Mariners Game #11 Preview, 4/10/23: Mariners at Cubs

The Mariners face the Cubs in a must-win opening series

• by
  
  Zak Gottschalk
  

• on April 10, 2023, at 3:59 p.m

Kicking off a weekend winning streak that saw the Mariners win a game in the AL West standings, they headed to the North Side of Chicago to face the Cubs for the first time since 2019. Of the three meetings in the series, today is by far the winningest. It makes sense, then, that the Mariners need to secure a win today to set themselves up for the rest of the series. These are the games the competitors win, after all!

With Drew “The Soggy Southpaw” Smyly on the mound for the Cubs, Mariners Jarred Kelenic and Cal Raleigh will give every day off. AJ Pollock and Sam Haggerty both make it into the lineup, while Cooper Hummel draws the start in DH.

As for the Cubs, what seems to be their standard lineup these days will run out, at least until Seiya Suzuki returns from injury. The Cubs have had defensive problems in right field during Suzuki’s absence, as Miles Mastroponi isn’t really a fit player through the trade.

Today’s game begins 4:40 PM PTand will be broadcast on television Root Sports NW And MLB.tv and play radio broadcasts 710 AM Seattle Sports And Mariners.com. Aaron Goldsmith and Mike Blowers will be featured on Root, and Rick Rizzs and Dave Sims will be on trumpet through the AM dial.

On April 10, 1994, Randy Johnson hit Blue Jay Mike Huff to record his 1,079th strikeout as a Mariner, passing Mark Langston to become Seattle’s all-time strikeout leader. It was later passed for the scoring by Felix Hernandez, who still holds the record with 2,524

Scott confirmed that newly selected RHP José Rodríguez will “provide some length,” meaning he can field several rounds of relief if needed. Rodríguez is experienced as a rookie, and has had four rounds on April 5.

Read more