Logan Gilbert and his new splitter seek to split the series so far with the Brew Crew

Logan Gilbert starts for the Mariners and hopes to lead them back to winning and a .500 record after yesterday’s exhausting, but ultimately not unexpected, loss. A win today also splits the series so far with the visiting Milwaukee Brewers and would put the M’s in a position to win the series tomorrow. The edge seems to go to Seattle in today’s game, in large part because of what LoGi brings to the table. Helping his team bounce back from losing is just what he does, and this year he has a new lethal weapon in his splitter, which you can (and should) read more about in Zach Mason’s wonderful breakdown of it and the effect it’s had overall.

Not only do M’s fans get the pleasure of a Logan Gilbert start today, but there are a few other fun lineup changes from yesterday to keep an eye on. Jose Cabellero makes his first major league start, manning shortstop and giving Crawford a scheduled day off, and slotting into the eight-hole. Tommy La Stella is the current void of a bad sliding into the epicenter of the black hole that is the Mariners 2023 DH role, a change from yesterday’s lineup in name only. On the Brew Crew side they will have Colin Rea making the start, who should be much more hittable than yesterday’s Burnes, but is coming off of a strong outing of 5.2 innings and only allowing one run. Last but certainly not least, the Prodigal Winker squares up against Seattle for the first regular season game since he departed, operating as Milwaukee’s Designated Hitter.

News and notes from Scott Servais’s pregame presser:

• On Logan Gilbert: Servais praises his young pitcher, who has had strong outings excepting the one “little clunker” in Cleveland where he was “out of sorts, mechanically.” “I think the biggest thing for Logan is really improved secondary pitches. The slider and curveball have been really sharp, he changes shape with those pitches and they’ve been super-effective for him...I think Logan learned, as good as he has, when he got here to the big leagues, it’s been the evolution and the development of the secondary pitches that started separating him. Guys can hit the heater in the big leagues, no matter how hard it comes, so the improvement of the secondary pitches—the slider, the curveball has really improved, he’s got the split-finger now, he’ll use that as the game gets going on—so he’s got real weapons.”
• Regarding José Caballero, Servais acknowledges this was a planned off-day where the team had hoped Dylan Moore would be ready to take over, but this does offer an opportunity to see what Caballero, a long-time veteran of the minors, can do at the big-league level. One thing to expect: plenty of walks, as Caballero has run a double-digit walk rate at virtually every stage of his career. “He does a really good job, he gives a very competitive at-bat, plays shortstop, second base, you could put him at third base, so it’s an opportunity for a player to get a shot at the big leagues, which is always exciting.” Servais does point out that Cabellero has experience in the WBC with Team Panama, as well as the rare three-time AFL appearance and plenty of time logged in the minors; you’ll remember Caballero was acquired in 2017 as the return for Mike Leake to the Diamondbacks.
• Lefty Tayler Saucedo has been called up from Tacoma in place of Darren McCaughan. Servais is excited to add another lefty to the pen, especially one with as good a sinker as Saucedo possesses who can go multiple innings if necessary. In 7.2 innings so far in Tacoma, Saucedo has struck out eight batters while walking just two and not allowed an earned run.
• In other news:
• The Seattle Mariners organization decided that they would have not one, but three games in the region today, and both Tacoma and Everett have notable players making returns to play after injury. On the Tacoma side of things you can catch Taylor Trammell and Cade Marlowe suiting up again, and up in Everett you’ll have the opportunity to catch Dylan Moore making his return.

• Another roster move: As mentioned above, lefty Tayler Saucedo is up in place of Darren McCaughan, who did some yeoman’s work in last night’s game and is rewarded with a trip back to Tacoma for his trouble.
• Also in injury news, Robbie Ray is not quite ready to begin his throwing program yet; Servais expects his throwing program to accelerate sometime during the upcoming road trip, but says he is feeling good. Andrés Muñoz is doing some light toss in the bullpen and should start picking up volume and be ready to head out on a rehab assignment soon.

Tonight’s game information:

Today’s game starts at 6:40 PM Pacific. To accommodate for the Seattle Kraken playoff game (and playoff debut, GO KRAKEN!) it will be aired on ROOT SPORTS PLUS for the television broadcast with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers on the call, or on MLB.tv if you are out of market. For Comcast/Xfinity customers, that’s channel 421 or 1253 (HD); DirecTV channel 687. The radio cast can be found in its usual spot on Seattle Sports (710 AM) as well as MLB.com with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims doing the announcing on that end.

Today in Mariners history:

• 1992 - The Mariners jolted three Brewers relievers for three runs in the final three innings to snag a 5-3 win in Milwaukee. Along the way, Tino Martinez hits his first Major League triple. Bet you can’t say that three times, fast.
• 1996 - Alex Rodriguez’ grand slam highlighted an 11-3 win vs. Detroit that tied the franchise record of eight straight wins.
• 2001 - Ichiro Suzuki’s homer in the 6^th inning against Texas gives him a 13-game hitting streak, setting a new Mariners record for longest hitting streak by a rookie.
• 2003 - With the victory in Anaheim, Jamie Moyer becomes just the second Mariners hurler to reach 100 career victories with Seattle.
• 2013 - Kyle Seager hit a pinch-hit, 2-out double to score Robert Andino with the go-ahead run in the 7th inning off Justin Verlander as the Mariners shut out the Tigers 2-0.
• 2015 - Felix Hernandez allowed 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 12 over 7.0 innings to earn his 2nd win of the season in a 3-1 victory over Texas. The win over Texas was the first by Hernandez since July 14, 2012.
• 2018 - Mike Leake recorded his 1,000^th career strikeout in a 7-1 Mariners loss to the Astros.
• 2021 – Ljay Newsome records his first MLB win in relief of Nick Margavicius. The Mariners won 7-2 over the Astros, allowing just one hit in the game.