Seattle, WA

How do the Seattle Mariners beat Tarik Skubal for a 4th time?

Published

5 months ago

October 9, 2025

How do the Seattle Mariners beat Tarik Skubal for a 4th time?

Facing the best pitcher in the world over the past 24 months is not ideal when faced with a winner-take-all game. That’s the situation the Seattle Mariners are in, however, with Tarik Skubal on the hill Friday. This will be their fourth matchup against the Detroit Tigers’ ace, needing to find a way to go 4-0 in those games. Skubal’s playoff numbers are brilliant, in keeping with his regular season, but he’s been leaned on more than ever before this season, and unless Seattle ambushes him devastatingly out the gates, the southpaw from Seattle U will surpass his career-high for innings pitched on Friday. What will it take for the M’s to overcome Skubal a fourth time?

Win one came in early April, home in Seattle, with the second during Seattle’s obliteration of the Detroit Tigers just before the All-Star Break. The April game, Seattle’s top of the order looked fairly familiar, but the six through eight were all absent in October.

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Lefty-masher Dylan Moore did just that, starting at third and providing the thump. Both Victor Robles and Randy Arozarena scalded the ball, and Seattle’s patient approach led to eight punchouts but also three walks along with six hits. Skubal’s approach on the day was not surprising, with him attacking Seattle up in the zone with four-seamers, 43 of his 93 pitches being those heaters. He added 11 sinkers, but it’s notable that Skubal averaged 96.7-97.1 mph on those heaters in April. Of note, the weather that day was just 50 degrees, with the roof closed due to the cold and wet, conditions likely to be quite similar to Friday night’s 70% chance of rain and mid-50s forecast.

If Skubal had showcased the same juice he’d had against Cleveland in the Wild Card round, it would’ve been a more daunting task. Skubal threw just six sliders and three curveballs on the day, roughly in keeping with his year-long usage (12% and 3%, respectively). His preeminent secondary was the 30 changeups he wove, which actually became Skubal’s foremost pitch overall by usage on the season at 31%. Both the four-seam and changeup were highly effective, getting whiffs nearly half the time hitters swung, but the M’s scalded the changeup when they did get ahold of it.

The pitch mix is pertinent, because when he took on Seattle again in July, the M’s lineup was largely familiar, but Skubal’s approach shifted.

Looking to outdo his initial outing, Skubal threw a significantly different medley, to even less success. Hurling 29 changeups in his 87 pitches, Skubal averaged essentially identical velocity on his heater and could not create as much swing and miss. His sinker was the ~main heater in this outing, 23 to 21 in terms of sinkers vs. four-seamers, and he added 13 sliders and just a single curveball.

Following a herculean effort in the Wild Card round that saw him throw a career-high 107 pitches, 43 of which were 98+ mph, 12 of which were 100+ mph, there may have been an element of fatigue for Skubal. Still, he was on normal rest Sunday against the M’s, and will be once more Friday, as will Luis Castillo, with George Kirby having an additional fifth day. On Sunday we saw a Skubal still above his season averages, sitting 98.1 mph on his fastballs but down from the 99.1 average he’d mustered against the Guardians.

In that Sunday outing, Skubal re-jiggered his pitch mix again, throwing his most even split of all four primary pitches (no curveballs) to date, with over half of his 97 offerings being heaters (37 four-seams, 22 sinkers). In particular, he attacked the lineup’s only two lefties – Josh Naylor and J.P. Crawford, with sinkers, using his four-seam just once against them. One of the great challenges Seattle faces is that, like Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller (as well as George Kirby in years past), Skubal lives in the strike zone. His stuff is so potent that he can get away with it, and thereby avoid walks. Indeed, Skubal’s lone free pass last night gives him now 21 of his 33 starts this year with one or fewer bases on balls allowed. Cleveland and Seattle are the only teams to have forced multiple free passes from the presumed repeat Cy Young.

It’s too much to hope for Skubal to be fatigued, as the mighty lefty will have adrenaline pumping in the early innings at minimum. What Seattle will be hoping to do, however, is continue an impressive trend of avoiding chasing against Skubal. Through their first three games, Seattle has swung at pitches out of the zone 35.1% (April), 23.8% (July), and 33% (October) of the time against Skubal. It’s a meaningful edge on a pitcher whose overall chase rate is 37.6%. Over the course of the game, that’s maybe only a handful of pitches, but the outcomes of playoff games hinge on those sorts of advantages. Seattle’s ability to attack Skubal in the zone, and let him dig a hole outside of it, relative to their opponents, is what may give them a chance to bury him for good this fall.

It’s likely Skubal understood this, fading his changeup usage despite it being his best pitch (and one of the best in the sport) on Sunday in hopes of putting the M’s on the back foot. If I were calling pitches for him, I’d likely lean on the changeup more forcefully regardless on Friday night, as Seattle’s ability to make contact with the sinker and four-seam is not as dangerous on a chilly, wet, October night in T-Mobile Park. For Seattle, an effort to force Skubal into deeper counts is likely the best approach, aggressive early, with defensive, foul-ball swings and takes at the two-strike mark. Detroit’s beleaguered bullpen is fundamentally a weaker unit than Seattle’s – and certainly than Skubal himself – no matter what occurred on Wednesday. It all only matters so much, ultimately – baseball is a game easiest analyzed in the aggregate, with sample sizes of immense heft. On one night in October, anything is possible.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners re-assign 3 players to minor league camp

Published

46 minutes ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Seattle Mariners re-assign 3 players to minor league camp

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.

