No preamble today, because THERE ARE THREE WEIRD THINGS ABOUT TODAY’S GAME
Weird Thing #1: First pitch at 9:05 am PT
That’s a first pitch nigh 14 hours after last night’s game ended. It’s practically a doublehader. This explains why Cal Raleigh is DHing, which pushes Jorge Polanco’s hot bat to second base and means Cole Young is out of the lineup. Mitch Garver will catch today, not Harry Ford.
Weird Thing #2: It’s not on ROOT
Putting this up at the to because the information for how to access today’s game is complicated, but the key fact is that it is free for everyone. The
easiest way to watch is if you have the MLB TV package or an Extra Innings subscription. If that’s the case, you can watch today’s game just like if it were an out-of-market game. If not, the next easiest thing is if you have a Roku product. If that’s the case, go to the Roku Channel app or simply search for MLB or Mariners or Braves and you’ll figure out the rest. If you don’t have a Roku, but have another brand of smart tv, such as a Google TV, Samsung TV, or an Amazon Fire device, you can search for and download the Roku Channel and will be able to create an account and watch for free. Barring that, as long as you have internet access, you can watch it on your browser by going to therokuchannel.com and you can watch from there. The press advisory says you don’t even need to login, but that’s so counter to how the modern world works that I wouldn’t be shocked if you have to create a free account. But it’s probably true!
So we have to suffer some horrible national broadcast team? No! The way Roku rolls is that they team up one team’s regular play-by-play commentator with the other team’s color commentator. For today’s game, we’re getting the Braves’ play-by-play guy, Brandon Gaudin, who happens to be the voice of the Madden video game franchise, along with our own Angie Mentink.
Weird Thing #3: It’s not on 710 KIRO
Tragically, yes. Even though kickoff isn’t until four hours after first pitch, the Seahawks get Seattle’s flagship sports radio station all day long. The Mariners will be on 770 AM KTTH instead, with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill, Jr.
OK. You got all that?
Lineups
Fun on the Farm
Ben Williamson was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk in Tacoma last night. In 25 games since being sent down after the Eugenio Suárez deal, B Willy is hitting .353/.437/.559. Sure it’s the PCL, but accounting for the league environment, it’s a 151 wRC+. And he’s walking 11.8% of the time while striking out just 11.8% of the time. Just for fun, he’s also 6 for 6 in stolen bases.
Today in Mariners History
- 1997: Ken Griffey, Jr. hits his 50th home run of the year; he was just the 22nd player ever to do it
- 1998: Junior does it again, hitting his 50th home run of the year on the same day a year later and becoming just the third player to ever do it in back-to-back years
- 2011: Mamma Mia! Alex Liddi makes his debut, becoming the first person born and raised in Italy to play in MLB (you don’t want to see the rest of the Mariners’ box score that day)
- 2023: Brash embarrasses Arozarena. Love when enemies become friends
