Mariners Game #114 Preview: 8/06/24, DET at SEA

During the age of sail, Mariners would keep cats on board their ship to hunt rats

The Mariners continue this 9 game homestand by hosting the Detroit Tigers for a 3-game midweek series. Tonight’s game is the first of 6 that the M’s will play against the Tigers over the next 9 days, as the team is Detroit bound following the Mets series this weekend. The Tigers are sitting in 4th place in the AL Central, held aloft by the grace of being in the same division as the White Sox; the Tigers’ .469 winning percentage is one of the worst in the AL.

Lineups:

The Tigers are trotting out rookie Keider Montero. Since making his first MLB start in May, Montero has struggled in the big leagues, carrying an un-nice 69 ERA+ into tonight’s outing. Primarily a fastball guy, it will be interesting to see how handles the left handed bats tonight. He almost only offers his changeup to lefties, and opposing hitters are crushing it for a .927 xSLG.

On the M’s side of things, tonight will be Luis’ 5th career start against the Tigers, although he’s only seen 4 of today’s hitters before. Javier Baez, tonight’s 9-hole hitter, is an old adversary, with Castillo having faced him 36 times before. In those times, Baez has gotten a hit just as often as he’s struck out (8 times). Castillo has an opportunity to earn a 6th consecutive quality start tonight. If he does, he will join just two other pitchers (tomorrow’s starter Tarik Skubal among them) in having multiple 6+ quality start streaks this season.

Game Information:

First Pitch: 6:40 pm PT

Radio: Seattle Sports 710AM with Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims

TV: ROOT Sports with Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers

Today in Mariners history:

• 1977 - The Mariners’ Ruppert Jones hit the first-ever inside-the-park home run in the Kingdome, as the Mariners defeated the Yankees, 9-2.
• 1991 - Dave Fleming made his Major League debut, pitching an unusual .1 of an inning. After he entered the game, a runner was thrown out stealing second to end the inning.
• 2016 - The Mariners retired Ken Griffey Jr.’s number 24 in a pre-game ceremony. To celebrate Griffey’s number retirement and his call for them to “Keep Fighting,” the Mariners came from behind, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning on their way to an 8-6 win over the Angels.