50 saves for shave. Mariners closer sets saves record, manager gets a ‘swag’ haircut
Scott Servais paid up on his bet. He had a “swag” Edwin Diaz-inspired haircut before the Seattle Mariners series opener Tuesday night in San Diego against the Padres.
It was all for a bet he made in spring training with Diaz – 50 saves for a shave. And Diaz not only has 50 saves – which is the most in a single season in Mariners history – but the 24-year-old closer did this with a week left until September.
“Oh, my phone is just blowing up,” Servais told reporters Tuesday, with waves shaved into the side of the 51-year-old’s head. “I’ve got my daughters, I’ve got my wife chiming in. We have Seahawks people. We’ve got friends from all over the place.”
And then Servais lost his mind and made another bet.
Apparently third baseman Kyle Seager looked at Servais laughing.
“I said, ‘Kyle, if you go for two homers and 4-for-4 tonight, I will go with the Seager tomorrow,’” Servais said.
And Seager is bald.
“But I quickly stopped that,” Servais said. “Because it may happen. I’m not doing it. No more stupid bets.”
That haircut, though?
Servais spoke to reporters wearing an “Electric Eddie’s Barbershop” hat before the game, to not only hide the ‘do, but also the gray hairs that don’t help accentuate it.
“We thought we’d try to get him some Just for Men to make him look better,” Diaz said.
“But it was fun and fun seeing him in that chair. Everybody was there looking to see how he looked and when he was finished I think he liked it. It’s swag. I think it looked good.”
Diaz flew his barber, Joel, who owns Joel’s VIP Barber Salon in Tacoma and frequently provides haircuts for many of the Mariners players, to San Diego to man the clippers.
“I’m just happy,” Diaz said. “He paid the bet. He handled it pretty good. At first, I think he was a little bit scared.”
Diaz’s 50 saves are the most in the major leagues and 13 more than Boston’s Craig Kimbrel has. And the Mariners are 59-0 when Diaz enters with a lead. He’s 50-for-54 in save opportunities with a 1.97 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How do you do, fellow kids? <a href="https://t.co/QBMFlQXaEZ">pic.twitter.com/QBMFlQXaEZ</a></p>— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1034628157075152896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The finished product.<br><br>This photo belongs in a museum. <a href="https://t.co/LYVoxUJqjl">pic.twitter.com/LYVoxUJqjl</a></p>— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1034568629050724354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Narrator: It was at this moment that <a href="https://twitter.com/Mariners?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Mariners</a> skipper Scott Servais knew he made a mistake.<br><br>(via Edwin Diaz's IG Live) <a href="https://t.co/7FQ7h8xNwW">pic.twitter.com/7FQ7h8xNwW</a></p>— Cut4 (@Cut4) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1034553516042399744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Gonzales timeline?
Servais said the hope is that Marco Gonzales’ injury won’t keep him on the disabled list for more than the minimum 10 days, but this strain in his neck is something the left-hander has dealt with for at least the past few weeks.
Servais said Gonzales really started to feel, what was listed as a cervical muscle strain in his neck, the injury during his most recent start last week at Safeco Field against the Houston Astros.
“He’s had tests and pictures taken of it. It’s nothing serious other than he can’t shake it,” Servais said. “We thought we would let him take time to let it calm down and we’ll get him back in the rotation. So his arms feels fine, no issues there at all. It’s the neck tightness and we don’t know if it’s a nerve issue or what it is.”
So in Gonzales’ place, Servais said they would start right-hander Erasmo Ramirez on Wednesday on normal four days rest thanks to Monday’s off day. But he wasn’t certain about when they’d activate James Paxton off the disabled list, only to say it will be sometime during the four-game series in Oakland that begins Thursday.
But it didn’t sound like Paxton would start Thursday’s series opener against the A’s.
“We’ll see how we come back with (Wade) LeBlanc and we’ll see Mike Leake and see where Pax goes from there.”
New guy
The Mariners acquired right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for international slot dollars this past offseason thinking he was just overshadowed in a deep Indians bullpen.
On Tuesday they recalled the 27-year-old Armstrong from Triple-A Tacoma for his first stint in the big leagues this season, and they optioned right-hander Nick Rumbelow to Double-A Arkansas to clear a spot for him.
Armstrong struggled in spring because his velocity had decreased but he’s dominated for the Rainiers. He has a 1.77 ERA in 56 innings pitched with 82 strikeouts. His strikeout-throwing capabilities are what attracted general manager Jerry Dipoto to Armstrong in the first place.
Since June 14, Armstrong has allowed just two earned runs over 27 1/3 innings (0.66 ERA). That was the best mark among Pacific Coast League relievers with at least 20 appearances in that span.
“He was on a preliminary list of guys we wanted to take a look at in September,” Servais said. “He’s had a good season and all the reports are he’s thrown the ball really well. We’ve leaned heavily on Nick Vincent and Adam Warren and we can put him in that mix now.
“He just didn’t have a great spring. The stuff was down, the velo was down and he didn’t have a good feel for the curveball. It was disappointing and he was disappointed in how his spring went. So we’ll see.”
On tap
The Mariners finish interleague play with Ramirez (1-2, 4.56 ERA) starting against Padres left-hander Joey Lucchesi (6-7, 3.74) at 12:40 p.m. Wednesday at Petco Park in San Diego.
The game will broadcast on Root Sports and 710-AM radio.
This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 6:45 PM.