BREAKING: Rowdy Tellez makes strong case for Opening Day roster spot as Mariners huge win
Today marked Rowdy Tellez’s 30th birthday, and the celebration included a giant graphic of his face with birthday wishes displayed on the video board, usually reserved for the lineup. Tellez marked the occasion with a stellar three-hit performance, bolstering his case for a spot on the Opening Day roster.
Bryce Miller was dominant from the start, firing a fastball that the broadcast clocked at 98 mph (97.7 per Statcast), which Matt McClain chased out of the zone. Miller ended a strong first inning by striking out Elly De La Cruz with a 97.4 mph pitch at the top of the zone.
The Reds’ only run off Miller came in the second inning, when Gavin Lux doubled on a splitter and stole third before scoring on a wild throw from catcher Harry Ford. Miller had a brief hiccup in the third, overthrowing first base on a Blake Dunn bunt, allowing Dunn to advance to second. However, that was as far as any Reds hitter would get against Miller, as he retired the next 12 batters in a row, finishing with seven strikeouts, six of them swinging.
Brady Singer, the newly acquired Red from Kansas City, was equally impressive. He kept the Mariners off balance, striking out five in the first five innings. Dominic Canzone finally broke through in the fifth with a 102.9 mph opposite-field homer. Canzone has been swinging a hot bat this spring. The Mariners created some pressure in the inning, with Miles Mastrobuoni hitting his second single and Harry Ford drawing a walk, though no runs came from it.
The Mariners took the lead in the sixth. After struggling in his first two at-bats, Tellez led off the inning with a single off Taylor Rogers. The Mariners used small-ball to move Tellez around the bases, and he eventually scored on Mitch Garver’s single, a Canzone forceout, and Leo Rivas’s single.
In the seventh, Tellez came through again with his second hit of the game, a single to load the bases for Austin Shenton, who hit a two-run single to extend the Mariners’ lead to 4-1.
The “A” bullpen continued to dominate, with Tayler Saucedo allowing just a walk to Elly De La Cruz, Andrés Muñoz walking a batter and hitting 99 mph multiple times, and Trent Thornton pitching a perfect inning with a slider strikeout. The Reds managed to get to 2024 draft pick Charlie Beilenson for two garbage-time runs on back-to-back homers, but by then, the Mariners had already built an 8-1 lead, thanks to a birthday bomb from Tellez and a two-run double by Rhylan Thomas. Blake Hunt and Spencer Packard each added RBI singles, finishing with an 8-1 victory.