Mariners Game #11 Preview and Discussion: SEA at TEX, 4/6/2026
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 04: Logan Gilbert #36 of the Seattle Mariners looks on before the game against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile Park on October 04, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Mariners head to the Lone Star State in their attempt to bounce back from losing two very winnable games in a row. They’ll hand the ball back to their Opening Day starter, Logan Gilbert, who has looked better than he did last season but still shakier than he did in 2023-24.
I’m increasingly concerned about Gilbert’s slider, which probably warrants its own article. It was his best pitch for about two and a half seasons, but collapsed last year despite having a pretty similar shape. It lost about one mph of velocity, but that shouldn’t be that big a deal, especially for a breaking ball.
Yet it started losing its bite, in a way that’s both been hard to for me to articulate and without an obvious cause. (Hence why I haven’t written about it. ) He’s added some additional drop to it this year, which is a smart idea because with the new cutter, he risks simply having his pitches all blend together.
But it still looks more hittable to me. Anyway, this is what I’ll be watching most closely from his start tonight. His opponent will be Jacob deGrom, baseball’s most boring star—which is a highly competitive category.
Both deGrom and Gilbert attended Stetson College. They’ve never faced off before, nor did either of them ever face Corey Kluber, the other most notable Hatter. So all TV sets in St.