Game #33, 5/6/23: Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners
Okay, so last night wasn’t too fun, and certainly not the best way to break in the City Connect jerseys (side note, I liked how they look on the field more than I was expecting to! Still don’t love the black pants but the yellow piping is crucial). It’s a new day, though, and it’s slightly less gross out in Seattle today than it was yesterday. Progress!
All set for Game 2️⃣ vs. the Astros. pic.twitter.com/ZIadtjSN8v — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 6, 2023
Tonight’s Mariner lineup looks fairly similar to last nights, with the exception of Tom Murphy behind the plate and Cal Raleigh getting a DH day. Although the calls to switch things up at the top of the lineup are understandable and growing, I have a feeling tonight may be the game Julio and Ty break out of their funks - in Ty’s case, he’s quietly notched a hit in each of his last three games. Marco Gonzales will be on the mound, and will look to get the bad taste of his last outing against Toronto out of his mouth. Facing a righty-heavy lineup, his changeup will need to be sharp. Juan Then was also officially called up this afternoon, with Penn Murfee hitting the injured list. You can check out Kate’s blurb, which features Jacob’s highly entertaining 40-in-40 and some clips of Then’s stuff, over here.
On Houston’s side, Yainer Díaz gets the start at catcher, giving pitch framing maven Martín Maldonado a day off. Notably, it will be the Major League debut of starting pitcher J.P. France, and I’m already overloaded with jokes and puns about this matchup. A 14th round pick by the Astros out of Mississippi State in 2018, France has worked to a 3.09 FIP across 19.1 innings in Triple-A Sugar Land. While he’s racked up strikeouts and coaxed plenty of ground balls off of opposing hitters’ bats, he’s been a bit wild, putting up a hefty 14.3% walk rate in that span. Take, Mariners! Take!
Tonight’s Game Info:
You’ll be able to catch tonight’s game on all the usual places: ROOT Sports NW and MLB.tv for out-of-market viewers with Mike Blowers and Aaron Goldsmith on the video side, and 710 Seattle Sports or the MLB app with Dave Sims and Rick Rizzs for radio.
Today in Mariners History:
1982: Gaylord Perry won the 300th game of his career, spinning a complete game, 7-3 victory over the Yankees at the Kingdome.
2000: Kazuhiro Sasaki picked up his first win in MLB, thanks to a Mark McLemore walkoff single paving the way to a 1-0 triumph over the Angels.
2022: Jarred Kelenic bashed a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Rays to give the Mariners a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately, Manuel Margot had other plans, snatching the lead back in the top of the ninth with a three-run blast en route to a 7-6 Tampa win.
Source: Lookout Landing
