Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners Pick & Prediction APRIL 1st 2025
Preview and Prediction
The paths of Casey Mize and Logan Gilbert have diverged since the two pitchers were selected in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft.
However, they will come full circle on Tuesday night in Seattle when they take the mound for their respective teams.
Detroit's Mize (2-6, 4.49 ERA last season) has not lived up to the expectations that came with being the No. 1 overall pick.
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The right-hander, who earned the fifth spot in the Tigers' starting rotation this spring, has a record of 9-19 with a 4.36 ERA in his first four seasons. He missed half of the 2022 season and all of the 2023 season due to elbow and back surgeries.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch stated, "He is a fighter. He will push through and power through anything. He has a certain intensity and edge to him this spring because his journey has not been perfect."
Mize used his first healthy offseason in three years to improve his split-fingered fastball and three variations of a slider.
"I had a plan going into this offseason to get better," said Mize, who had a 1.89 ERA in the Grapefruit League. "I feel like some of that work is starting to pay off, not only with my performance this spring but also earning a spot in the rotation. It gives me confidence going into the season. I am happy with how things have gone so far, but we are just getting started."
Gilbert, who was selected by the Mariners with the 14th overall pick, has become the ace of one of the top pitching staffs in baseball. He was an All-Star last season, pitching a league-leading 208 2/3 innings and allowing just 0.887 walks and hits per inning. He also earned his first Opening Day start this spring. Gilbert has a career record of 41-30 with a 3.58 ERA.
He has faced the Tigers three times, with a record of 1-1 and a 3.77 ERA.
Gilbert (0-0, 1.29 ERA) did not receive a decision in Seattle's season-opening 4-2 win against the Athletics. He only allowed one run on two hits over seven innings, with no walks and eight strikeouts.
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"At the beginning of the season, I always want to have my best stuff," Gilbert stated. "I felt like my stuff was good, but I wasn't throwing 100 mph or anything like that. I was getting ahead and my slider felt great. I also had my splitter when I needed it. I felt like I executed well."
The Tigers won the first game of the series 9-6, with Riley Greene hitting a home run in a six-run first inning.
Top prospect Jackson Jobe made his first start in the major leagues but was not able to pitch long enough to earn the win. He threw 79 pitches over four innings, giving up three runs on three hits, including two solo home runs. He also had four walks and three strikeouts.
Hinch commented on Jobe, saying, "I believe he has elite stuff and he needs to use it. I think they took advantage of him because he is a strike thrower, and they were very aggressive. They didn't care about the score."
Randy Arozarena, Luke Raley, and Cal Raleigh all hit home runs for the Mariners.
However, Seattle's starter Emerson Hancock, another former first-round pick, only lasted two-thirds of an inning.
"Emerson had a tough time getting through that first inning, but I am proud of how our guys fought until the end," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. "We kept the pressure on them. It was a tough first inning for us, but our guys battled back and gave them a run for their money until the end."
Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners Recap APR 1TH 2025
Riley Greene homered in a six-run first inning as the Detroit Tigers defeated the host Seattle Mariners 9-6 on Monday night for their first victory of the season.
Dillon Dingler, Trey Sweeney and Javier Baez, the bottom three batters in Detroit's lineup, each went 3-for-5 to contribute to an 18-hit attack.
Tyler Holton (1-0) got the victory in relief of top prospect Jackson Jobe, who made his first major-league start.
Jobe, the No. 3 overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, allowed three runs on three hits - two of them solo homers - over four innings, with three strikeouts. The right-hander didn't last the required five innings to earn the victory as four walks led him to throw 79 pitches.
Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock (0-1), the No. 6 overall pick in 2020, didn't make it out of the first. He allowed six runs on seven hits in two-thirds of an inning, with one walk and no strikeouts, to put his ERA at 81.00.
Detroit's Justyn-Henry Malloy led off the game with a double to right field and scored on Kerry Carpenter line-drive single to right. After Carpenter was thrown out trying to steal second, Greene launched a 3-2 sinker on the outside corner over the left field wall. Spencer Torkelson reached on an infield single and Colt Keith walked before Zach McKinstry flied out to left.
Dingler blooped a two-out single into shallow left field to make it 3-0 and Sweeney hit a looping liner just over leaping shortstop J.P. Crawford to drive in another run. Baez lined a two-run double off the base of the wall in left to make it 6-0 and end Hancock's night.
Seattle's Randy Arozarena led off the second with a homer to left-center.
The Tigers got that run back in the third on Carpenter's two-out double to center.
The Mariners scored in the bottom of the inning as Crawford walked, Victor Robles doubled
and Julio Rodriguez hit an RBI groundout.
Keith doubled in the fourth and scored on Dingler's two-out single.
Luke Raley homered leading off the bottom of the inning to make it 8-3.
The Mariners tallied again in the fifth as Rodriguez led off with a triple off Brenan Hanifee and came home on Jorge Polanco's two-out single.
The Tigers scored their last run in the seventh on singles by Dingler, Baez and Malloy.
Seattle's Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer in the ninth.