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AS YOU MAY KNOW…catcher and Georgia native Harry Ford made his Major League debut last night in the 7th inning as a pitch hitter, but…DID YOU KNOW?…Ford is the first Mariner to debut in their home state since outfielder Braden Bishop made his MLB debut in his home state of California on March 21, 2019 at Oakland?…Ford is also the first Georgia-born player to debut in Georgia since Michael Harris II made his Major League debut with Atlanta on May 28, 2022 against the Marlins.
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue the 9-game road trip with the second of 3 games against the Atlanta Braves (0–1)…Seattle has also seen the Tampa Bay Rays (0–3) and Cleveland Guardians (1–2) on the trip…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS with Aaron Goldsmith and Angie Mentink on the call with Brad Adam serving as field reporter…the game will be broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM) with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr. on the call.
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners dropped last night’s series opener against the Braves by a 4–1 score…Seattle is 58–22 when they score at least 4 runs and 44–23 when their starter goes 6 innings.
· That’s Quality — Mariners starters have tallied 58 quality starts this season, 3rd-most in the American League and 6th-most in the Majors.
· Big Tex — Today’s starter Bryce Miller owns a 2.70 ERA (4 ER, 13.1 IP) with 2 walks compared to 14 strikeouts in 2 career starts against the Braves…Miller is coming off an impressive outing in Cleveland where he tossed 6.0 innings and held the Guardians to 2 runs on just 2 hits.
· Programming Note — Tomorrow’s game against the Braves will be telecast exclusively on Roku…the game will also be broadcast live on 770 AM KTTH…fans can stream the game for free on The Roku Channel app or at therokuchannel.com.
HARRY FORD MAKES MLB DEBUT…catcher Harry Ford made his Major League debut last night as a pinch hitter in the 7th inning, becoming the 9th Mariner to make their MLB debut this season, joining INF Cole Young, INF Ben Williamson, OF Rhylan Thomas, RHP Logan Evans, RHP Blas Castaño, RHP Juan Burgos, RHP Sauryn Lao and LHP Brandyn Garcia…Ford was the Mariners 1st round (12th overall) draft pick in 2021 and ranked as the Mariners #4 overall prospect and MLB’s #40 prospect by MLB Pipeline…in 97 games with Triple-A Tacoma this season, Ford batted .283 (106×374) with 18 doubles, 16 home runs, 74 RBI, 74 walks and 7 stolen bases with a .408 OBP, slugging .460 for an .868 OPS.
POSTSEASON PICTURE…the Mariners are currently in Postseason position with 20 regular season games remaining, holding the third and final AL Wild Card spot and standing a half game ahead of next-closest Texas…Seattle also sits 3.5 games behind Houston for the AL West Division lead.
ROBLES IS BACK…outfielder Victor Robles today returned to the Mariners active roster after completing his 7-game suspension…Major League Baseball announced on Aug. 29 that outfielder Robles had his suspension reduced from 10 games to 7 games starting Aug. 29…in 60 plate appearances this season, Robles is batting .263 (15×57) with 4 runs, 3 doubles, 5 RBI, 4 stolen bases and 1 walk.
LEO’S LOCKED IN…infielder Leo Rivas went 2-for-3 and drove in the Mariners only run in last night’s series opener against the Braves…on Monday, Rivas was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma and hit his first career home run as a pinch hitter in the 9th inning against the Rays…he became just the 5th Mariner to hit their first career home run as a pinch hitter, joining Jeff Clement (Sept. 26, 2007 vs. CLE), Greg Dobbs (Sept. 8, 2004 vs. CLE), Bruce Fields (July 7, 1988 at CWS) and Reggie Walton (Aug. 25, 1980 vs. BAL)…in 33 games with Seattle this season, Rivas is batting .313 (20×64) with 15 runs, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 7 RBI, 4 stolen bases and 13 walks, reaching base at a .436 clip with a .827 OPS in 78 plate appearances.
