Crawford nursing injury, Mariners press on minus Santana in Texas

The Mariners are done with all of their suspensions stemming from their June brawl with the Angels, but they will still have to weather some absences as they close in on wrapping up the first half of the season.

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First baseman Carlos Santana was placed on Seattle’s restricted list Friday afternoon due to a family emergency, and shortstop J.P. Crawford is not in the lineup again for the second game of the Mariners’ series with the Texas Rangers at 5:05 p.m. Friday.

The Mariners are just three games from getting four days off for the MLB All-Star break. They’re also in pursuit of their 12th straight win.

Crawford was a late scratch from Thursday’s lineup to rest a bruise on a finger on his throwing hand that he suffered Wednesday during a doubleheader sweep of the Nationals. He is still having trouble gripping the ball to throw, reports Shannon Drayer, Mariners insider for Seattle Sports.

Crawford is hopeful he will be able to play before the break. Tried yesterday but had trouble gripping the baseball after suffering a finger injury in the field in game 2 Wed. Receiving treatment to help with the swelling.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) July 15, 2022

The Mariners called up infielder Kevin Padlo from Triple-A Tacoma to take the roster spot of Santana, who has been a key hitter and veteran presence since joining Seattle in a June 27 trade with Kansas City. Padlo has appeared in six games for Seattle this year, registering two hits in 10 at-bats, including a double.

Sam Haggerty is in the lineup hitting ninth and playing right field a day after hitting the first inside-the-park home run for the Mariners in 15 years. The speedy switch-hitter went 3 for 4 with three runs scored in the 6-5 comeback win over the Rangers, which was the 11th straight victory for the M’s, pushing their winning streak to the longest since the franchise’s record-breaking 2001 season.

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On the mound for the Mariners will be ace left-hander Robbie Ray, the 2021 American League Cy Young Winner who has an impressive streak of his own going right now: six straight starts of at least six innings pitched with no more than one earned run allowed.

Here’s the full M’s lineup:

Wild West Weekend 🐎 pic.twitter.com/YJs57iDN2X

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 15, 2022

The Mariners enter the game with a 48-42 record, which is a full game ahead of the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays for the second of the American League’s three wild card playoff spots. Seattle is 1 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the first wild card.

Coverage of Mariners-Rangers will be carried on Seattle Sports Station 710 AM, SeattleSports.com and the Seattle Sports app beginning with the pregame show at 4 p.m.

For details on how to stream Mariners games on your mobile device or computer, click here.

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