Mariners Game #147, Preview: 9/12/24, TEX at SEA

The Mariners are once again supporting players in another team's national storyline: Tonight, Kumar Rocker makes his highly anticipated MLB debut against the Mariners. Rocker, a standout at Vanderbilt, was once considered the top pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, but then didn't sign with the Mets after questions arose about his physical condition, played indy ball, was drafted again in the first round by the Rangers – who also took his college teammate Jack Leiter in the 2021 draft – and then underwent TJ surgery. It's perhaps the clearest example of how “the path of pitching talent has never been smooth in recent years.” Rocker is a great story; the Mariners will be supporting players in that story tonight.

Here's a little trivia anecdote: When Rocker debuts tonight against the Mariners, it will be the fifth time a starting pitcher has debuted against the Mariners this season (thanks, Angels, you've had a whopping three of them). That's the second-most debuts by a team in the MLB, one ahead of the Nationals, who had four pitchers make their debuts against. Can you guess which team has debuted the most starting pitchers?

Lineups:

While I like to poke fun at other teams' social graphics, there's nothing to poke fun at here other than it's boring. But there's no stupid SEA pun, the lineup is mostly readable when it's in a font I associate with an Apple II, and it's… fine.

But this is fire:

Credit where credit is due: this is a great recording.

News:

Although the Mariners have not yet announced an official roster change, Emerson Hancock is here in the locker room instead of making his scheduled start in Tacoma, so he will almost certainly play tomorrow against [checks notes] Jacob deGrom makes his season debut. Cool and good.

Information about tonight’s game:

Playing time: 6:40 PT

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Dave Sims and Rick Rizzs on the phone, with Shannon Drayer providing pre- and post-game coverage.

TV: ROOT Sports NW, with Angie Mentink and Aaron Goldsmith (Mike Blowers, who is still battling an illness, was again canceled at short notice) on the phone

Referee team: Rob Drake (HP), Ryan Blakney (1B), Bill Miller (2B), Malachi Moore (3B)

Today in Mariners history:

• 1987: Puerto Rico-born Mario Díaz made his debut and hit a triple in his first at-bat against Chicago's Bob James.
• 1996: The Mariners begin the day nine games behind Texas in the AL West standings. Mark Whiten's three-run home run is the big blow in an 8-5 comeback victory at Kansas City. The win is the first of 10 straight, which is a club record and cuts the Rangers' lead to one game.
• 2014: Fernando Rodney made a save in the Mariners' 4-2 win over the Oakland A's, his 45th of the season, tying Kazuhiro Sasaki for the Mariners' single-season record. Seattle also managed to secure the second wild-card spot, just a half-game behind the A's, who took the first wild-card spot.
• 2017: Kyle Seager reached his 150^th Career home run, the 3rd^rd Player in club history to hit at least 150 home runs before his 30th birthday (also Ken Griffey Jr. with 398 and Alex Rodriguez with 189). The Mariners defeated the Rangers 10-3.
• 2018: Nelson Cruz recorded his 1,000th.^th Career RBI with a solo home run in the 5th.^th Inning against the Padres, becoming the 11th^th active player who has recorded at least 1,000 RBIs in his career.