The Seattle Mariners are set to play a rubber match at home against the San Diego Padres at 1:10 PT. The Mariners took Game 1 on Monday night in a high-scoring affair, then lost the second game in a similar fashion. The bats are hot in Seattle, and Wednesday's day game could see some more offense. The Padres won Game 2 thanks to an early grand slam from Ramon Laureano. Catcher Cal Raleigh hit his 50th homer in the opening contest.
Seattle made a roster move ahead of the finale. Starter Emerson Hancock has been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma, and right-hander Sauryn Lao has been optioned back to Tacoma.
Hancock could be scheduled to start in the coming days, but rising star Bryan Woo is the starter for Wednesday's contest against San Diego. Seattle has a day off on Thursday, and then they are in Cleveland to take on the Guardians. George Kirby will start on Friday, and then Logan Gilbert takes the mound for Game 2. On Sunday, Bryce Miller is expected to start. So, it is interesting to see the Mariners call up a starter if they don't plan on using him for a few days. Hancock has started in all 15 of his appearances this season.
On the year, Hancock is 3-5 with a 5.47 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in 77.1 innings. He is not having a great season, but the 16-year-old has seen success before. Four starts ago, for Hancock, he went 7.0 shutout innings, allowing just two hits to the Guardians. However, he allowed nine runs to the Chicago Cubs the following start. Maybe a move to the bullpen could benefit the young pitcher.
Sauryn Lao appeared in two games for the Mariners this season. The first was early on in April, when he allowed three hits in 1.2 innings. Lao was recalled for a relief appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies last weekend and allowed three runs off three hits in 1.2 innings. The good news is that he struck out four hitters.
