J.P. Crawford back in lineup for Mariners’ Vedder Cup opener
After being scratched two days prior, J.P. Crawford is leading off and starting at shortstop for the Seattle Mariners' series opener in San Diego.
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Leadoff-hitting shortstop J.P. Crawford is back in the lineup for the Seattle Mariners’ series opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Petco Park.
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Crawford, 30, was scratched from the lineup on Wednesday prior to Seattle’s 3-2 series-finale loss to the New York Yankees. After the game, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Crawford woke up Wednesday morning with shoulder tightness and that he was day to day.
That came after Crawford hit a walkoff single to give Seattle a 2-1 win over the Yankees on Tuesday night.
Crawford is slashing .271/.378/.364 this season, with three home runs, four doubles and a .742 OPS in 40 games. Among qualified MLB shortstops, he ranks ninth in batting average and third in on-base percentage.
The Mariners (23-19) head to San Diego (27-15) on a skid, having lost five of their past six games. They still are in first place atop the American League West standings, but the Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Athletics are all within two games.
This weekend marks the first of two three-game series between the Mariners and Padres this season. The teams share a spring training complex in Peoria, Ariz., and have long been interleague rivals. Over the years, their rivalry unofficially became known as the Vedder Cup – which is a tribute to Eddie Vedder, who famously moved from San Diego to Seattle in the early 1990s to become the frontman for Pearl Jam.
But starting this year, the rivalry is now officially called the Vedder Cup – complete with a trophy that will be awarded to the winner of the season series.
First pitch for Friday’s Vedder Cup opener is set for 6:40 p.m. It kicks off a 10-game road trip for the Mariners, who follow their series against the Padres with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox and a four-game series as the AL West rival Astros.
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