CHICAGO -- The Mariners will be scrambling with their pitching staff on Sunday after Saturday’s matinee against the White Sox was postponed one day due to inclement weather.
The game will resume in the bottom of the third inning and remain a nine-inning contest, followed by Sunday’s regularly-scheduled series finale, which will now be seven innings and begin 30-45 minutes after the first game’s conclusion. Play will resume at 11:10 a.m. PT, when Sunday’s game was initially slated.
The Mariners’ pitching plans for their final day in Chicago had another wrench thrown into the equation, and it was good news that had nothing to do with the weather: Marco Gonzales, who had been scheduled to start, returned to Seattle to be with his wife, Monica, for the birth of their first child.
That will leave the Mariners looking to navigate 16 innings, and potentially beyond. They will place Gonzales on the paternity list and also recall a 27th man, as allowed by doubleheader protocols, essentially bringing in two fresh arms to help cover the load.
Héctor Santiago, who came up in the White Sox organization, could eat a chunk of those innings, and they’ll recall a multi-inning pitcher, possibly even a starter, from Triple-A Tacoma. Robert Dugger last pitched on June 19, so he’d be a strong candidate.
The good news is that Seattle has an off-day on Monday to regroup before their three-game road series against the Blue Jays.
A tornado warning and torrential downpours in Chicago delayed Saturday’s 1:10 p.m. CT game by one hour and eight minutes before Logan Gilbert pitched two scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, a single to reigning American League MVP José Abreu, while striking out half of his the six batters he faced.
That made the postponement sting a little more, given how sharp the Mariners’ No. 4 prospect looked out of the gate against one of the AL’s best lineups.
“I felt pretty good,” Gilbert said. “I didn't really get to go to all my pitches yet, just threw two innings, but I felt like my fastball was on and my changeup felt good, so I felt like it was going pretty well.”
Gilbert, who now has a 2.75 ERA in four June starts, will pitch again Saturday against the Rangers when the Mariners return to T-Mobile Park.