Mariners Game #67 Preview, 6/14/23: Miami at Seattle
Hello to all my pitching sickos out there. I’m sure glad the Mariners won those first two games, because today’s promises to be a tough matchup for the hitters, with top prospect and emerging star Eury Pérez taking the mound for the Marlins. The 6’8” Pérez leads with his fastball, which averages—averages!—97.4 mph, and pairs that with a hard slider (86.5 mph). He’ll also use a curveball as a swing-and-miss putaway pitch and very rarely mix in a changeup. The fastball can be somewhat straight but it comes in with excellent velocity, so hitters will need to be on time for the fastball before he can get to his secondaries.
The one major Achilles’ heel to Pérez is his relative inexperience; he’s just 20 years old and his first professional season was 2021, as the pandemic messed with his natural development arc, as it did for so many young players. He’s yet to pitch into the sixth inning this year and will be working on a strict pitch count, likely between 85-90 depending on the stress of those pitches. Pérez can also struggle at times with commanding the zone, so working that pitch count should be possible with purposeful, plan-driven at-bats. If the Mariners want to complete the sweep, they’ll need to again battle in the early innings and try to get into the Marlins bullpen for a third straight game.
The Mariners will also be bolstered with their own ace, Luis Castillo, taking the mound. He’ll be facing exactly the same lineup the Marlins have been running out this series with the exception of the catching position, as Fortes returns to the starting lineup after an off-day yesterday, and center field, where Davis does the same switch with Hampson.
Lineups:
News and notes:
Penn Murfee will be “down for a while,” per Servais. He’s getting a second opinion on some nerve damage and also getting his UCL checked out.
Robbie Ray was in the clubhouse today getting treatment and hanging out with his fellow starters. “He’s a crucial guy in our clubhouse,” said Servais. “He helps out a lot of our young guys and he has a way of keeping things loose.”
The evidence of a couple of unspecified bets could be seen around the clubhouse today: the first was a grumpy-looking Ty France carrying a shiny new cowboy hat into the treatment room and Bryce Miller later emerging clutching that same hat. “George Strait approved!” he said proudly.
The second bet will be visible to keen-eyed viewers tonight, as Scott Servais is sporting the beginnings of a mustache, apparently at Cal Raleigh’s behest. “It’s gray, it’s ugly, and I got yelled at as I left the house,” lamented the skipper. “But there’s a reason for everything.”
Tonight’s game information:
Tonight’s game starts at 6:40 PT. It will be televised on ROOT Sports NW with Dave Sims and Aaron Goldsmith on the call, and on radio, you’ll hear Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith over on 710 AM Seattle Sports. If you’re feeling like coming out to the ballpark, tonight is a Value Game, with seats as low as $10 to see a pair of pretty special pitchers.
Tonight is the final game against the Marlins, with an off-day coming tomorrow. This weekend the Mariners begin a series against the White Sox, with a trio of special ballpark events: Pride fireworks on Friday, the Salute to the Negro Leagues on Saturday with a special Steelheads jersey giveaway (first 10K fans only, so make sure to get here early), and on Sunday, the talking Eugenio Suárez bottle opener. I was able to get my hands on one and it is, like the man himself, delightful.
Got to test out Sunday’s giveaway, the Eugenio Suárez talking bottle opener. It says a surprising amount of phrases but this one is my favorite: pic.twitter.com/W6eJhcjbBB — Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) June 14, 2023
Today in Mariners history:
1993 : Randy Johnson strikes out 15 in a 6-3 win against the Royals.
: Randy Johnson strikes out 15 in a 6-3 win against the Royals. 2013: Mike Zunino hits his first MLB home run, the decisive run as the Mariners win 3-2 at Oakland.
Source: Lookout Landing
