Seattle, WA
Cubs take series with 3-2 win over Seattle Mariners
SEATTLE (AP) — Michael Busch homered for the fourth straight game, Javier Assad struck out six and the Chicago Cubs beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday.
Chicago Cubs 3, Seattle Mariners 2: Box Score
Reliever Adbert Alzolay picked off pinch-runner Julio Rodríguez to end the game after double plays ended two rallies.
Busch’s two-run homer put the Cubs up 3-0 and helped them to their second straight win to take the series from the Mariners. The franchise record for consecutive games with a home run is five, held by four players, including current Cubs slugger Christopher Morel, who did it last season.
The Cubs scored their only other run on a first-inning throwing error by Seattle starter Luis Castillo (0-4), who lost his fourth straight appearance to start the season.
Jorge Polanco hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to cut Chicago’s lead to 3-2, chasing Assad (2-0). Assad walked one in 5 2/3 innings.
💥 POLO 💥 pic.twitter.com/p4tKOmVeUh
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 14, 2024
The Mariners put two on with no outs to lead off the seventh, but Mark Leiter Jr. induced a grounder from Luke Raley for a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
Héctor Neris walked three to load the bases with one out in the eighth, but Ty France grounded to short for a second rally-killing 6-4-3 double play.
Alzolay struck out two to earn his third save in five opportunities.
Castillo had his best outing of the season, reaching six innings and holding opponents to fewer than four runs for the first time. But his errant throw while chasing down Cody Bellinger’s bouncer down the first-base line allowed Seiya Suzuki to score easily from third.
TRAINER’S ROOM
PEORIA, Ariz. – Seattle Mariners camp has been a flurry of activity since the return of the last group of players from the World Baseball Classic. There have been innings and at-bats to be found, schedules and lineups scrambled, whatever it takes to get in the work they need for what in just a few short days will be the 26-man roster.
Mariners re-assign Colt Emerson to minor league camp
Somewhere amongst that flurry of activity, a long-awaited conversation was had, according to Randy Arozarena.
About about two hours before the Mariners’ Cactus League game against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday night, Arozarena put out a statement via the team that addressed the WBC incident between him and teammate Cal Raleigh.
“I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction,” Arozarena said. “Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game. Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates. He’s family, and we are both focused on helping the Mariners win the World Series.”
The statement echoes much of the sentiment of Raleigh’s comments to members of the Seattle media the morning after he refused Arozarena’s handshake in the March 9 WBC game between the United States and Mexico, which prompted postgame comments from Arozarena that spurred unwanted attention on the Mariners.
“I love Randy,” Raleigh said back on March 10. “I have all the respect for him and Team Mexico. I already reached out to him personally to talk with him. And obviously, when we’re back in Seattle, we’re family, we’re brothers, and I’ll do anything for him. I’ll do anything for our team to win.”
Neither player would want anything within their control to put achieving the Mariners’ lofty goals they have set this season in jeopardy. It is likely those words alone from Arozarena would have helped close the door on the incident. The fact he said he apologized to Raleigh for his comments at the WBC in Houston hopefully helps lock that door and put the focus back on what happens on the field, as has been the case with the players in Peoria all along.
An unpleasant sidenote to the WBC should not be a season-changing episode for a team that has put itself in the position the Mariners have.
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Looking to extend the country’s longest non-conference home win streak to 66, Auburn (18-16) hosts Seattle U (21-13) Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2 and the Auburn Sports Network (106.7 FM), where Andy Burcham and Randall Dickey will describe the action for listeners.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW:
- Auburn’s win over South Alabama extended the Tigers’ nation-best non-conference home winning streak to 65 straight games. It’s a streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season.
- The Tigers made a season high 16 3-pointers against South Alabama and tied a school record with 44 3-point attempts.
- Kevin Overton made seven 3-pointers (all in the second half) against South Alabama and now has 80 triples this season. He is four 3-pointers away from cracking the top 10 for single-season 3-pointers at Auburn.
- With 636 points this season, Keyshawn Hall is ninth on Auburn’s single-season scoring list. Hall notched his 18th game of scoring 20 or more points against South Alabama with 21 points against the Jags.
- Led by Will Heimbrodt’s 86 blocks this season, Seattle U ranks 12th nationally in blocks per game (4.9) and is also top 25 in scoring defense (66.6 – 23rd) and turnovers forced (14.94 – 21st). Heimbrodt is the WCC Defensive Player of the Year.
There’s nothing mid-major about Seattle U’s defense.
Auburn’s second-round NIT opponent, the Redhawks, rank No. 23 in the country in scoring defense, allowing fewer than 67 points per game.
“One of the better defensive teams we’ll have gone against all year,” Auburn coach Steven Pearl said. “Incredibly active, they really fly around and make what you do really difficult.”
After defeating South Alabama 78-67 on Tuesday in the opening round of the NIT, Auburn hosts Seattle U on Sunday. The Redhawks advanced to round two by defeating St. Thomas (MN) 67-52.
“Our guys are going to have to show up and be excited about playing because if we don’t, this is a team that is capable, defensively, of making you look bad,” Pearl said.
Seattle U ranks No. 12 nationally in forcing turnovers, causing nearly 15 per game while blocking almost five shots per game (No. 21) and holding teams to 41.5-percent shooting (No. 42).
“They play hard, and that makes your defense so much better when you give multiple efforts like that at all five positions,” Pearl said.
Against the Jaguars’ zone defense in round one, Auburn hit a season-high 16 3-pointers, with Kevin Overton swishing seven.
“He knows that every time he shoots the ball, we think it’s going in,” Pearl said. “We can’t change what we do a ton because what we do has been effective, offensively, but we also have to understand that this is a really good defensive team, and we have to be disciplined in a lot of things we’re doing.”
Redhawks No Stranger to Big Names
Like Auburn, which earned high-profile victories this season over Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and St. John’s, Seattle U also has brag-worthy wins at Stanford and at home against Washington, Washington State, and Oregon State.
Representing the West Coast Conference, Seattle U would like nothing better than to end the season for a Southeastern Conference opponent on Auburn’s home court.
“I know this is going to be an important one for them,” Pearl said. “It’s an important one for us as well. Our guys, once we show them the film, they’re going to realize pretty quickly how real and how legit these guys are.”
“This game is an important one for both groups,” Pearl said. “We’re going to have to play well to beat them. It’s another great opportunity to compete against a really good team from a great conference.”
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Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer
The Seattle Mariners re-assigned outfielder Brennan Davis, right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning and left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Díaz to minor league camp on Friday.
Gilbert’s final spring start features surprises from Raleigh
Seattle’s spring training roster is now at 38 players, with 33 from the 40-man roster, four non-roster invitees and one player on the 60-day injured list.
Davis, 26, had been one of the Mariners’ surprise standouts during camp after arriving on a minor league contract. The former top prospect went 12 for 34 over 15 games while producing a .353/.450/.824 slash line with a 1.274 OPS, four homers, four doubles, six RBIs and five walks to 11 strikeouts.
Dunning, 31, was also in camp on a minor league deal. He allowed four runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four over 6 1/3 innings in three appearances. The right-hander also pitched for South Korea during the World Baseball Classic, surrendering two runs over three innings in three apperances.
Díaz, 29, was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He pitched three scoreless innings, struck out two and didn’t allow any hits or walks in two spring outings. The left-hander was on World Baseball Classic champion Venezuela’s roster but did not appear in a game. Díaz made one appearance for the M’s last season, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
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