The Mariners try to get back in the W column against their neighbors to the North(East)
The Mariners will hope for some better batted ball luck tonight—they’ll need it, because both starters have a tendency to see balls in play. The Blue Jays are starting Bowden Francis, who is in the fifteenth percentile in baseball in K%, 23rd percentile in Whiff%. Evans doesn’t have enough innings to qualify, but he’s also more of a contact manager than a strikeout artist.
Lineups:
And here is Toronto’s lineup, once again trimmed down from the enormous graphic they posted on Twitter.
News:
Nothing new on the injury front (thankfully). George Kirby is making a start for the Rainiers tonight at home in Tacoma; game time is 6:05.
Captain’s Log:
Wilson on what Logan Evans has learned over his brief stay in the bigs so far:
“Sometimes you can make good pitches, and in the big leagues, they’re still going to be able to do something with it, whether it’s hit hard or not.”
Game Information:
Game Time: 6:40 PT
TV: ROOT Sports NW, with Aaron Goldsmith, Ryan Rowland-Smith, and Dave Valle, with Jen Mueller as the sideline reporter.
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr., with Shannon Drayer on pre and post-game. Charlie Furbush is also hanging out as well so he might be making an appearance on the broadcast too.
Angie Mentink is on the IL with a sore throat. Get well soon, Queen Angie.
Today in Mariners History:
- 1989 – Mark Langston suffered what he himself called the toughest loss of his career: after carrying a perfect game through six innings and a no-hitter for eight against Toronto, he lost the perfect game in the seventh, and then the no-hitter and eventually the game in the ninth, as the Blue Jays won, 3-2.
- 2015 – Félix Hernández recorded his 2,000th career strikeout; he was the fourth-youngest player to that mark, at 29 years and 32 days. Only Bert Blyleven, Sam McDowell and Walter Johnson reached 2,000 at a younger age (of those three, McDowell is the only non-HOFer). Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw was the fifth-fastest to two thousand.King Félix was also the fourth-youngest player to 1,000 career strikeouts, trailing just Blyleven, Dwight Gooden, and Hall of Famer Bob Feller.
Here’s the video of #2000 for Félix—with a special Mother’s Day King’s Court.