Mariners Stat of the Day: April 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Mariners this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

April 30: Mariners 7, Angels 4 -- Steckenrider's K's Trout
If Drew Steckenrider's three-pitch punchout of Mike Trout seemed notable, it was. The Mariners' reliever worked the three-time MVP into an 0-2 count, and then got him looking on a pitch on the black that hugged the inside part of the plate for strike three. Trout, who finished April with a .425/.523/.781 slash line, had not struck out looking on just the third pitch of an at-bat all season.

April 29: Mariners 1, Astros 0 -- Kikuchi's groundouts
Yusei Kikuchi generated 10 ground balls on Thursday against Houston, according to Statcast, which is tied for the most he has had in a single start. This marks the fifth time Kikuchi has generated that many ground ball outs in a single outing.

April 28: Astros 7, Mariners 5 -- Dunn's improved command
After allowing eight walks to the White Sox in his first start of the season, Justin Dunn has walked five batters total in his last three starts.

April 27: Astros 2, Mariners 0 -- Graveman's continued dominance
Kendall Graveman has emerged as the linchpin in the Mariners' bullpen, thank in large part because no one can square him up. After pitching a 1-2-3 seventh inning Tuesday, Graveman has faced 32 batters this season and allowed just one hit. Only two other relievers -- the Cubs' Craig Kimbrel and the Pirates' Richard Rodriguez -- have faced that many hitters and allowed that few hits.

April 26: Astros 5, Mariners 2 -- Seager leads AL in hard hits
Kyle Seager's booming homer off José Urquidy in the opener of a four-game set didn't have much impact on the final result, but it did elevate him into an elite category of contact in the early stages of 2021. With a 104.8 mph exit velocity, the deep fly represented Seager's 35th hard-hit ball. Statcast classifies anything 95 mph or higher as hard-hit, and Seager leads all American League hitters with the most this season.

April 25: Red Sox 5, Mariners 3 -- Margevicius' shortest start
Nick Margevicius only recorded one out before being pulled in the series finale at Fenway Park, marking the shortest outing of his Major League career. Prior to that start, his second-shortest outing came on June 16, 2019, when he allowed nine earned runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Rockies at Coors Field.

April 24: Mariners 8, Red Sox 2 -- France follows Seager's lead
Kyle Seager wasn't the only Mariners hitter who had a great day against the Red Sox. Second baseman Ty France went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. France, who scored the game's first run on Seager's single in the first inning, now has a .320 batting average and leads the team in runs scored with 17.

April 23: Red Sox 6, Mariners 5 -- Lewis gets going
Kyle Lewis was hitless in his first seven at-bats after coming off the injured list. But on Friday, he went 2-for-5 against the Red Sox. Manager Scott Servais felt Lewis' timing at the plate has been spot on considering he was out almost three weeks because of a bone bruise on his right knee.

April 22: Mariners 7, Red Sox 3 (10) -- Unlikeliest comeback
The Mariners' come-from-behind win in Boston was arguably their scrappiest of the 2021 season -- and perhaps their unlikeliest. On a night where Seattle looked like it might be no-hit, the Mariners roared back thanks to a few critical walks and some sharp baserunning. If their three hits seemed like an oddity for a seven-run win, it was. It marked just the eighth time since 1901 that a team has scored at least seven runs on three or fewer hits.

April 20: Dodgers 1, Mariners 0 -- Bullpen continues dominance
Mariners relievers continued their impressive stretch by putting up two scoreless innings against the Dodgers, extending their scoreless streak to 24 innings without an earned run. In that stretch, they've lowered their season ERA to 2.27 -- the fourth-best mark in the Majors.

April 19: Mariners 4, Dodgers 3 -- Marmolejos' Statcastic blast
The most impressive part of José Marmolejos' two-run homer off Dodgers flamethrower Dustin May was the totality of it. At 114.1 mph, it was the Mariners' hardest-hit homer since June 2018. With a 17-degree launch angle, it was their lowest-lifted homer since April 2019. And it came against a 98.9 mph fastball -- making it the hardest-hit homer against a pitch that fast in all of MLB in the seven seasons since Statcast came online.

April 18: Mariners 7, Astros 2 -- Bullpen's numbers among MLB best
The Mariners' bullpen was called upon in a pinch in the top of the fifth inning in Sunday's 7-2 win over the Astros, and it cobbled together arguably its best collective outing yet, throwing five hitless innings against Houston. Dating back to its April 10 win in Minnesota, Seattle relievers lead the Majors in ERA (0.65), opposing batting average (.092) and opposing OPS (.321), and they've given up zero home runs.

April 17: Astros 1, Mariners 0 -- Flexen's lack of free passes
Chris Flexen put together arguably his best performance of his young Mariners career, but it wasn't enough against Astros ace Zack Greinke, who tossed eight shutout innings to blank Seattle. Flexen pitched six innings, which tied a career high and represented a first for the righty since Aug. 23, 2017, when he was with the Mets, but more notably, he walked zero of the 26 batters he faced, becoming Seattle's first starter this season to not give up a single free pass.

April 16: Mariners 6, Astros 5 -- The comeback kids
The Mariners rallied to their fourth win after trailing by at least three runs, thanks to Ty France's walk-off in the bottom of the ninth. Many of these comebacks have manifested late in ballgames, and there's statistical backing to suggest this. In innings 1-5, the Mariners have been outscored 23-49. But in the sixth inning and later, they've outscored opponents 39-21.

