09.23.14 Game Notes

T uesday, September 23, 2014 Game #157 (83-73) Rogers Centre SEATTLE MARINERS (83-73) at TORONTO BLUE JAYS (79-77) Road #79 (45-33) TONIGHT'S TILT…the Mariners conclude 11-game road trip with the second of four games against T oronto (0-1)…began trip by splitting four-game set against Angels & losing two of three in Houston… return home for regular season ending 3-game set against the Angels…tonight's game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle & the Mariners Radio Network. ODDS AND ENDS…have lost 3 straight and 4 of last 5…dropped 7 of last 10 games & are 5-10 over last 15 games…are 27-21 since the start of August, including 10-11 in September…45-33 on the road and 38-40 at Safeco Field (3 home games remaining)…are 38-35 vs. the AL West (23-16 on road). • 3 is the Magic Number – When scoring 3+ runs the Mariners are 76-22 (.776). • Comeback Wins – Recorded 36 comeback wins, tied for 6th-most in the American League. • Iron Man – Kyle Seager had his string snapped of 688.1 consecutive team innings played at 3B Tues- day…has started 120 consecutive games (1 at DH), 6th-longest active MLB streak. • Hit Parade – Robinson Cano is 5th in the AL in batting average (.321) and T3rd in hits (184). • Run Differential – Mariners have the 4th-best run differential in the AL (+82, 615-533). • In a Pinch – Endy Chavez is 6-for-13 (.462) as a pinch-hitter this season (team is batting .203/16x79). • King Felix – Felix Hernandez leads the American League with a 2.07 ERA and 27 quality starts. • XBH – Robinson Cano is one of 10 players in MLB history with at least 50 XBH in each of rst 10 seasons. • Mix and Match – Mariners have used 136 different starting lineups (batting) this season. • Backstop HR – Mike Zunino is 3rd in MLB amongst catchers with 21 home runs (leads A.L.)…has set club record for HR by a catcher which was previously set by Miguel Olivo (19) in 2011. MOVING UP THE CHART…Felix Hernandez enters tonight with a career-high 236 strikeouts this season, the 7th-highest single-season total in club history…ranks behind Randy Johnson (308 in 1993, 294 in 1995, 291 in 1997), Mark Langston (262 in 1987, 245 in 1986) and Johnson (241 in 1992)…with 4.0 more innings pitched, will reach 230.0 innings in a season for the 5th time in his career…since Felix's rst full season in 2006, only CC Sabathia (5) has as many 230.0+ inning seasons and Hernandez is the only one to do so in the American League. ROAD WARRIOR…Felix Hernandez has a 1.98 ERA (24 ER, 109.1 IP) with 119 strikeouts on the road this season…the 1.98 road ERA is the 6th-best in the American League since 1982…only Pedro Martinez (1.57 in 2003, 1.66 in 2000, 1.88 in 1999, 1.89 in 2002) & Roger Clemens (1.90 in 1992) have posted better road ERA's in a single season than Felix (who also posted 1.99 road ERA in 2009). FINISHING STRONG…Brad Miller is nishing the regular season strong, hitting .333 (15x45) with 8 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, .556 slugging percentage and a .903 OPS in his last 18 games (since Aug. 31)…over his last 76 games (since May 29), he is hitting .259 (55x212) with 31 runs, 7 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs, 25 RBI and a .748 OPS…began the season hitting .151 (22x146) in his rst 43 games o f the season. STARTER STRUGGLES…Seattle starters have struggled over the last three games, failing to complete 5.0 innings in any of them…in those three games they have posted a 17.10 ERA (19 ER, 10.0 IP) with 10 walks…in that stretch, the starters season ERA rose from 3.34 to 3.49. LOGAN LOCKED IN…Logan Morrison is hitting .315 (47x149) with 23 runs, 12 doubles, 4 home runs, 16 RBI and .845 OPS in his last 46 games (since July 29), the 9th-best average in the American League in that span…in his last 37 games with runners in scoring position (since June 20), is hitting .360 (18x50) with 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 24 RBI & 1.013 OPS (hitting .311/19x61 with RISP overall in 2014)…each of his last 4 (& 5 overall) home runs have tied the game or given Seattle the lead. CANADIAN CONNECTION…Michael Saunders has hit 5 home runs in his last 11 games at Rogers Centre…James Paxton (Ladner, BC) and Saunders (Victoria, BC) are two of 12 Canadian-born players who have played for the Mariners (Rob Ducey, Paul Spoljaric, Jason Bay, Erik Bedard, Ryan Radmanovich, Dave Pagan, Steve Sinclair , Jordan Zimmerman, Mike Gardiner & Dave Wainhouse). BIRD HUNTING… Austin Jackson (3rd) & Kyle Seager (4th) are amongst the active leaders in career batting average against Toronto (min. 75 AB) behind Michael Brantley (.365/35x96) & Michael Bourn (.355/27x76) …Jackson is hitting .348 (48x138) with 31 runs, 6 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs & 11 RBI, while Seager is hitting .341 (28x82) with 11 runs, 5 doubles, 4 home runs & 13 RBI. HOT CORNER CLOUT…Kyle Seager has 25 home runs and 94 RBI this season…his 94 RBI are the 3rd-most in club history by a third baseman…only Jim Presley (109 in 1986) and Adrian Beltre (98 in 2007) have driven in more runs as a third baseman than Seager…on Friday night, he passed Mike Blowers (91 in 1995) and Adrian Beltre (89 in 2006) on the list…his 25 home runs are T4th-most by third baseman in club history with Beltre (2006 & 2008)…he ranks just behind Presley (28 in 1985 & 27 in 1986) & Adrian Beltre (26 in 2007). GOOD COMPANY …Mike Zunino has 20 doubles and 21 home runs this season…he's the only Mariners catcher in this "20-20" club…at age 23 years and 186 days, Zunino is the 5th-youngest catcher to put up a 20-double, 20-home run season…ranks behind Johnny Bench (21.299 in 1969), Brian McCann (22.223 in 2006), Johnny Bench (22.298 in 1970) & Gary Carter (23.177 in 1977). DUSTIN SMACKLEY …Dustin Ackley recorded his 2nd career multi-home run game Fr iday night… he has 9 home runs since July 31st, T12th-most in the American League in that span and his 30 RBI in that same span ranks T13th in the A.L.…his 13 home runs are a career-high. TONIGHT'S GAME INFORMA TION Starting Pitchers: RHP Felix Hernandez (14-5, 2.07) vs. RHP R.A. Dickey (13-12, 3.82) 4:07 pm PT/7:07 pm ET • Radio: 710 ESPN Seattle / Marin ers.com • TV: ROOT SPORTS Day Date Opp. Time Mariners Pitcher Opposing Pitcher RADIO Wednesday Sept. 24 @TOR 4:07 pm RH Taijuan Walker (2-2, 3.00) vs. LH Mark Buehrle (12-10, 3.53) 710 ESPN Thursday Sept. 25 @TOR 1:07 pm TBA vs. TBA 710 ESPN All games televise d on ROOT SPORTS with home games on Spanish Audio ( TV SAP and ESPN Deportes radio) WILD CARD RACE Mariners enter play today 2.0 games back of KC for 2nd AL Wild Card spot and 3.0 games back of OAK for top spot: TEAM W-L Pct. GB Athletics 86-70 .551 +1.0 Royals 85-71 .545 --- Mariners 83-73 .532 -2.0 Indians 82-75 .522 -3.5 Yankees 81-75 .519 -4.0 Blue Jays 79-77 .506 -6.0 MARINERS SAVES Fernando Rodney leads MLB with 46 saves, and broke the Mariners single- season save record…no Mariners closer has led the AL in saves: RK PLAYER SAVES 1. Fernando Rodney (2014) ...................46 2. Kazuhiro Sasaki (2001) ................... ..... 45 3. J.J. Putz (2007) .................... ................ 40 4. David Aardsma (2009) ..................... ..... 38 INSIDE THE NUMBERS .306 Kyle Seager is batting .306 (37x121) with 20 runs scored, 7 home runs and 20 RBI over his last 32 road games (since 7/19)…has recorded at least one hit in 24 of his last 32 road games (11 multi-hit). .348 Kendrys Morales' batting average (8x23) on knuckleballs put in play during his career…Denora (2x4), Quintero (3x7), Cano .265 (18x68). .440 Logan Morrison's batting average during his active 8-game hitting streak, batting .409 (11x25) with 6 runs, 3 doubles, 1 home run and 3 RBI. 5 Michael Saunders' home runs at Rogers Centre in his last 11 games. 45 Seattle has 45 road wins, tied for 2nd- most in club history (also: 2002 & 1997). AL ERA LEADERS RK TEAM (overall) ERA 1. Seattle ............................................ 3.18 2. Oakland ................... ..................... .. 3.27 3. Baltimore ..................... ................... 3.44 RK TEAM (bullpen) ERA 1. Seattle ............................................ 2.58 2. Oakland ................... ..................... .. 2.95 3. Baltimore ..................... ................... 3.11 RK TEAM (starters) ERA 1. Oakland ................... ..................... .. 3.42 2. T ampa Bay ................... ................... 3.45 3. Seattle ............................................ 3.49 VS. TORONTO BL UE JA YS The Mariners and Blue Jays play the 5th of a 7-game season series tonight… swept the Blue Jays in Seattle in 3-game set Aug. 11-13. Year Home Road Totals 2014 3-0 0-1 3-1 2013 1-2 2-1 3-3 2012 3-0 3-3 6-3 All-Time 92-91 85-103 177-194 AS YOU KNOW…Kyle Seager hit his 25th home run of the season last night…BUT DID YOU KNOW…that he’s just the 15th Mariners player to record a 25 double-25 home run-90 RBI season?...Jose Lopez was the last to accomplish the feat in 2009…others to accomplish the feat include Ken Griffey Jr. (6x), Edgar Martinez (5x), Alex Rodriguez (4x)…11 other players have recorded at least one season hitting those three marks.

09.23.14 Game Notes

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