Mariners Game Information — April 26 vs. Arizona

AS YOU MAY KNOW…the Mariners pitching staff has been among the best in the Majors this season, tallying the fewest walks (58) of any club, the lowest WHIP (1.084), highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.91) and lowest walks-per-9 innings (2.3), but…DID YOU KNOW?…that Seattle pitchers also lead the Majors in highest average pitch velocity?…Mariners hurlers average 90.5 mph on pitches this season, ranking ahead of the Yankees (90.3), Marlins (89.7), Dodgers (89.6) and Brewers (89.5), and…DID YOU ALSO KNOW?…that Seattle also leads the Majors in highest average fastball velocity at 94.5 mph?…Seattle’s average fastball, which includes 4-seamers, 2-seamers and cutters, ranks ahead of the Marlins (93.9), Dodgers (93.8), Giants (93.6), Padres (93.6) and Tigers (93.6) this season.

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners begin a 6-game homestand tonight with the 1st of 3 games against the Arizona Diamondbacks…Seattle will also welcome the Atlanta Braves (3 G, 4/29–5/1) to T-Mobile Park on the homestand…the Mariners are coming off a 6-game road trip (4–2) with a pair of series wins against the Colorado Rockies (2–1) and Texas Rangers (2–1)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers on the call, and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners are 3–1 over their last 4 games, 7–2 over their last 9 games (4/15-c) and 9–4 over their last 13 games (4/10-c)…Seattle also has a 3-game home winning streak coming into play tonight…the Mariners are 11–3 when scoring first in a game this season.

• Game 1 — Seattle has won 4 consecutive series openers, and also 3 consecutive home series openers.
• Series-ly Awesome — The Mariners have won each of their last 3 series, sweeping the Reds in 3 games (4/15–4/17) and taking 2 out of 3 at Colorado (4/20–4/21) and at Texas (4/23–4/25).
• Bombs Away! — Seattle owns a 10–5 record when hitting a home run this season.
• Approaching 1,000 Mariners — The Mariners have had 998 players appear in a game in team history.
• World Series Nugget — This season marks the first time Seattle has played the defending AL (Texas) and NL (Arizona) champions in back-to-back series since 2018, when the Mariners welcomed the Dodgers (3 G, 8/17–19/2018) and Astros (3 G, 8/20–22/2018) to T-Mobile Park.

ALL THE SMALL THINGS…the Mariners pitching staff has been the best in the Major Leagues since April 10…in 13 games during that span, Seattle is 9–4 and has posted a 1.54 ERA (20 ER, 117.0 IP) with 3 saves, 27 walks and 122 strikeouts…the 1.54 ERA during that span leads MLB by over a full run (next: Detroit, 2.69 ERA)…the Mariners staff also leads the Majors in WHIP (0.85), walks-per-9 innings (2.08), hits-per-9 innings (5.62), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.52) and opponent batting average (.176/73x415) in that span…the 1.54 ERA is Seattle’s lowest ERA in franchise history over a 13-game span…the club’s lowest ERA over a 14-game span in franchise history is 1.66 (23 ER, 124.1 IP) from June 19-July 4, 2011.

“IT STARTS WITH THE STARTERS”…during the aforementioned 13-game stretch by Mariners hurlers, Seattle starting pitchers are 8–3 with a 1.59 ERA (14 ER, 79.1 IP) with 19 walks and 81 strikeouts…during that span, Seattle starters lead MLB in WHIP (0.86), ranking 2nd in ERA (1.59) to Philadelphia (1.55) and 2nd in opponent batting average (.174/49x281) to Philadelphia (.157/51x325)…during that span, Seattle has tossed quality starts in 11 of 13 games, with all 5 starters contributing: Logan Gilbert (3 QS), Luis Castillo (3), Bryce Miller (2), Emerson Hancock (2) and George Kirby…Castillo’s 42 strikeouts lead the American League (3rd in MLB)…Gilbert’s 0.80 WHIP and .161 opponent AVG both rank 4th in the Majors.

NOW I’M A RELIEVER…over the 13-game stretch dating back to April 10, the Mariners bullpen has posted a 1.43 ERA (6 ER, 37.2 IP) with 8 walks and 41 strikeouts…the bullpen ranks 2nd in ERA during that span, trailing only Milwaukee (1.36)…Mariners relief corps during that stretch lead the Majors in WHIP (0.85) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.13), ranking 2nd in walks-per-9 innings (1.91) to Colorado, 2nd in hits-per-9 innings (5.73) to New York-NL and 2nd in opponent batting average (.179/24x134) to New York-NL (.168/29x173)…in 10 appearances this season, Andrés Muñoz has 3 saves and a 2.89 ERA (3 ER, 9.1 IP) with 6 walks and 12 strikeouts…in 10 appearances, Ryne Stanek has 2 saves and a 2.00 ERA (2 ER, 9.0 IP) with 5 walks and 10 strikeouts…in 11 appearances, Gabe Speier has a 0.90 ERA (1 ER, 10.0 IP) with 2 walks and 15 strikeouts.

JULIO HEATING UP OVER LAST NINE…over his last 9 contests (4/15-c), Julio Rodríguez is batting .410 (16x39) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 5 RBI, 2 walks and 5 stolen bases…J-Rod has hit safely in 8 of those 9 games, with the Mariners going 7–2 in that time frame…Rodríguez has gotten on base at a .439 clip, slugging .539 with a .978 OPS in those 9 games, raising his season slash line from .186/.238/.203/.441 to .276/.317/.337/.654 in the process…Julio has 6 multi-hit games during that span, including 5 consecutive from April 16–21.

RED-HOT ROJAS…Josh Rojas is batting .315 (17x54) with 7 runs, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 1 stolen base at the plate this season, while getting on base at a .383 clip and slugging .463 (.846 OPS)…he has hit safely in 13 of 17 games this season and has reached base safely in 14 of 17…among AL third basemen with at least 50 plate appearances this season, Rojas ranks 1st in AVG and 2nd in OBP.

YESTERDAY’S ROSTER MOVES…infielder Leo Rivas (#76) was selected from Triple-A Tacoma…shortstop J.P. Crawford was placed on the 10-day Injured List (right oblique strain, retroactive to April 24)…right-hander Gregory Santos was transferred to the 60-day IL…Rivas, who will make his MLB debut when he first appears in a game, is set to become the 999th Mariners player in franchise history…the switch-hitting Rivas has played primarily middle infield positions and is batting .308 (16x52) with 12 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 11 RBI, 5 stolen bases and 11 walks in 18 games with the Rainiers this season.

RALEIGH AROUND CAL…in 21 games this season, Cal Raleigh is batting .257 (19x74) with 11 runs, 6 home runs, 13 RBI and 9 walks, getting on base at a .333 clip, slugging .500 with an .833 OPS…Cal ranks 2nd among MLB catchers in home runs (6), trailing only Salvador Perez-KC (7)…Raleigh also leads the Mariners in homers and OPS (.500), ranking 2nd in RBI (13) to Mitch Haniger (14) and 2nd in OPS (.833) to Josh Rojas (.846).

ON THE HOMESTAND…the Mariners open their 3rd homestand of the season tonight, welcoming the Arizona Diamondbacks (3 G, 4/26–4/28) and Atlanta Braves (3 G, 4/29–5/1) to T-Mobile Park…the homestand features Mariners Turn Ahead The Clock Jersey Night tonight, ’90s Night — Mariners Neon Hat tomorrow night, Little League Day — Cal Raleigh Poster (April 28), the first Bark at the Park of the season (April 29), and Value Games on April 30 and May 1.