Then there is the matter of opponent. Teams prefer to keep their starters away from opponents they will see at the beginning of the season. To get them work, \u201cB games\u201d are scheduled with other teams who are in a similar boat. The Seattle Mariners found themselves in that boat with a Cactus League game scheduled against the Guardians, the team they open against, Friday evening.<\/p>\n
The game fell on the day Logan Gilbert was to make his final spring training start, so a B game at 11 a.m. was scheduled with their complex-mates, the Padres, on Field 1 in Peoria, Ariz. The move to a B game is nothing out of the ordinary for Gilbert. It did come with a bit of a surprise, however, as Cal Raleigh showed up to catch.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t positive with it being 11 a.m. and we had a night game last night,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting him necessarily to be here, but he was, which is way better so we can get a feel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Raleigh was not originally in the lineup against the A\u2019s in Mesa, Ariz., Thursday night but asked to DH to get going on making up for lost at-bats. It\u2019s not difficult to see why it would be important he catch Gilbert one last time before the start of the season, but Gilbert was nonetheless appreciative, explaining he\u00a0sees\u00a0Raleigh\u00a0behind the plate\u00a0as what he called the baseline because he has thrown to him for so long. From there, it was about where Gilbert was in the present and making up for time missed with Raleigh while he was away at the WBC.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat just feels comfortable,\u201d said Gilbert, who threw 80 pitches on Friday. \u201cAnd then sequencing-wise, I wanted him to see where my stuff\u2019s at right now and I wanted us to get a feel for each other, what we wanted to do. Like if he saw me shake to something, he knows I feel more comfortable with that. I saw kind of what his natural sequencing was, so I think that helps out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seattle Mariners name Logan Gilbert opening day starter<\/a><\/p>\n Gilbert did not use the PitchCom device he has been thinking about using in the regular season. He did, however, go to a pitch he has been playing around with for years, the sinker. It\u2019s a pitch Raleigh has shown disdain for in the past, but was calling it on Field 1. Something perhaps learned in the WBC?<\/p>\n \u201cI threw four or five and he called seven or eight. I was the one shaking them off. So, roles reversed after 10 years,\u201d said Gilbert with a laugh. \u201cSo he likes the sinker, which he\u2019s hated for years.\u201d<\/p>\n Gilbert has reworked the sinker a bit, adjusting the grip and spiking it more. Whether or not it makes a regular season appearance or stays in the category of what Mariners pitching coaches call a \u201cside project\u201d remains to be seen, but Gilbert clearly enjoyed Raleigh\u2019s willingness to experiment Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how serious he is,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I like the cutter a lot and I think he likes it. We both like where the curveball\u2019s at and everything else. He did call more sinkers than I thought he would today and even called a couple changeups. We\u2019re not going to throw the changeup. He\u2019s always been out on everything and then today, he was very open minded today.\u201d<\/p>\n Not a bad place for the opening day battery<\/a> to be, but no surprise either for the two who have been together nearly every step of the way since their first fall camps following being drafted in 2018.<\/p>\n \u201cHe loves to be prepared as much as anybody,\u201d said Gilbert. \u201cI think that\u2019s the main thing and it resonates with me. That\u2019s kind of who I am and I love seeing him that way. That\u2019s how he\u2019s always been and (hitting) 60 bombs, whatever it is, nothing changes who he is as a person, so it means a lot that he would be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Three standouts from Seattle Mariners\u2019 Spring Breakout game<\/a>
\u2022 Seattle Mariners\u2019 lineup vs Guardians has interesting wrinkle at SS<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Raleigh, Arozarena both help Seattle Mariners in 6-run inning<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Mariners\u2019 Hancock showing new weapon during strong spring<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Former Mariners UT Dylan Moore triggers opt-out clause<\/a><\/p>\n
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