Mariners make change at leadoff spot, place Sam Tuivailala on DL

The Mariners have made some adjustments ahead of a very important series in Houston against the American League West-leading Astros.

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First, the lineup has a different look, with right fielder Mitch Haniger assuming the leadoff spot, sending second baseman Dee Gordon to ninth in the order. With Haniger out of the No. 3 spot, Jean Segura moves down a spot from No. 2. Denard Span will hit second.

Gordon has a .281 on-base percentage over the last month, while Haniger is reaching base at a .354 clip over the same period.

There were also some roster moves made earlier in the day, the most notable being recently acquired right-handed reliever Sam Tuivailala heading to the 10-day disabled list with a strained right Achilles. He suffered the injury while trying to run down Texas’ Rougned Odor in Wednesday’s loss to the Texas Rangers.

The Mariners also optioned fellow righty reliever Chasen Bradford to Triple-A Tacoma, calling up Casey Lawrence and Nick Rumbelow from the Rainiers to fill out the bullpen. Bradford pitched 1 1/3 innings Wednesday, so the additions of Lawrence and Rumbelow gives Seattle some fresh arms for the series in Houston.

Thursday’s 5:10 p.m. game will air on AM 770 KTTH instead of 710 ESPN Seattle due to the Seahawks’ preseason game. You can find out more details in this post.

Here are the full lineups for Thursday’s Mariners-Astros game:

Mariners (65-50)

Mitch Haniger, RF
Denard Span, LF
Jean Segura, SS
Nelson Cruz, DH
Kyle Seager, 3B
Mike Zunino, C
Ryon Healy, 1B
Cameron Maybin, CF
Dee Gordon, 2B

James Paxton, LHP

Astros (73-42)

Alex Bregman, SS
Marwin González, LF
Yuli Gurriel, 2B
Evan Gattis, DH
Tyler White, 1B
J.D. Davis, 3B
Martín Maldonado, C
Jake Marisnick, CF
Tony Kemp, RF

Justin Verlander, RHP

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