Mariners on move again: Padres series relocated to San Diego due to poor air quality in Seattle
The Mariners are on the move again.
Instead of returning home for their upcoming three-game set against the Padres, which was scheduled to begin Friday at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the club will travel further south for their next series as wildfire smoke continues to linger in the Pacific Northwest.
The club announced the move early Thursday afternoon with air quality levels still reading as “unhealthy” in the region. Friday’s levels are projected to be “unhealthy for sensitive groups” before the Seattle area returns to more normal air quality later in the weekend.
This is the second consecutive series that has been moved out of Seattle due to the air quality. Seattle wrapped up its short two-game series against the Giants in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon — the Mariners were swept — which was also relocated due to the smoke.
“It’s certainly got its challenges, there’s no question about it,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said on a postgame video call. “You think you’re coming over here to play a couple games. But, again, crazy season. All of the things that have been thrown at our team — and a lot of different teams, no question — it is very challenging, but these guys are pros, they understand what’s ahead of them.
“We did play very well when we were down in San Diego last time. Hopefully we’ll continue there. We swung the bats well down there, and hopefully we can pick that up here on the remainder of this trip.”
Following Thursday’s game, instead of flying north back to Seattle, the Mariners will fly south to San Diego to play their next three-game series at Petco Park. The Mariners will be the “home” team for all three games. Here’s the revised schedule:
Friday — 6:40 p.m.
Saturday — 6:10 p.m.
Sunday — 1:10 p.m.
Yusei Kikuchi, Justus Sheffield and Justin Dunn are still the projected Mariners starters for each game, respectively.
Before the smoke descended on the Pacific Northwest, the Mariners were scheduled to play a lengthy final homestand that included games against the A’s, Giants, Padres and Astros as they continue to battle for the second playoff berth out of the American League West.
That 10-game homestand has now been cut in half — though the Mariners have been the “home” team playing at their opponents’ sites — assuming the Mariners due return to Seattle by Monday for their upcoming three-game series against Houston.
“It’s disappointing, but it’s the world we live in in 2020,” Mariners starter Nick Margevicius said postgame Thursday. “I don’t think anybody is preferring to go to San Diego. I think everyone would rather play at home, but at the same time, we’ve got to adjust. Everyone was planning to play 162 games, too, and we don’t get that opportunity either. It’s a challenge, for sure, thinking you’re going to be home and you’ve got to go on the road again, but we’ve just got to bring our best every single day and try to get some wins.”
The Mariners did play a rescheduled doubleheader against the A’s on Monday in the smokey conditions to open the homestand. The two clubs were on the field playing beneath the haze in a pair of seven-inning games for nearly five hours, not including pregame activities.
The air quality remained at “very unhealthy” levels throughout the day, and stayed similar Tuesday, prompting the move to San Francisco. The Mariners flew out of Seattle at about 10 a.m. Wednesday for that evening’s game.
“We have to be able to adjust,” Servais said pregame Wednesday from Oracle Park, not long after the club arrived in San Francisco.
“We knew this was going to be a crazy season, and I think for the most part we’ve done a really good job of that — understanding that it is what it is. … You just roll with the punches, you get ready to play a ballgame.”
MOORE BACK IN LINEUP
Mariners utility player Dylan Moore returned to the lineup Thursday in San Francisco after exiting the previous night’s game early.
Moore was hit in the head by a 99 mph fastball in the seventh inning, which knocked his helmet off. Servais and trainers from both clubs hustled out to check on Moore, who got up quickly and eventually took his base.
Moore was removed from the game the next inning as a precaution, but remained in the dugout. The Mariners continued to monitor him overnight, and he was tentatively placed in the lineup for Thursday’s afternoon start with the club planning to evaluate how Moore looked physically during pregame activities.
“If there’s any issues at all, we’ll shut him down,” Servais said pregame. “But, he came into my office, he wants to play, our training staff feels good about where he’s at. We just want to see how he reacts to moving around on the field a little bit.”
Moore was cleared to play and resumed his usual No. 2 spot in the batting order while also playing left field.
BRASH THE PTBNL
The Mariners completed the trade that recently sent right-handed reliever Taylor Williams to the Padres on Thursday, acquiring minor league pitcher Matt Brash.
The 22-year-old right-hander was San Diego’s fourth-round pick in 2019 out of Niagara University in New York. Brash posted a 12-7 record and 2.97 ERA through 38 games (29 starts) in three college seasons with 215 strikeouts to 65 walks.
He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Padres last summer, and pitched in five games (one start) between the AZL Padres and Single-A Fort Wayne with a 1.69 ERA, eight strikeouts and no walks across 5 1/3 innings.
Williams, a Camas High School product, posted a 5.93 ERA in 14 appearances with the Mariners this season, but that number was skewed by a five-run outing in San Diego. He held opponents scoreless in 11 of his 14 outings with Seattle and struck out 19 while walking seven. He also collected a team-high six saves before he was traded.
The 29-year-old right-hander has appeared in one game for San Diego since the trade, allowing one run on two hits with a strikeout in his one inning of work, and has been shuffled back and forth from the club’s alternate training site multiple times.
INJURY UPDATES
▪ Utility player Sam Haggerty (left forearm strain) remained sidelined after being placed on the 10-day injured list on Sept. 5, and it is not likely he will return for the final 10 games of the regular season, though the Mariners have not ruled it out.
“It’s not as throwing arm, but it does affect his swing I think from the left side,” Servais said. “There’s a possibility, a chance right at the end. I know he’s trying to do what he can to come back, but I think it’s a pretty slight chance that we would see him before the end of the regular season.
“Now, if things were extended beyond that into the postseason, there’s a chance that he could be available, but again, still, it’s not a very high likelihood that we’ll see him again this year.”
▪ Infielder Shed Long Jr. (right shin stress fracture) is still weighing options about how to proceed, Servais said, after being placed on the 10-day IL last week, likely ending his season.
“It’s very frustrating,” Long said last week. “But, it’s a relief at the same time, because I haven’t been able to feel myself playing at 100% and see what I can really do. It’s a relief to know that I can take care of this and come back and feel good, and be able to move and not hurt.”
▪ Right-handed reliever Matt Magill underwent arthroscopic debridement surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday in Los Angeles, will begin the rehab process immediately and is expected to return in time for camp next spring.
“The hope is he would be in spring training, and throwing and building up arm strength there off the mound at that time,” Servais said.
Magill was placed on the 10-day IL with a shoulder strain on Aug. 28 and later transferred to the 45-day IL, ending his season. He threw scoreless innings in nine of his 11 appearances, but finished his shortened season 0-1 with a 6.10 ERA with 11 strikeouts to six walks.
ROSTER MOVE
Right-handed reliever Jimmy Yacabonis, who was designated for assignment Tuesday, has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the club’s alternate training site in Tacoma.
The 28-year-old recorded the loss in the second game of Monday’s doublheader against the A’s, allowing a run on two hits with three walks and a strikeout in 1 1/3 innings. He was 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA with three walks and one strikeout in two appearances with Seattle this season.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 12:19 PM.
