Mariners Game #81 Preview: SEA at TBR, 6/24/24

Into the 80s in Florida, pass the cheesecake and meet me on the lanai

After a thunker of a road trip so far, the Mariners continue to be Florida Men for one more series before returning home for a long homestand. In addition to being back in the comforts of T-Mobile Park, the schedule also eases up for the Mariners, who now get three precious off-days in the next 12 days after finishing up this road trip. But first, a three-game set with the Rays.

Lineups:

For a full overview of the Rays, check out the series preview here.

News:

The Mariners reinstated Jorge Polanco from the IL, optioning Tyler Locklear to Tacoma. Ryan Bliss remains on the roster and is taking reps in the outfield, per Ryan Divish, as they’ll need the infielder to show some more positional flexibility in order to stick around in a superutility capacity.

Today’s game information:

Game time: 3:40 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:

• 1997: Randy Johnson sets an AL record for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher, striking out 19 Athletics in a 4-1 loss vs. Oakland.
• 2000: Mariners win a team-record seventh consecutive series (SD 2-1, Col 2-1, SF 2-1, KC 2-1, Min 3-1, TB 2-1, & Bal 4-0).
• 2016: Wade LeBlanc made his first Major League start since Sept. 23, 2014, at OAK with LAL, a span of 639 days between starts. He threw 6.0 scoreless innings, giving up just 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3, on the way to a 4-3 win over the Cardinals. In that game, Adam Lind hit his fourth career walk-off home run (last: 6/14/11 vs. BAL with TOR), a three-run blast off the Cardinals’ Trevor Rosenthal, snapping Seattle’s six-game losing streak.