Mariners Lineup: J.P. Crawford’s suspension reduced to 4 games, starts Thursday

The Mariners don’t have starting shortstop J.P. Crawford in the lineup for their series opener against the Oakland Athletics as his suspension from Seattle’s brawl with the Los Angeles Angels begins Thursday.

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The good news for the Mariners and Crawford is that his suspension has been lowered by one game.

Crawford was initially popped with a five-game suspension for his role in the scrum in Anaheim, but after an appeal, Crawford will now miss only four games, per Seattle Sports Mariners insider Shannon Drayer. For Crawford, that means he will miss the entirety of this current series against the Athletics. He’s eligible to return Monday when the Mariners take on the Padres in San Diego.

During his pregame press conference on Thursday, Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters that while Crawford’s suspension appeal process has concluded, he hasn’t heard final word on suspensions for outfielders Jesse Winker and Julio Rodriguez, per MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. Servais also said that Winker will likely begin his suspension on Monday, but it’s unclear if his suspension will be reduced or not, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times.

Winker was initially suspended for seven games while Rodriguez got two. Both, like Crawford, issued appeals to MLB. Both are in the Mariners’ lineup for the series opener against Oakland, which can be heard live on Seattle Sports 710 AM at 7:10 with pregame coverage beginning at 6 p.m.

Mariners Lineup

Julio Rodriguez, CF
Jesse Winker, LF
Eugenio Suarez, 3B
Carlos Santana, 1B
Abraham Toro, 2B
Cal Raleigh, C
Adam Frazier, DH
Dylan Moore, SS
Sam Haggerty, RF

Logan Gilbert, SP

It’s #Pride Night at the park! 🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/8cykw50vUd

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 30, 2022

More Mariners Notes

-Kyle Lewis, who is out with a concussion, is close to beginning a rehab assignment. He did baserunning drills and early batting practice on Thursday. Servais said the decision on when to send Lewis on a rehab assignment will be up to Lewis and when he feels ready.

-First baseman Ty France, who’s on the injured list with an elbow sprain, finished second in “Phase 1” of MLB All-Star Game voting among American League first basemen. He advances to “Phase 2” against Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Full details on that can be found here.

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