Mariners Game #39 Preview: 5/10/24, OAK at SEA

Bryan Woo returns to the rotation as the Mariners start a two-series homestand against two surprisingly hot teams

After a successful trip to Houston and a less-successful trip to Minnesota, the Mariners return home but the quality of opponent doesn’t get any easier, which is a wild thing to say about the 2024 Oakland Athletics but here we are. (The Mariners will also have to contend with the equally-hot Royals over this homestand.) If you’ve been missing what the squad from the Bay Area has been up to, Jake Mailhot broke it down in today’s series preview: the A’s have been doing what the Mariners so far haven’t been able to do, working long counts and swinging for the fences, which has yielded a lot of strikeouts but also a surprising amount of power, as well as enough walks to make those long bombs hurt. Here’s hoping the Mariners, who have been putting their time in working long counts of their own, see a similar payoff sooner rather than later.

Lineups:

The big news is Bryan Woo returning, of course, but also of note, Josh Rojas makes his first start at second base this year, so both him and Luis Urías find their way into the lineup tonight. Ty France returns after an off-day yesterday.

As a reminder, you probably want to check out the series preview if you haven’t, because unless you play in some really deep fantasy leagues you’re probably not overly familiar with most of the names in the A’s lineup, with the exception of course of Our Formerly Beloved Abraham Toro and maybe All-Star tier Poster Brent Rooker. There’s some highly regarded prospects in here though, both current and past—JJ Bleday, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom all had more than their fair share of ink spilled on the pages of Baseball America—and plenty of sneaky pop in a group of players that’s just out there having fun. There might not be a tarp, but there very well might be a trap.

News:

• The Mariners announced that they have DFA’d RHP Tyson Miller to make room for Bryan Woo. Miller now enters DFA limbo; if no one claims him, he’ll likely head back to Tacoma to join the Rainiers.

Injury updates:

It’s the start of a series and that means it’s time for Injury Updates Corner with GM Justin Hollander. There’s quite a few today:

• RHP Matt Brash underwent Tommy John surgery this Wednesday with Dr. Keith Meister. Brash had the now-standard TJ surgery plus internal brace to repair a small tear in his UCL ligament. The surgery reportedly went well and he’ll begin the standard TJ recovery timeline with a hoped-for return to action in June of 2025, although occasionally relievers are able to bounce back more quickly.
• SS J.P. Crawford is here with the team and will be evaluated today after going through infield drills to see if he’s ready to head out on a rehab assignment.
• OF Dominic Canzone has been making rapid progress in his recovery from an AC joint injury and will join the Rainiers in Reno this weekend for a rehab stint, after which the team will re-evaluate to see where he is with his timing and overall health before making a decision about his timeline for return.
• RHP Gregory Santos had a slight setback after his last MRI which wasn’t “perfect,” but is back to throwing 60-90 feet; he’s with the team rehabbing, and the team is targeting a July return date for him.
• LHP Tayler Saucedo thankfully avoided major structural damage to his knee, according to his MRI, but his knee remains very swollen and inflamed and the team will have to wait for the inflammation to calm down before putting a timetable on his return. Hollander seemed confident Sauce wouldn’t be down for more than the initial 15-day stint.

Tonight’s game information:

Tonight is Big Dumper night at the park and attendance is expected to be around 40,000, so if you want to get your hands on that Cal Raleigh Funko Pop you better roll up early.

Game time: 6:40

TV: ROOT Sports NW with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith

Today in Mariners history:

• 1988: Mark Langston strikes out a club record 16 Toronto Blue Jays in a 4-2 win (His mark would be beaten by Randy Johnson in 1997, who struck out 19 twice in that season)
• 2003: Edgar Martinez homers on a 3-0 count, marking the first Mariners homer to occur on a 3-0 count since Glenallen Hill did it on June 9, 1998 at San Francisco. That seems like a remarkably long time between 3-0 cookie homers, guys!
• 2010: The Mariners snapped an eight-game losing streak, tied for the longest in Safeco Field history, with a resounding defeat of the Los Angeles Angels, 8-1. (The 2011 team would go on to one-up the 2010 team significantly, with a 17-game losing streak.)
• 2015: Félix Hernández records his 2,000th career strikeout. At 29 years old, he is the fourth-youngest player to reach that mark in MLB history. He also recorded his 131st win in the game, passing Randy Johnson for second on the all-time Mariners wins list.