April 15: Mariners 4, Orioles 2 (Game 1); Mariners 2, Orioles 1 (Game 2) -- Dunn's dominant start to '21
Before allowing a solo home run to Freddy Galvis in the bottom of the third inning of Game 2, Justin Dunn had faced 23 batters without allowing a hit, going back to his first start of the season against the White Sox.

April 13: Mariners 4, Orioles 3 (Game 1); Orioles 7, Mariners 6 (Game 2) -- Haniger's three hits
Mitch Haniger has accomplished all sorts of "first time since" milestones during the early weeks of the season after missing a year and a half with multiple injuries. In the nightcap of the club's doubleheader split with the Orioles, Haniger went 3-for-4, which was notable in that he hadn't had that many hits in a game since a 13-0 win against the Rangers on Sept. 22, 2018. A lot has changed since then -- consider some of his teammates that day, for example: Robinson Canó, Mike Zunino, Nelson Cruz, Jean Segura, Dee Strange-Gordon, Ben Gamel and Kristopher Negrón, who is the Triple-A Tacoma manager.

April 11: Mariners 8, Twins 6 -- Seattle's largest comeback since 2016
Kyle Seager bookended the Mariners' six-run comeback over the Twins by hitting a solo shot for their first run of the game in the sixth inning and the game-winning dagger with a three-run blast in the ninth while trailing, 6-5. The Mariners' six-run rally represented their largest come-from-behind victory since June 2, 2016, when they overcame a 10-run deficit in San Diego.

April 10: Mariners 3, Twins 2 -- Kikuchi's consistency, length
Yusei Kikuchi pitched at least six innings in back-to-back starts for just the second time since his 11th career start against the Twins on May 19, 2019, at T-Mobile Park. While that may not seem otherworldly, that type of consistency -- particularly early in the season when many young Mariners pitchers will be on closely-monitored pitch counts -- is vital for Seattle's rotation.

April 8: Twins 10, Mariners 2 -- Haniger chases personal best
Right fielder Mitch Haniger singled and walked, which extended his streak of reaching base to seven straight games to start the season. Haniger is chasing his career-high on-base streak of 29 straight games, which began during the 2016 season and carried over into '17.

April 7: Mariners 8, White Sox 4 -- Seattle overcomes Dunn's eight walks
Justin Dunn labored with 93 pitches in just 4 2/3 innings while walking a career-high eight, becoming just the third pitcher since 2017 to allow that many free passes. But thanks to a seven spot in the sixth -- which hinged heavily on an 11-pitch walk by Ty France -- the Mariners rallied to avoid a sweep. In doing so, Seattle became the first team to win a game in which its starter walked at least eight since July 24, 2016, when the Rockies overcame Tyler Chatwood's eight walks in a 7-2 win over the Braves. The last time the Mariners won such a game was on Sept. 1, 1999, against these same White Sox.

April 6: Mariners 4, White Sox 10 -- Mariners stocked with left-handers
Before he exited with left elbow discomfort, James Paxton became the Mariners' fourth left-handed starter this season, making them the first team since the 2019 Padres to use that many southpaws through their first five games. They became the fifth team to do so since 2005. In addition to Paxton, Seattle has turned to Marco Gonzales, Yusei Kikuchi and Justus Sheffield, and if Paxton is sidelined his next time through, manager Scott Servais said that lefty Nick Margevicius would be his fill-in, making him the fifth lefty starter this season.

April 5: Mariners 0, White Sox 6 -- Fraley takes MLB lead with eighth walk
Jake Fraley's free pass in the 10th inning on Opening Day had dramatic -- and historic -- flair, and he's continued that discipline in the three games since. On Monday, Fraley drew two free passes to bring his season total to eight, surging ahead of Mike Trout and tying Detroit's Robbie Grossman for the MLB high. Fraley is 1-for-8, but his high walk rate and one hit-by-pitch have his on-base percentage up to .588. These are encouraging signs for Seattle's Opening Day left fielder, who had a .200 OBP across 70 plate appearances over his first two seasons.

April 3: Mariners 4, Giants 0 -- Flexen becomes 900th Mariner
When new starter Chris Flexen took the hill, he set a personal milestone by striking out a career-high six batters as he attempts to re-establish himself after a tough first stint in the Majors with the Mets from 2017-19. He also became the 900th player to debut in Mariners history.

April 2: Giants 6, Mariners 3 -- Kikuchi throws more strikes than ever before
Yusei Kikuchi threw 67 of his 89 pitches for strikes (75.3%) -- his second-highest rate in any of his career 42 starts, and well above his average of 63.5% from 2019-20. Even better, he threw 19 first-pitch strikes among the 25 batters he faced for a career-best rate of 76% -- significantly higher than his 57.3% average in 0-0 counts over his first two seasons.

April 1: Mariners 8, Giants 7 (10) -- Historic Opening Day walk-off
When Jake Fraley drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning against the Giants on Opening Day, the Mariners became the first team since the 1997 Expos to draw a free pass for a Game 1 victory. Seattle also became the sixth team in the Modern Era (since 1900) to come back from down five runs as late as the eighth inning on Opening Day and win, joining the 2002 Expos, the 1992 Rangers, the 1950 Yankees, the 1925 A’s and the 1901 Tigers.