Game Preview #34, 05/07/23: Houston at Seattle
Game Info
Seattle Mariners (16-17) vs. Houston Astros (17-16)
First pitch: 1:10pm PT / 4:10pm ET
Listen: Seattle Sports (710AM) / Mariners.com (Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims)
Watch: ROOT SPORTS / MLB.tv (Aaron Goldsmith and Ryan Rowland-Smith)
Lineups
Miller vs. Bielak
RHP Bryce Miller (0-0, 1.50)
Seattle’s newest rotation arm looks to pick up where he left off last week in his stellar debut against the Oakland A’s (6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 10 K, 0 BB). Today he faces a tougher lineup in the Houston Astros who are trying with all their might to prove that they’re still the team to beat in the AL West.
After one start Miller is already atop one leaderboard, that being vertical movement above average on his fastball. His 4-seam fastball sits at 4.8 inches above average.
RHP Brandon Bielak (0-0, 4.50)
The Astros starting rotation is where arms go to die and after having to hit the Replay button on “Taps” again, Houston is handing the ball over to RHP Brandon Bielak for his first start of 2023.
Bielak was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land last Monday after RHP José Urquidy was placed on 15-day IL (right shoulder discomfort). Before being recalled, Bielak recorded a 4.12 ERA (9ER/19.2IP) with nine strikeouts, a 1.12 WHIP and and a .216 opponent batting average in five games (three starts) for Triple-A Sugar Land this season.
About Last Night
When Ty France stepped up to the plate to face J.P. France, it was the first time a batter-pitcher matchup’s last names were the same country since Kevin Jordan-PHI faced Ricardo Jordan-NYM on Sept. 10, 1997.
Last night Juan Then pitched a scoreless 7th inning in his Major League debut. In doing so, he became the first Seattle pitcher since Danny Young on May 9, 2022 to record a scoreless first appearance in the big leagues.
The Mariners won last night thanks to an 8th inning rally, scoring 7 runs on 7 hits, all with 2 outs. Both the 7 runs and 7 hits were inning-highs for the Mariners this season and the 7 runs with 2 outs are tied for the 4th most runs with 2 outs in an inning in franchise history.
What to watch for
Source: Lookout Landing
