The Mariners finally get to partake in one of my favorite baseball traditions: the Cubs Friday Matinee. It’s just so quintisentially summer. I’m sure the 11:20 PT start time is awkward for those of you out west, but I think it’s delightful that a Chicago institution encourages the city to start the weekend early while the weather’s nice. The Cubs are the pioneers of Summer Fridays.
George Kirby gets the honor of toeing the slab for Seattle, hoping to bounce back from an exceedingly unusual three-walk outing on Saturday. The Cubs give us a chance to watch our old friend, Matthew Boyd. Despite being a minor contributor to the 2022 team, Boyd’s actually from the PNW, so in the deluge of celebratory clubhouse interviews on clinch night, his was one of the ones that really got to me since he was the one who really understood what the drought meant. The visual of him tearing up while Ty France laughs and pours beer on someone’s head in the background was the dichotomy that spoke to my various feelings better that anything else that day.
Lineups
As the Mariners face a lefty, Luke Raley is not in the starting lineup, despite his return to the roster. Similarly, we’ll see Mitch Garver at DH, despite having seen Jorge Polanco bat from the right side more consistently lately.
Game Info
First pitch: 11:20 PT
TV: ROOT Sports
Radio: Ol’ reliable
Today in Mariners History
1985: The Mariners pounded out a club-record 20 hits as they beat the Texas Rangers, 11-3, at Arlington Stadium. Phil Bradley, Ivan Calderon, Jim Presley and Donnie Scott all had 3 hits, and Al Cowens drove in 4 runs for the Mariners.
1990: Ken Griffey Jr. hits an inside-the-park HR giving the Mariners a 3-2 win at Kansas City.
2002: Kazuhiro Sasaki picks up his 99th career save in a victory at Cincinnati to become Seattle’s all-time saves leader, passing Mike Schooler.