Mariners GameDay — May 28 vs. Texas

AS MAY YOU KNOW…the Mariners have won 9 consecutive games against the Rangers at T-Mobile Park dating back to July 24, 2017, with Mariners pitchers posting a 2.44 (22 ER, 81 IP) with 14 walks and 78 strikeouts during that span, but…DID YOU KNOW?…the 9-game winning streak against the Rangers at T-Mobile Park is tied for the 4th-longest (done 4x) home winning streak against any opponent in club history?…the 9-game streak trails only a 15-game winning streak vs. Baltimore (June 2, 1999 — May 24, 2002), an 11-game streak vs. Milwaukee (May 30, 1990 — June 12, 1992) and a 10-game streak vs. Cleveland (May 23, 2010 — Aug. 4, 2014).

TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 7-day, 7-game homestand tonight with the 2nd of 4 games against the Texas Rangers (1–0)…will also host the Oakland Athletics for 3 games beginning on Monday…are coming off a 2-team, 6-day, 6-game road trip (2–4) against Oakland (2–1) and San Diego (0–3)…tonight’s game will be televised on ROOT Sports NW, as well as broadcast on 710 ESPN Seattle and the Mariners Radio Network.

ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners won yesterday’s series opener in a 5–0 shutout…have won 3 of their last 4 games…own a 7–7–2 series record in 16 series….are 10–7 in day games and 14–20 at night…are 13–12 at T-Mobile Park and 11–15 on the road…are 20–8 when scoring at least 4 runs and 4–19 when scoring 3 or fewer runs…are 17–3 when out-hitting their opponent.

• Home Cooking — The Mariners are 13–12 at home this season, compared to 11–15 on the road…Seattle pitchers have posted a 3.74 ERA (94 ER, 226.0 IP) at home, while holding a 5.23 ERA (120 ER, 206.2 IP) on the road.
• Country Road — Tom Murphy has homered in 4 of his last 8 games at T-Mobile Park…holds a .753 OPS at home, compared to a .411 OPS on the road this season.
• Back-to-Back — The Mariners hit back-to-back home runs in last night’s game (Tom Murphy & Jacob Nottingham, 3rd inning) for the first time since Aug. 17, 2020 at LAD (Kyle Lewis & Kyle Seager, 3rd inning)…Murphy and Nottingham were the first Mariners back-to-back home runs at T-Mobile Park since Domingo Santana and Daniel Vogelbach on June 19, 2019 vs. KC (1st inning).
• MLB Debuts — 6 players have made their Major League debut with the Mariners this season: OF Taylor Trammell (4/1 vs. SF), RHP Will Vest (4/1 vs. SF), RHP Wyatt Mills (5/1 vs. LAA), RHP Logan Gilbert (5/13 vs. CLE), OF Jarred Kelenic (5/13 vs. CLE) and José Godoy (5/21 at SD).

HOME SWEET HOME…Mariners starters have allowed 3 runs or less in 7 consecutive starts at T-Mobile Park, and 11 of their last 12 home starts…during that 12-game span (5/2-c), Seattle starters have posted a 2.98 ERA (19 ER, 57.1 IP) with 21 walks and 56 strikeouts…tonight’s Mariners starter Justus Sheffield holds a 3.57 ERA (9 ER, 22.2 IP) at home, compared to a 6.75 ERA (16 ER, 21.1 IP) on the road…has recorded a quality start in each of his last 2 home starts.

ON SCHEDULE…Mariners starter Justus Sheffield starts tonight on his scheduled 5 days rest for the 4th time this season…Sheffield is 3–0 with a 2.55 ERA (5 ER, 17.2 IP) with 8 walks and 12 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .175 batting average against when pitching on 5 days rest this season…in 5 starts when pitching on an extra days rest (6+ days), is 0–4 with a 6.84 ERA (20 ER, 26.1 IP) with 10 walks, 22 strikeouts and a .354 opponent batting average.

DRAW ME…Ty France has hit safely in 4 consecutive games since returning from the 10-day IL on May 24, batting .400 (6x15) with 1 run, 1 double, 1 RBI and 1 walk during that span…since his return, leads the Mariners in hits, while trailing only Tom Murphy (.500, 3x6) in batting average…France’s active 4-game hitting streak is tied for the 6th longest of his career, chasing a career-high 6-game streak from Sept 7–13, 2020.

ALL-STAR MITCH…Mitch Haniger has hit safely in 6 of his last 7 games (5/21-c), batting .296 (8x27) with 5 runs, 4 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI and 3 walks during that span…overall this season, ranks among the top American League outfielders in nearly every offensive category, including extra-base hits (1st, 27), total bases (T1st, 104), home runs (T2nd, 13), doubles (T3rd, 13), runs (3rd, 35), RBI (5th, 34), slugging percentage (5th, .545) and hits (T6th, 50)…All-Star Voting begins on Thursday, June 3.

WILD WEST…tonight marks the 5th of 14 consecutive game for the Mariners against American League West Division opponents…overall this season, the Mariners are 9–8 against AL West opponents, including 3–1 to start the current 14-game stretch against the division…are 3–2 in series against the AL West this season…went 4–5–3 in series against the AL West last season, posting a 20–20 record overall.

BARRELED…Kyle Seager ranks 8th in the Majors having recorded a “Barrel” in 10.6% of his plate appearances this season…Mitch Haniger ranks 10th in the Majors with a Brls/PA rate of 10.0% this season…Seager and Haniger are the only teammates in the Majors to each rank in the top 10 Barrel % leaders this season…per Statcast, “the Barrel classification is assigned to batted-ball events whose comparable hit types (in terms of exit velocity and launch angle) have led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.”

NO RUNS FOR YOU…the Mariners spun their 4th shutout victory of the season last night behind 7.0 innings from starting pitcher Chris Flexen and relief outings by Rafael Montero and Keynan Middleton…the Mariners 4 shutouts this season are tied for 4th-most in the American League, trailing only New York-AL (8), Chicago-AL (6) and Oakland (5)…the Mariners did not record a shutout during the 2020 season and tallied 4 total shutouts during the 2019 season.

BULLISH ON THE ‘PEN…the Mariners bullpen has posted a 1.84 ERA (3 ER, 14.2 IP) with 7 walks and 17 strikeouts over the last 4 games (5/24-c)…the ‘pen had posted a 7.92 ERA (22 ER, 25.0 IP) during the club’s 6-game losing streak from May 17–23, which was snapped on Monday’s series opener against the A’s…since May 24, the 1.84 ERA by the Mariners ‘pen ranks 3rd in the American League, trailing only Kansas City (0.70 ERA, 1 ER ,11.2 IP) and Boston (1.42 ERA, 1 ER, 6.1 IP).

THAT HURTS…the Mariners lead the American League with 15 players currently on the Injured List, ranking ahead of Toronto (12), Texas (10) and Tampa Bay (10)…the Mariners have had 20 players on the Injured list so far this season after tallying only 17 IL stints in 60 games during the 2020 season…since 2015, the Mariners have tallied 20+ players on the IL only one other time over the course of a full 162-game season: 2021 (21 players).

https://www.scribd.com/document/509737714/05-28-21-Game-Notes