Lineup: Mariners go righty-heavy vs Houston ace Dallas Keuchel
Sep 4, 2017, 12:39 PM | Updated: 12:44 pm
(AP)
With 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner Dallas Keuchel on the mound for Houston, the Mariners have stacked their lineup with right-handed hitters against the southpaw in Monday’s 3:40 series opener on 710 ESPN Seattle.
Usual left fielder Ben Gamel will begin the day on the bench with Taylor Motter taking his place, while Guillermo Heredia will play center field and Danny Valencia is penciled in at first base. The only left-handed hitters starting against Keuchel are Robinson Cano and Kyle Seager.
Drayer: Mariners could make change to starting rotation soon
Also of note, the Mariners will hit Mitch Haniger second behind leadoff man Jean Segura and ahead of Cano in the No. 3 spot. Haniger is 10 for 17 with two home runs and three doubles over his last four games.
Pitching for Seattle will be Erasmo Ramirez, who is 3-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts since coming to the Mariners in a trade in late July.
In roster news, the Mariners claimed outfielder Jacob Hannemann and right-handed pitcher Seth Frankoff off waivers from the Cubs. To make room for the pair on the 40-man roster, they transferred right-handed pitcher David Phelps to the 60-day disabled list and designated left-handed pitcher Zac Curtis for assignment. Phelps’ transfer to the 60-day DL spells an official end to his season for a right elbow posterior impingement that put him out of action on Aug. 30.
Coverage begins on 710 ESPN Seattle with the pregame show at 2:30 p.m. Here is Seattle’s lineup.
Mariners (69-68)
Jean Segura, 2B
Mitch Haniger, RF
Robinson Cano, 2B
Nelson Cruz, DH
Kyle Seager, 3B
Danny Valencia, 1B
Mike Zunino, C
Guillermo Heredia, CF
Taylor Motter, LF
Erasmo Ramirez, RHP