Kyle Lewis returns for the second game of the series against the A’s
After a feel-good win last night, the Mariners play the Athletics for the second game of this series and somehow only the second time this season:
Today’s lineup was a little delayed in coming out, as was the announcement eagerly anticipated by Mariners fans: Kyle Lewis has been re-instated from the IL, with the corresponding move being sending LHP Danny Young back to Tacoma. It seems curious that the Mariners would send down a bullpen arm, instead of DH-only Mike Ford, as the intention is to play KLew solely at DH. That might signal not only that the Mariners aren’t comfortable with running out Lewis back-to-back yet, but the degree to which they’ll be slow-playing the former Rookie of the Year.
George Kirby gets another start against a lineup that should give us a better idea of where the young righty is than his last start, where he had to struggle through a suddenly-hot Boston lineup in MLB’s most idiosyncratic park. The lineup will be contending with James Kaprielian, my personal spelling enemy (my handy mnemonic device: “kapri” like the pants plus “elian”). Fun fact, in looking up Kaprielian on b-ref I found he has a similarity score of 988 to Oyster Burns, with whom I was not familiar but enjoyed a 10-year career at the turn of the 20th century, and who also looks like someone who would pour you a nice tasting flight at the local microbrewery:
You can enjoy tonight’s game televised on ROOT Sports NW (or streamed via fuboTV), or on the radio on 710 Seattle Sports. Also, tonight is Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Night, so a special shoutout to the communities who will hopefully be out celebrating their past, present, and future at the ballpark tonight.
I want to acknowledge that it feels discordant to be talking about baseball when families and survivors are grieving a horrific loss of life in Texas. If you know anyone who is in the San Antonio area, encourage them to donate blood if they can, as the area was already suffering a months-long shortage in the blood supply. And while it might not directly impact the community in Uvalde, if you’re eligible or able to donate blood, consider signing up for a donation, as the Red Cross is suffering its worst blood shortage in over a decade. Here in the Seattle area, you can also donate to Bloodworks NW, which services not just the Pacific Northwest, but also ships blood around the region to help meet emergency demands after tragedies or during critical shortages.