBI last night…in 18 May games, he’s batting .338 (23x68) with 6 runs, 1 double, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 4 walks and 2 stolen bases, getting on base at a .375 clip, slugging .515 with an .890 OPS…his 167 wRC+ in the month of May leads American League rookies and ranks 2nd among Major League rookies, trailing only Juan Yepez-STL (174 wRC+)…in 38 overall games this season, Julio is batting .270 (38x141) with 15 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 14 RBI, 11 stolen bases and 11 walks, getting on base at a .327 clip, slugging .383 with a .710 OPS, 113 OPS+ and 114 wRC+.

GIMME MOORE…Dylan Moore went 1-for-2 with a run scored, home run, 4 RBI and 2 walks in last night’s game…he hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd inning off Boston starter Rich Hill…in 20 games this season, Moore is batting .182 (6x33) with 5 runs, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 7 RBI, 3 stolen bases and 7 walks, getting on base at a .341 clip, slugging .424 with a .766 OPS, 129 OPS+ and 135 wRC+…his wRC+ (135) ranks 4th-best on the Mariners (min. 40 PA) behind Tom Murphy (175), Ty France (164) and J.P. Crawford (154)…Moore’s 4 RBI last night tied a career-high (also: 9/7/2020 and 7/26/2021).

THE FRENCH CONNECTION…Ty France is batting .323 (50x155) with 16 runs, 6 doubles, 6 home runs, a team-leading 28 RBI, 13 walks and 6 hit-by-pitches in 39 games this season…he’s gotten on base at a .394 clip, slugging .477 with an .872 OPS, 161 OPS+ and 164 wRC+…France’s 14 multi-hit games this season are tied for 5th-most in the Majors.

PAPA GENO…Eugenio Suárez went 2-for-5 with 2 runs and a double last night…he has hit safely in each of his last 6 starts since May 13…in 38 games this season, Suárez is batting .216 (30x139) with 21 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, a team-leading 7 home runs, 19 RBI and 18 walks, getting on base at a .314 clip, slugging .439 with a .753 OPS, 124 OPS+ and 128 wRC+.

J.P. AMONG ELITE SHORTSTOPS…J.P. Crawford is batting .300 (39x130) with 16 runs, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 11 RBI, 14 walks and 4 hit-by-pitches in 36 games this season…he’s getting on base at a .380 clip, slugging .462 with an .842 OPS, 152 OPS+ and 154 wRC+.

MAY FRAZIER…Adam Frazier is batting .303 (20x66) with 8 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 3 RBI and 8 walks compared to just 6 strikeouts in 17 May games…he’s getting on base at a .378 clip, slugging .409 with a .788 OPS in that span…Frazier has 8 multi-hit efforts in the month of May.

WINKER REACHES BASE IN 11 CONSECUTIVE…Jesse Winker has reached base safely in 11 consecutive games and 14 of his last 15…Winker has also hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, record a season-high 9-game hitting streak from May 8–17.

PAULS AND STRIKES…in 12 games this season, right-hander Paul Sewald is 2–1 with 1 save and a 2.84 ERA (4 ER, 12.2 IP) with 5 hits allowed, 1 walk and 13 strikeouts…his 0.474 WHIP ranks 3rd in the Majors and 2nd in the American League (min. 12.0 IP)…his strikeout-to-walk ratio (13.0) is tied for 7th-best in the AL (min. 12.0 IP).

BULLPENN ARM…in 9 games this season, right-hander Penn Murfee is 0–0 with a 0.79 ERA (1 ER, 11.1 IP) with 5 hits allowed, 3 walks and 15 strikeouts…he did not allow a hit through his first 5 Major League appearances (April 29-May 9), spanning 7.2 innings which is a club record for most consecutive innings to begin a career without allowing a base hit.

YOUTH MOVEMENT…the Mariners have the 2nd-youngest group of position players in the Majors this season according to Baseball-Reference, with an average age of 26.9 years old…they trail only Cleveland (average age: 26.1)…Seattle has the T4th-youngest pitching staff in the Majors, with an average age of 27.8, trailing Cleveland (26.6), Cincinnati (27.0) and Kansas City (27.7).

REHAB UPDATE…in 9 Major League rehab appearances with Triple-A Tacoma, outfielder Kyle Lewis is batting .324 (11x34) with 6 runs, 2 doubles, 3 home runs, 12 RBI and 4 walks, getting on base at a .410 clip, slugging .647 with a 1.057 OPS…first baseman Evan White made his 2022 debut with Tacoma on Wednesday night in a Major League rehab appearance, going 0-for-2.