Mariners Game #3 Preview: Athletics at Seattle
The Mariners try to find some offense after being shut out last night
Today as I was headed to the park I heard an ad for the circus and it struck me how quaint the notion of a circus is nowadays, how funny it is that things that entertained 19th century amusement-seekers still hold thrall for modern audiences who can open their phones and see things that would have made a Victorian gentleman’s cravat fly off. It’s really about as old an idea as baseball itself; I guess people are just always interested in watching other humans do the super-human. Speaking of which, anyone watch that Yankee game? And specifically, Suzyn Waldman busting Dave Sims’ chops over how his old team would never score 13 runs in a game? One thing about the Yankees and their circle, you can always trust them to punch down. Also, the Yankees wound up scoring 20 runs in that game. Must be nice.
Not that the Mariners don’t deserve the jest after a dreadful 7-0 shutout last night where the lineup treated Jeffrey Springs’s changeups like our hypothetical Victorian gentleman being shown a Twitch stream of a broccoli-haired skibidi youth playing Elden Ring. The Mariners try to bounce back from that drubbing tonight with the ever-affable Bryce Miller on the hill.
The A’s will start Osvaldo Bido, another hard thrower who can get wild at times. It will be important for the Mariners hitters to wait him out, drive up his pitch count early, and hopefully get into that bullpen again early.
Lineups:
The Mariners go back to their Opening Day lineup with a righty again on the hill.
And here’s how the A’s line up against Miller:
I’m not sure if it’s just a composition of their club this year or a deliberate shift away from the lefty-heavy lineups teams used to try to run out against Miller—maybe a combination of both—but the A’s lineup is missing lefty Seth Brown; Gio Urshela also sits in favor of former Mariner Luis Urías, who had a dagger of a home run last night; his first-ever in 64 plate appearances at T-Mobile Park.
News:
The Rainiers had their Opening Day game yesterday and won, 6-1, over the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express. Tyler Locklear and Spencer Packard each had two hits, including a double for Packard and a two-run homer for Locklear. Harry Ford, Ben Williamson, and Cole Young all got their first Triple-A hits, and Leo Rivas also homered. Logan Evans got hit around a little in his first Triple-A start, with one run on six hits over 3.2 innings, but Blas Castano was able to provide the team with 3.1 scoreless to allow the Rainiers offense time to extend their lead. The Rainiers play again tonight at 6:05 PT with Casey Lawrence on the hill.
Today’s Game Information:
Game time: 6:40 PT
TV: ROOT Sports NW, with Aaron Goldsmith and Ryan Rowland-Smith
New this season, you can stream the ROOT broadcast with their new direct-to-consumer app. More details here.
Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.
Captain’s Report:
Dan Wilson, on what has surprised him about Bryce Miller as he’s gotten to know his young hurler better:
“I think he’s pretty strong. He’s pretty tough mentally. And I think he comes across maybe a little differently than that, but I think he is a really tough mental competitor and we see that a lot. We definitely saw that in Houston*, and he’s learning to make that a big part of his game. And when you’ve got that in a player, that’s pretty special.”
* Referencing the seven-strikeout start on 9/23 of last season that prevented the Astros from clinching the AL West title
Today in Mariners history:
2018 - Félix Hernández becomes the 7th pitcher in Major League history to make 10 consecutive Opening Day starts, the longest active streak in the Majors. The Mariners defeat Cleveland 2-1, thanks to a 2-run home run by Nelson Cruz, his 4th career Opening Day home run.