Today the Mariners try to avoid being swept by the Tigers, and maybe more saliently try to avoid being no-hit by reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, looking for revenge after being handed a tough loss in his first outing, getting touched up for a pair of home runs by the uber-powerful Dodgers. The Mariners won’t provide that much resistance, and today looks to be tough sledding for the Mariners, who are still without Jorge Polanco, away from the team attending the birth of his child.

Today’s Lineups:

News:

In injury rehab news, Matt Brash will travel with the team to San Francisco. He’ll need rehab starts before he gets back, so maybe the team will drop him off in Modesto, but it’s encouraging news nonetheless.

Troy Taylor made a rehab outing in Tacoma yesterday. The Aces were able to touch him up for a couple of runs, with Trey Mancini ambushing a first-pitch sweeper for a two-out double and then permanent thorn in MiLB Mariners affiliate sides, Tim Tawa got a hold of a 2-0 fastball—not horribly located—for a homer that got out despite being just 98.7 mph off the bat. Taylor couldn’t get the final out of his inning, giving up a pair of back-to-back singles on a poorly located sweeper and a bad-luck comebacker, making his final line look ugly, but the stuff looked good: his four-seamer topped out at 97 mph and he struck out Jordan Lawlar on four pitches, getting him swinging at a sweeper and then freezing him on another perfectly placed sweeper.

The Rainiers play tonight, if you aren’t able to watch the day game and don’t feel like watching a replay tonight. Game time is 6:05 PT and you can watch the game on MiLB TV or listen to it on KIXI 880 AM.

Captain’s Log:

Dan Wilson on tackling Tarik Skubal and his changeup, which Mariners hitters struggle against:

“That changeup is a good one, no doubt about it. But I think, and we talk about it a lot, but middle of the field is key against a guy like this. Trying to make sure you see the ball if you’re out there. If you’re trying to cover too much and to quickly, you’ve become susceptible to that changeup. So this is a good test for us.”

Today’s Game Information:

Game time: 1:10 PT

TV: ROOT Sports NW, with Aaron Goldsmith and Ryan Rowland-Smith

New this season, you can stream the ROOT broadcast with their new direct-to-consumer app. More details here.

Radio: 710 AM Seattle Sports with Rick Rizzs and Gary Hill Jr.

Today in Mariners History:

• 2001: In the kickoff to what would be a special season, Ichiro Suzuki becomes the first Japanese-born position player in major league history of play in a regular-season major league game. It takes until the seventh inning, but Ichiro collects his first Major League hit, with a single. He gets another hit in the eighth inning, when the Mariners scored would would be the winning run, defeating the A’s 5-4, with another Japanese-born player Kazahiro Sasaki, collecting the save. Additionally, Mike Cameron is walked a career-high four times, and Freddy García makes his first career Opening Day start.
• 2002: Arthur Rhodes picks up his 10th consecutive win in a 7-4 defeat of Chicago. The 10-game winning streak that dates back to the 2000 season is a Mariners’ record for consecutive wins by a reliever.
• 2007: For only the fourth time in major league history, a hurler under the age of 21 wins an Opening Day assignment as 20-year old Venezuelan right-hander Félix Hernández pitches eight strong innings in the Mariners 4-0 victory over the A’s at Safeco Field.
• 2011 – Ichiro Suzuki set the Mariners all-time hits record on the 10th anniversary of his Major League debut. Had a 9th-inning infield single for the GWRBI to pass Edgar Martinez on the Mariners all-time hits list with hit #2,248.