Hancock (back) didn't factor into the decision in a start with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday, allowing five hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 5.1 scoreless innings.
Hancock was removed from his last start for Tacoma with lower-back tightness but wasn't forced to miss a turn in the rotation. The 25-year-old was a candidate to be called up after Bryan Woo (hamstring) was placed on the IL, but the Mariners opted to recall Jhonathan Diaz instead. It's unclear if Hancock's back flare-up affected the Mariners' decision. Hancock owns a 1.64 ERA across seven starts with Tacoma.
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Mariners' Luis Castillo: Starting Sunday
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Castillo will start Sunday's game against the Twins, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.
Castillo was initially projected to start Tuesday at Baltimore but with Bryan Woo (hamstring) hitting the IL, Castillo will pitch Sunday on regular rest. The 31-year-old has surrendered four or more runs in three of his last four starts but owns a 3.79 ERA over 99.2 innings on the year.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Back in lineup
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Raley (shoulder) will bat fifth and play left field Saturday against Minnesota.
Raley was held out of the starting nine for back-to-back games with shoulder soreness, but he's feeling good enough to start Saturday. He entered Friday's 3-2 win as a pinch runner in the eighth inning and put down a sacrifice bunt in his lone plate appearance.
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Mariners' Dominic Canzone: Idle Saturday
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Canzone is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Twins.
Canzone will get the night off Saturday after making six consecutive starts. Instead, Mitch Haniger will fill right field and bat eighth.
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Mariners' Ryne Stanek: Gets fifth win Friday
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Stanek (5-1) got the extra-inning win over the Twins on Friday, firing a perfect 10th inning.
Stanek followed Andres Munoz after the latter had fired a perfect ninth frame, and the former was able to match his high-leverage mate in caliber of performance while also earning the win. Stanek needed just nine pitches, six which he located for strikes, to get through his inning, setting down Max Kepler, Manuel Margot and Christian Vazquez in order. The veteran right-hander's pristine effort was an extension of his recent run of excellence, one that's seen him pitch 8.2 consecutive scoreless innings during which he's generated an 11:1 K:BB, two wins, two holds and three saves across 10 appearances.
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Mariners' Josh Rojas: Productive from bottom of order
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Rojas went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in an extra-inning win over the Twins on Friday.
Rojas was the only Mariner to garner multiple hits on a quiet night overall for Seattle's bats, and he contributed the first run of the game on a fifth-inning two-bagger that plated Mitch Haniger. Rojas now has four multi-hit efforts in the last 12 games, a stretch during which he's accumulated five extra-base hits despite a modest .250 average and .302 on-base percentage. Friday's production also snapped a rare skid for Rojas, who'd gone 0-for-14 over the previous four contests.
Gilbert allowed two runs on four hits and struck out three without walking a batter over six innings in a no-decision versus the Twins on Friday.
Gilbert had posted back-to-back starts of eight shutout innings, so this was a small step back. It was an improvement on his previous start versus the Twins, in which he allowed a season-high eight runs over four innings in Minnesota on May 9. Since that start, Gilbert has completed at least six frames in each of his last nine outings, earning eight quality starts in that span. He's at a stellar 2.72 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 102:21 K:BB over 112.1 innings across 17 outings this season. Gilbert's lined up for a tough matchup versus the Orioles in his next projected start.
Santos (lat) will start a rehab assignment at Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.
Santos threw a live BP session Friday without a setback, paving the way for a minor-league rehab stint. Considering that he's been out since spring training, Santos should require several rehab appearances before being reinstated. It's unclear if he'll be able to return prior to the All-Star break.
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Mariners' Gabe Speier: Throwing off mound Saturday
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Speier (shoulder) is set to throw off a mound Saturday, Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com reports.
Speier will pitch off a mound for the first time since being being placed on the IL on June 1, marking a significant step in his recovery from a shoulder strain. He'll likely need to complete a few bullpen sessions before being sent on a minor-league rehab assignment.
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Mariners' Jhonathan Diaz: Recalled from Triple-A
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The Mariners recalled Diaz from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.
Since being sent down to Triple-A, Diaz has allowed eight runs (six earned) in 11 innings across two starts. The 27-year-old allowed three runs to come across the plate during his spot start against the White Sox in June 11, and he'll presumably join the Mariners' rotation temporarily while Bryan Woo (hamstring) is on the injured list. Cody Bolton was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
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Mariners' Cody Bolton: Optioned to Tacoma
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The Mariners optioned Bolton to Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.
Bolton appeared in two games for the big club after being recalled June 14, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out three over 2.1 innings. Bolton will cede his spot on the 26-man roster to southpaw Jhonathan Diaz.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: On bench again
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Raley (shoulder) is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.
Raley was scratched from Wednesday's game with shoulder soreness and, despite Thursday's team off day, he'll remain out of the starting nine for the series opener against Minnesota. Up to this point, all indications are that the injury isn't a long-term concern. Dominic Canzone, Julio Rodriguez and Mitch Haniger fill the outfield Friday.
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Mariners' Tai Peete: Surprising lack of long balls
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Peete has a .283/.370/.375 slash line with zero home runs and 20 steals in 61 games for Single-A Modesto.
Peete missed a week in May with an undisclosed injury. His goose egg in the home run department is a pretty big surprise, given the underlying metrics. His 28.5 percent hard-hit rate and 15.2 percent soft-hit rate are very strong marks for an 18-year-old infielder, and while his 42.9 percent groundball rate isn't elite, it's not an alarmingly high rate. Peete has been hitting a lot of line drives (29.2 percent) and his 40 percent pull rate is on the low end, but those aren't necessarily bad traits for a young hitter with his athleticism and above-average raw power. This could be a buy-low opportunity in dynasty leagues.
Thornton recorded the first save of his MLB career in a win over the Rays on Wednesday, firing a perfect ninth inning.
Ryne Stanek worked the eighth and Andres Munoz faltered with the save opportunity to open the ninth, failing to record an out and leaving Thornton to inherit a bases-loaded jam. The right-hander deftly managed the dangerous scenario, inducing a fielder's choice groundout from Richie Palacios that allowed Josh Lowe to score but then retiring Amed Rosario on a game-ending double play. The one run went on Munoz's tab, affording Thornton his sixth scoreless outing in his last eight trips to the mound -- including his third straight -- as well as his first career save.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Misses game with sore shoulder
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Mariners manager Scott Servais said Raley was scratched from the lineup ahead of Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Rays due to a sore shoulder, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
Raley had been slated to start in left field, but the Mariners dropped him from the lineup after his shoulder wouldn't fully loosen up on him in the batting cage prior to the game. The Mariners don't seem to be too concerned about the issue, as Servais said he's hopeful that Raley will be ready to go for this weekend's series versus Minnesota following Thursday's team off day, per Shannon Drayer of SeattleSports.com.
