Tag: Seattle Mariners

Richard Sherman throws first pitch at Mariners game, surprised by Ken Griffey Jr.

Football is around the corner, but the Mariners are making the case for fans to stay invested in baseball season.

Football may be around the corner, but the Seahawks’ neighbors directly to the south – the Mariners – are making quite the case for fans to stay invested in baseball season.

The Mariners have been on an absolute tear lately, and were returning home after a successful 8-2 road trip to a raucous crowd at T-Mobile Park. There to greet them was former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, but he was not the only Seattle legend during the pregame festivities.

After being behind 10 games, the Mariners now own a share of first place in the AL West. It is the latest in the season the Mariners have been in this position since August of 2003. They have won 18 of their last 21, including Friday night’s game 7-5 against the Kansas City Royals.

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MLB fans mocked the White Sox after Luis Castillo shut them down with 47 straight fastballs

No respect for the White Sox at all.

There arguably isn’t a more difficult task in all of professional sports than hitting big-league pitching. In today’s MLB, batters are facing pitchers who throw around triple digits with intense movement and devastating breaking balls. It seems impossible.

But that task becomes demonstrably easier when you know what pitch is coming. After all, it’s why MLB had a whole scandal about sign stealing.

That’s what made Luis Castillo’s Monday night outing so remarkably embarrassing for the Chicago White Sox hitters. Castillo decided that he was going to completely abandon his breaking pitches (slider and changeup) and only throw fastballs from the fourth inning on.

And guess what? It worked!

Castillo threw 47 straight fastballs against the White Sox. From the fourth inning through the seventh inning, the White Sox only managed two hits and no runs despite almost certainly picking up on the trend. They knew a fastball was coming, and they simply could not make Castillo pay for it.

Castillo ended up striking out nine hitters in seven innings and allowed five hits.

The glorified bullpen session turned into a 14-2 White Sox loss, and fans roasted the White Sox for getting shut down by 47 straight fastballs.

Julio Rodriguez fooled an entire stadium of fans by faking like he didn’t rob Fernando Tatis Jr. of a HR

He fooled fans, the broadcast, Tatis Jr. himself … everyone!

Oh, Julio Rodriguez. You got us all.

We’ve seen baseball players fake that they did rob a player of a home run. But the young Seattle Mariners star did the opposite: When Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a ball to straightaway center, it nearly went over the wall. J-Rod caught it … but he didn’t reveal it right away.

No, he just started walking away like it went beyond his glove. And then he revealed it with a smirk and a celebration.

I LOVE THIS. I’ve seen a few tweets remaking that it was taunting, but whatever! Baseball should be fun!

Everyone from fans to the booth was fooled:

Former Georgia baseball pitcher called up to MLB

The Seattle Mariners have moved up a former Georgia Bulldogs baseball pitcher to the MLB.

According to multiple sources, former Georgia Bulldogs baseball pitcher Emerson Hancock is moving up to the MLB with the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners selected Hancock with the No. 6 pick in the 2020 MLB draft.

The 6-foot-4, 213-pound pitcher went to Cairo High School in Cairo, Georgia. Hancock has a 3.99 ERA over 44 starts in three seasons with AA baseball. Hancock has a 21-10 record over his minor league career.

The Seattle Mariners are 60-52 and are looking to make a push for the postseason. It is unclear what Hancock’s role will be in the MLB.

Hancock finished his college career at Georgia with a record of 16-7 and a career 3.47 ERA across 33 total appearances, which were all starts.

Former Georgia pitcher Emerson Hancock is expected to get a shot to throw in the MLB with Seattle. (Photo by Kristin M. Bradshaw)

Hancock has been pitching well in AA baseball. He impressed scouts enough with his performances with the Arkansas Travelers to earn a call up to the MLB.

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Two former Notre Dame players on move at trade deadline

Neither player has done much in 2023.

The MLB trade deadline officially has passed, and that meant two former Notre Dame players were off their respective teams. One player is heading to another team, and the other’s future is in limbo. Neither player has been particularly good this season.

[autotag]AJ Pollock[/autotag] was acquired by the San Francisco Giants from the Seattle Mariners, landing him on his fifth team in 12 MLB seasons. Pollock currently is on the injured list with a strained left hamstring but could be activated soon despite a career-worst slash line of .173/.225/.323. The playoff-contending Giants need some outfield depth to offset the temporary loss of the injured Mike Yastrzemski.

Meanwhile, [autotag]Trey Mancini[/autotag] has been designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs to make room for Jeimer Candelario, who was acquired from the Washington Nationals. Mancini has been the Cubs’ primary first baseman for much of the season, but he also has had an off year. His slash line is .234/.299/.336, and his four home runs are by far the fewest he’s hit in any full season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Matt Brash got the Red Sox’s Yu Chang to swing at a slider so outside that he started laughing

Swings don’t get much worse.