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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.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Three standouts from Seattle Mariners’ Spring Breakout game
• Callis: Seattle Mariners have MLB’s best pitching prospect duo
• Seattle Mariners’ lineup vs Guardians has interesting wrinkle at SS
• Raleigh, Arozarena both help Seattle Mariners in 6-run inning
• Mariners’ Hancock showing new weapon during strong spring

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Seattle, WA

Cal, Randy team up in Seattle Mariners’ 6-run inning – Seattle Sports

Published

13 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Cal, Randy team up in Seattle Mariners’ 6-run inning – Seattle Sports

Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena are officially Seattle Mariners teammates again, and if you need proof, just look at the box score.

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The two players who were at the center of a controversy last week during the World Baseball Classic both drove in runs as the Mariners put up a six-spot on the Athletics on Thursday night in Cactus League play.

Arozarena came off the bench with runners on second and third with one out in the top of the seventh inning, and he reached on an infield single that gave Seattle its first run of the game, cutting the A’s lead to 3-1.

And Arozarena, who hit his first homer of the spring on Wednesday, wasn’t done. He then stole second, which allowed him to score the second of two runs on a Ryan Bliss single that tied the game.

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A few batters later, after a Brock Rodden single and Luke Raley hit by pitch loaded the bases, it was Big Dumper’s turn, and he delivered with a bases-clearing double off the tall wall in center field at the Athletics’ spring home, Hohokam Stadium in Mesa.

That capped the inning and the scoring for Seattle in a 6-4 victory.

Perhaps it’s a sign that the handshake that never happened when Arozarena stepped to the plate for Mexico with Raleigh catching for the USA is behind the two Mariners All-Stars. As they say, winning cures everything.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• All Mariners back from World Baseball Classic
• Mariners’ Hancock showing new weapon during strong spring
• Former Mariners UT Dylan Moore triggers opt-out clause
• Salk: Difficult to see Emerson making Mariners’ opening day roster
• Seattle Mariners’ Luke Raley showing he’s worth keeping an eye on

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Seattle, WA

Cesar Chavez name to be removed from Seattle garden after abuse accusations

Published

1 day ago

March 19, 2026

Press Room

Cesar Chavez name to be removed from Seattle garden after abuse accusations

SEATTLE — César Chávez’s name will be removed from a Seattle institution after newly public sexual abuse allegations.

At El Centro de la Raza in Seattle, Executive Director Estella Ortega said a garden named for Chávez would be renamed and that other tributes at the building would also change.

“The farm worker movement is bigger than just one person,” Ortega said. “We’ve got a garden named after him, those things will change.”

A photo of the garden on March. 19, 2026. (KOMO){ }

The renewed debate in Seattle follows a New York Times report published this week that detailed allegations Chávez sexually abused women and girls, including fellow labor leader Dolores Huerta. The revelations have prompted officials and institutions around the country to reconsider Chávez commemorations, with California leaders backing a proposal to rename César Chávez Day as Farmworkers Day and other communities moving to review streets, schools and monuments that bear his name.

In Washington, Gov. Bob Ferguson already said he will not issue a proclamation for César Chávez Day this year and instead plans to celebrate Dolores Huerta Day on April 10.

Asked Thursday whether he would press local agencies to remove Chávez’s name from places such as the garden outside El Centro, Ferguson said the state had already decided to stop honoring Chávez in the ways he directly controls, while broader changes would require more discussion.

“My view is the movement’s bigger than any one individual,” Ferguson said. “The farm worker movement did so much for farm workers, for labor rights, for human dignity. It’s bigger than any one person.”

Ferguson said he had met with Ortega and lawmakers before speaking publicly and described the allegations as so serious that many people were still “reeling” and trying to decide what would be appropriate next.

Seattle’s César Chávez Park, in the South Park neighborhood, is managed by Seattle Parks and Recreation. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, when asked about the park, did not indicate a change would be immediate.

State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña said Latino leaders in Washington were urging that this year’s March 31 observance move away from celebration and instead focus on community service, survivors and the broader farmworker cause.

“At this moment, I think the Latino Democratic caucus will be saying, we need to pause,” Saldaña said. “This March 31 this year should be about community service. It should be about making sure that the farm worker movement and the farm worker cause is what’s centered.”

Saldaña stopped short of immediately endorsing a permanent name change for the holiday, saying it was still too soon and that leaders should follow survivors’ lead. But she said she expected more conversations about accountability, healing, and how public spaces should be named going forward.

Across the country, those conversations are already underway. The Associated Press reported Thursday that communities and institutions nationwide are distancing themselves from Chávez, identifying more than 130 sites that bear his name, including parks, schools, and other public landmarks.

For Ortega, the question in Seattle was more immediate.

“We cannot just let the lie continue to live in our way,” she said.

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