POLO POWER…infielder Jorge Polanco went 2-for-4 with 1 run scored last night…in 15 games since Aug. 17, Polanco is batting .360 (18×50) with 10 runs, 3 doubles, 5 home runs, 10 RBI, 1 stolen base and 4 walks, reaching base at a .407 clip and slugging .720 for a 1.127 OPS in 54 plate appearances…among MLB hitters during that span (min. 50 PA), Polanco also ranks 5th in slugging and 5th in OPS.
J-ROD’S SECOND HALF SURGE…since July 11, Julio Rodríguez is batting .297 (58×195) with 35 runs, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 17 home runs, 38 RBI, 9 stolen bases and 10 walks, reaching base at a .338 clip and slugging .615 for a .954 OPS in 48 games…during that span (min. 200 PA), Julio leads the Majors in slugging percentage and total bases (120)…he also ranks 5th in hits, 3rd in home runs, 6th in RBI, T-10th in stolen bases and 4th in OPS…Rodríguez has tallied 21 multi-hit games since July 11, which is tied for the most such games in MLB during that span along with Michael Harris II-ATL and Bo Bichette-TOR.
RANDY AND JULIO: POWER & SPEED…Randy Arozarena (26 HR, 25 SB) and Julio Rodríguez (28 HR, 24 SB) are closing in on becoming the first pair of Mariners teammates with 25+ HR and 25+ SB in the same season…if both players reach the 30 HR, 30 SB mark, they will be the 3rd pair of teammates with 30/30 seasons in the same season, joining the 1987 Mets (Howard Johnson, Darryl Strawberry) and 1996 Rockies (Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks)…on Monday, Arozarena became the 4th player in Mariners history with a 25/25 season joining Julio Rodríguez (2022–23), Mike Cameron (2001–02) and Alex Rodriguez (1998).
· When Rodríguez records his next stolen base he will join Darryl Strawberry and Bobby Bonds as the only 3 players to record three 25+ HR and 25+ SB seasons within their first 4 MLB seasons…if Julio reaches the 30/30 mark, he will join Bobby Witt Jr.-KC (2023–24) as the only players with multiple 30/30 seasons in the first 4 seasons of a player’s career…Julio has already become the 3rd player (since joined by Witt Jr.) to record 100+ HR and SB in his first 4 career seasons, joining Strawberry and Bonds.
CAL RALEIGH FOR AL MVP…in 138 games played this season, Cal Raleigh is batting .242 (125×516) with 90 runs, 19 doubles, 51 home runs, 109 RBI, 81 walks and 14 stolen bases, getting on base at a .351 clip, slugging .576 with a .927 OPS…in the American League, he ranks 1st in home runs, 1st in RBI, 2nd in slugging, 3rd in OPS, T-4th in runs scored, 2nd in extra-base hits (70) and 2nd in total bases (297)…on Aug. 24, Cal became the first catcher in MLB history with 50+ homers in a season and is the second player in Mariners history to join the 50+ home run club, joining Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. (56 HR, 2x, 1997–98).
WHAT’S NEXT FOR CAL?…with Cal Raleigh’s next home run *as a catcher*, he will tie Javy López (42 HR in 2003) for the most in a single season while catching…he recently joined Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle as the only switch-hitters with 50+ home runs in a season in MLB history…Mantle holds the record of 54 home runs for the 1961 Yankees.
BACK END BULLIES…the Mariners have 2 relievers that rank in the top 5 in ERA (min. 39.0 IP) this season…closer Andrés Muñoz owns a 1.69 ERA (10 ER, 53.1 IP) that ranks 2nd in the Majors and Matt Brash’s 1.82 ERA (8 ER, 39.2 IP) ranks 5th…Seattle is 1 of only 3 teams to have 2+ relievers with a sub-2.00 ERA and at least 39.0 IP this season along with the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.
UPCOMING HOMESTAND…the Mariners return home on Sept. 8 for their penultimate regular season homestand, hosting the St. Louis Cardinals (3 G, 9/8–10) and the Los Angeles Angels (4 G, 9/11–14)…highlights on the homestand include Logan Gilbert POP! Collectible 3-day Giveaway from Sept. 8–10, Mariners Value Game on Sept. 11 (tickets start at $11), Hispanic Heritage Night on Sept. 12, Fan Appreciation Night on Sept. 13, and more…more information can be found at Mariners.com/Tickets.