Leo

Rivas

Naylor, who is batting .341 (15-for-44) with three homers this postseason, has been moved up in Seattle’s lineup with Jorge Polanco dropped to the cleanup spot as they attempt to make the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 49-year history. The only other significant change involves Victor Robles in right field in place of Dominic Canzone. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Naylor (1B), Polanco (DH), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Leo Rivas (2B) and Robles (RF).

Rivas started in Game 4 with Victor Robles shifting to the bench and that’s the same alignment that the M’s will use against Kevin Gausman on Friday evening. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Dominic Canzone (RF) and Rivas (2B).

Rivas will get his first postseason start with a struggling Victor Robles heading to the bench as Seattle tries to mix some things up following a Game 3 rout at the hands of the Blue Jays. Here’s the full lineup: Randy Arozarena (LF), Cal Raleigh (C), Julio Rodríguez (CF), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Eugenio Suárez (3B), Dominic Canzone (RF), J.P. Crawford (SS) and Rivas (2B).

The Cardinals failed to score in their half of the 13th, so they though Rivas might simply try to bunt the automatic runner over to start the bottom of the inning. Instead, he yanked the first pitch 361 feet down the right field line. It was Rivas’s first at-bat of the night after he previously pinch-ran for Jorge Polanco and his second big-league homer in 175 plate appearances since debuting last year. He’s been a very nice surprise in hitting .288/.416/.397, but it hasn’t made him a lineup fixture, as he’s started just one of the Mariners’ last four games.

Rivas hit .283/.411/.300 in 73 plate appearances between April and May, but the Mariners had kept him in the minors the last three months, even as he was hitting .318/.471/.507 at Tacoma. He’ll probably get some starts over Cole Young against lefties but mostly sit versus righties.

There simply isn’t a spot for Rivas in Seattle with top prospect Cole Young taking over as the club’s second baseman for the foreseeable future. The 27-year-old infielder has posted a lackluster .655 OPS across 73 games in the majors over the past two seasons.

The Mariners have gotten quality production from their second basemen this season, but they obviously — and probably correctly — don’t trust that the same will hold true going forward. Young, who hit .278/.391/.463 with five homers and four steals in 53 games for Tacoma, will likely get most of the starts there for now. The 21-year-old top prospect has been on fire lately, hitting .366 since the start of May. It’s quite possible he’ll be an upgrade, but since he’s unlikely to be a particularly strong source of homers or steals, he probably won’t be of much use in shallow mixed leagues. Miles Mastrobuoni figures to lose much of his playing time with Young up. Leo Rivas could be demoted to Triple-A Tacoma to clear space.

Crawford’s reason for not being in the lineup have yet to be disclosed. The 30-year-old will take a seat for the finale against the Yankees with Leo Rivas now handling shortstop duties. Miles Mastrobuoni will hit leadoff with Crawford out.

Moore missed the minimum 10 days with hip inflammation. He was off to a great start beforehand, so he should resume playing pretty regularly for now, though he’ll likely need to go back to being benched against righties at some point. Miles Mastrobuoni and Leo Rivas will likely lose playing time.

Rivas figures to be a lineup fixture in Seattle for the near future. He’s yet to pick up an extra-base hit, but he’s 11-for-30 with nine walks, giving him a .513 OBP. He’s also 3-for-3 stealing bases.