Mariners Game Preview #64: Seattle at Anaheim
On the verge of history
The Mariners are breathing rarified air. The Mariners have only held Mike Trout hitless in back-to-back games six times in the 59 series that the franchise has faced Trout.
The only, one, single time that they held him hitless over the first two games of a series is also the only time they’ve held him hitless over an entire series, September 5-7, 2011. Julio Rodríguez was 10 years old. Trout was a pinch hitter with one PA in game 2 of that series.
If the Mariners can keep Trout off the board today, it would be the first time they’ve ever held him hitless over an entire series where he started every game. Can they do it?
Logan Gilbert will do his best to try. It’s Bryce Miller’s turn in the rotation, but they’ve reshuffled to help manage the rookie’s work load.
Lineups
Kelenic is in the line up again after a couple high-effort attempts in the ninth last night made it seem like he might need a breather. After a day off, Cal catches again.
The other big story line aside from Trout will be whether Phil Nevin, who sits on the reddest ass in baseball, will start another beanball brawl after this happened last night:
Now Zach, you might be saying, that wouldn’t make any sense. This was obviously unintentional. To which I reply, that hasn’t stopped Nevin before. Still, the signs are that he won’t since he’s sticking with his planned starter rather than bringing in an opener/hit man. Griffin Canning is back on the mend after missing a year and a half with a stress fracture in his back, and has put up decent numbers so far in 2023. (To be clear, I am joking about a brawl—I do not actually think we need to be on Bean Ball Alert. I regret having to explain the joke but some people (not you) can’t be trusted to get it.)
Game Info
First pitch: 1:07 PT
TV: ROOT Sports (Sims and Goldy)
Radio: 710 (Rizzs and Hill)
OTD In Mariners History
1988: The Mariners wait until the bottom of the 8th to score all the runs they’d need to beat Minnesota, which they did on back-to-back home runs from their 8-9 hitters, Dave Hengel and Rey Quinones.
1994: The Mariners hit 4 home runs, one each from Griffey, Blowers, Dan the Man Wilson, and Tino Martinez, in a 6-3 victory over Oakland.
2007: Raúl Ibañez goes 4 for 5 with a double, a triple, and 2 home runs in an 8-7 win over Cleveland. Did you know Raúl had 51 triples in his career? Color me surprised.