It’s no secret what Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Matt Brash can do to opposing hitters. His slider and curveball are some of the more devastating pitches in baseball, and we saw that last week when he got Willi Castro to swing at a pitch between his legs.

But Brash’s humiliation of big-league hitters knows no bounds. And on Monday, it was Red Sox infielder Yu Chang’s turn to look foolish in the batter’s box.

Facing Brash in the seventh inning, Chang swung at a 90 mph slider that was so outside it hardly registered on the pitch-chart graphic. Chang was clearly looking fastball after already seeing a first-pitch slider, but Brash is not the pitcher you want to be caught guessing against.

After the brutal swing, Chang — a .156 hitter this season — collected himself in the box and started laughing. Honestly, there wasn’t much else he could do after a swing like that.

Brash — who also has a fastball around triple digits — continued with the slider against Chang and ultimately got him to ground out for the second out of the inning.

As great as that slider was, fans couldn’t believe that an MLB hitter swung at it.

Mariners pitcher Matt Brash humiliated Willi Castro by striking him out on a curveball between his legs

An actual magic trick.

No batter out there wants to fall behind in the count, but that is especially true when they’re facing a pitcher like the Mariners’ Matt Brash.

It almost never ends well for the hitter.

In just his second year in the big leagues, Brash has proved himself as an electric arm out of the Mariners bullpen. He’s striking out 16 batters per nine innings, and he boasts a filthy slider and knuckle curveball to go along with a fastball near triple digits. The pitch made a devastating impression on Jose Ramirez during Opening Day.

During the eighth inning of Tuesday’s game between the Mariners and Twins, it was Willi Castro’s turn to look silly against that knuckle curve.

With Brash ahead in the count at 1-2, the Mariners pitcher unleashed that knuckle curveball after three straight fastballs. Castro wasn’t ready at all for that kind of movement. He swung at the pitch even as the ball broke between his legs. The pitch was 88 mph with 42 inches of vertical break and 13 inches of horizontal run.

That’s just not fair, especially when you just saw a 99 mph fastball a pitch earlier.

No wonder MLB fans were in awe of that knuckle curveball. Between the legs should count as an extra strikeout.

Campbell earns first MLB victory over Blue Jays

Seattle Mariners pitcher Isaiah Campbell saw his scoreless streak extended to four games on Saturday and got the win against the Toronto Blue Jays.

It was only just a matter of time before Isaiah Campbell got in the win column.

The Seattle Mariners right-hander, who actually endured a brief demotion back to AA earlier in the week, grabbed the victory on Saturday night over Toronto.

Campbell only pitched a third of an inning, but became the pitcher of record when the Mariners broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh by scoring five runs.

He allowed a hit, walked and hit a batter but then got George Springer to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the frame.

In four appearances thus far with the Mariners, he has yet to allow a run, which is impressive nonetheless.

Seahawks players discuss their favorite Taylor Swift song

Only fitting seeing as T-Swift is in town this weekend

This weekend, the Seattle Seahawks are hosting a very special house guest. Lumen Field will be loaned out to the one and only Taylor Swift, as her Eras Tour continues for two nights in the Emerald City.

Of course, with this in mind, Seattle’s social media team decided to ask a few Seahawks players what their favorite Taylor Swift song was.

Taylor Swift is in Seattle the same weekend the Toronto Blue Jays are in town to play the Mariners, which always brings a massive influx of Canadian visitors. If you’re planning on driving anywhere downtown, leave plenty early.

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Shohei Ohtani gave Mariners fans hope when he playfully shrugged to a question about signing with Seattle

He didn’t say no!

There isn’t a team in baseball that would pass on the chance to have Shohei Ohtani. He’s a two-way superstar and a true generational talent — the likes of which we may never see again in baseball. But as Ohtani heads into free agency this offseason, there are several teams that have to feel decent about their chances of landing the Angels star.

It just so happened that one of those teams hosted this week’s MLB All-Star Game.

Ohtani was the star of the show this week in Seattle as Mariners fans did everything they could to let Ohtani know that they wanted him in a Mariners jersey next season. There were chants during his at-bats. There were signs in the stands. And he was repeatedly asked about joining the Mariners. But one reaction, in particular, seemed to inspire some hope amongst the Mariners faithful.

During media day, Ohtani was asked what he’d think about playing in Seattle next year. And as PR reps tried to wave off the question, Ohtani didn’t seem all too opposed to the idea. He smiled and then playfully shrugged as if he’d really consider it.

Before Ohtani settled on the Angels back in 2017, the Mariners were among the final teams he considered. To get Ohtani this time around, it would take an uncharacteristic willingness to spend from a team that ranks below the MLB average in payroll. But hey, it would certainly be worth a try. And Mariners fans were feeling optimistic after seeing that recent clip from Ohtani.