Mariners Spring Training Game #8, 3/2/24, OAK @ SEA: Open Game Thread

JROD on KIRO

There were two baseball clues in the crossword today, so I’m taking that as a good omen. And indeed, we are going to get at least one good thing as Julio is in the lineup for the first time this spring. Emerson Hancock also gets his first game action since he went on the IL after his three August starts filling in for Bryan Woo. This is the first lineup it feels like we could conceivably see at some point during the regular season, though it’s far from the A Squad.

Although the Mariners-centric story of the day is Julio’s first game, I think the actual story of this game is wearing green and yellow.

Mitch Spence will get the ball for the Oakland Athletics. He was the number one overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft. It’s unusual to take a starting pitcher in the Rule 5 Draft, and while Oakland’s at a point where it maybe makes sense, Spence is still fighting the odds. One of his assets is his durability (he led MiLB in innings pitched last season) and he works with a four-pitch mix (and is working on adding a sinker), so I don’t think if Oakland wants him, they want him as a starter. That’ll make today an interesting test for him since, as noted above, he’s facing about as close to an MLB lineup as you’ll see in the first week of March. I’m sure Oakland’s front office will be watching intently.

But the rest of us can only listen, as today is a radio-only game: 710 am and Mariners.com. First pitch is at 12:10 PT.