SEATTLE -- The Mariners proactively put the “rest vs. rust” balance into play in the first of two scrimmages on Wednesday afternoon, complete with nearly 5,000 fans in the house, many of the loudspeakers at T-Mobile Park booming and players even in full uniform.
The contest also lasted just six innings, was cut short by a few frames due to pitch counts, did not feature any of their starting pitchers yet did include members of their taxi squad -- including shortstop Colt Emerson, their No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
There’s no way to replicate the electric atmosphere that looms when Seattle opens the American League Division Series on Saturday, but these scrimmages are an attempt to keep their players fresh on the field without overdoing it.
“It was a day that we got a lot accomplished,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I think this is what we were looking to do.”
The first-round bye, after all -- and despite its knock for the five-day layoff it bridges from the regular season -- is a huge benefit.
“It definitely helps staying in rhythm, seeing the ball,” Randy Arozarena said of the scrimmage environment through an interpreter. “But I definitely think winning the division, earning that bye week definitely helps you. It's a lot better than the season ending, and then you just continue to play. But yeah, these scrimmages help.”
Arozarena has the unique perspective that not many within the Mariners’ clubhouse possess, having been on playoff teams with the Rays that both played in the Wild Card Series (2020, 2022, 2023) and had the bye (2021). The ‘21 team was bounced in that year’s ALDS despite being the No. 1 seed, yet Arozarena still felt the rest was beneficial.
He should know as well as anyone, with a team-high 33 games of postseason experience -- all with Tampa Bay. Last year, after being acquired ahead of the Trade Deadline, was his first full season in which he didn’t play into October.
“I told the team when I first was traded here last year, I think this is the most competitive team that I've been a part of,” Arozarena said. “When I came in here, you see the guys, how much they want to win, the competitiveness inside the clubhouse that kind of fires you up.”
As for the on-field product on Wednesday, there was a dose of the familiar, as Cal Raleigh crushed a solo homer and Eugenio Suárez hit a three-run blast.
Had either of those come before the end of the regular season, they would’ve carried historical context, as Raleigh finished one homer shy of 61 (which would’ve tied him with Roger Maris in 1961 for the second-most in American League history) and Suárez finished with 49 (one shy of making him and Raleigh just the second teammates ever to eclipse 50 in the same season, behind Maris and Mickey Mantle in ‘61).
Among players who rested in some form over the weekend after the Mariners locked up the AL West -- notably, Julio Rodríguez, Josh Naylor and Victor Robles -- each were installed for at-bats on Wednesday.
The Mariners also opened the roof once rain cleared from batting practice to give hitters an idea of what the early-fall shadows might look like, which are far more impactful for day games than in peak summer, as they can cut off between the mound and plate. The Mariners could conceivably close the roof if it’ll be a pronounced enough challenge, though Wilson said those discussions haven’t taken place.
“It's an issue to every ballpark,” Wilson said, “so we’re certainly taking a look at it now and seeing what it was like today.”
Adding to the day’s levity, Ichiro Suzuki was the starting right fielder for the split-squad’s home team and played alongside Rodríguez. And Robles went full stop-then-sprint when he saw the Salmon Run begin just after the first inning and joined the fun, racing the fish-costumed mascots around the warning track and taking the checkered flag easily.
The idea for the scrimmages was concocted by Seattle’s front office and through consultation from hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes, who were both with the Braves from 2021-24 and had a first-round bye three times.
The Mariners will play one more on Thursday at 5 p.m. PT, though ticket allotments have already sold out.