Mariners Game #40 Preview: 5/11/24, OAK at SEA

Oakland recalls RHP Joey Estes to make tonight’s start against the Mariners, who look to secure a series win

The Mariners got a shot in the arm of offense yesterday, leaping on familiar friend Paul Blackburn and the A’s bullpen for eight runs. Today it’ll be tougher sledding as they’re facing a more unknown quantity in Joey Estes, summoned from Triple-A Las Vegas to join the A’s rotation. The last time the Mariners saw Estes, in late September of last year, they jumped on him for six runs (five earned), including two home runs. Julio and Cal hit those home runs and it would be really nice if either one of them wanted to repeat that tonight.

Lineups:

Subbing in a lefty for a righty on the mound means Josh Rojas, Leadoff Hitter continues his reign atop the lineup. Jorge Polanco, who had a night off last night, drops from third to sixth in the order.

Who hurt you, Joey Estes? Besides John Fisher, I guess.

Per our game preview, LHP Alex Wood was scheduled for this start, but he’s being pushed back a day as the A’s are recalling RHP Joey Estes because, to quote, “let the kids play.” Estes, acquired in the Matt Olson deal from Atlanta, has allowed 19 ER in just over 28 innings of work at Triple-A, with seven home runs, but part of that is due to the extreme environment of both his home park in Vegas and the offensive environment of the PCL in general. He’s also struck out 26 hitters in those 28 innings while only walking 10, so the Mariners hitters will need to be aggressive in the zone and not expand too much against him. Estes has a hard fastball that sits around the mid-90s with a lot of horizontal and vertical movement, and he’ll lean on that pitch heavily—not unlike Bryce Miller, who made his debut against these same A’s last year. He’ll also throw a slider as his main secondary.

Game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: ROOT Sports NW, with Dave Sims and Mike Blowers

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports, with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith

Today in Mariners history:

• 1991: Heny Cotto, one of my favorite deep cut Mariners, hits an inside-the-park home run in the Kingdome. The Mariners lose to the Orioles anyway, 5-11.
• 1996: Jay Buhner does his best Dylan Moore of Last Night impression and drives in a career-best six runs, two on home runs, in an 11-1 win vs. Kansas City.
• 2016: Chris Iannetta walks off the Rays with a home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to complete a sweep of Tampa Bay.