The good news is. . . they weren’t swept in either series (and TWO of the losses were by ONE run) The bad news is . . . they were only able to salvage one win in each series (and BOTH were by ONE run)
To focus on the positive vs Tampa Bay . . .
Jarred blasted his first pinch hit homer
Sewald hadn’t allowed a base runner in SIX innings (till this series)
Julio bagged his first big league triple
Adam and Jesse each recorded their homers as Mariners
Most promising of all – with friends and family in attendance at T-Mobile Park, George Kirby’s ML debut on Mother’s Day was a thing of beauty: 6IP-4H-0ER-0BB-7K
And, THIS will be an interesting start to the Seahawks season . . .
Banger of a start: Russell Wilson will open his first non-Seahawks NFL season playing…at the Seahawks. Monday night, Sept. 12, in Seattle in week 1, per multiple reports.
I was trying to focus on the positive but, have to mention some really disappointing news re: Mitch 😦
Mitch Haniger is almost to be completely free of his walking boot. But the grade 2 high ankle sprain he suffered is going to keep him out a significant amount of time. https://t.co/zHjJKwtvI5
Now, THAT is how to serve up a Happy Home Stand! Winning ALL three series, 7-2 overall record, including a “royal” sweep!
ON the MOUND
Marco: a tale of two pitchers . . . a great bounce back start vs the Astros where he went SEVEN and only gave up ONE run getting the win in an 11-1 M’s victory. Then a sad start vs the Rangers where he didn’t even make it through FIVE innings, giving up SIX runs in the M’s 6-8 loss.
Chris: off to a slow start but, steady progress . . . He posted his second loss in as many starts in the M’s loss via shutout vs the Astros. Then, got his first win of the season, going SEVEN strong vs the Royals.
Matt: walking to victory and not . . . kind of a crazy start vs the Astros, where he picked up the “W” despite walking SIX. Then, in a no decision vs the Royals, he walked another FOUR and gave up THREE earned runs but, the M’s offense exploded, giving them the 13-7 victory.
Robbie: so far, just call him Steady Eddy . . . two nearly identical lines for Robbie in both his home starts: 6 innings 3 earned runs and one walk that gave him one victory and one no decision. The best news is the M’s won both.
Logan: super solid stud – .54 ERA after three starts he earned his second victory via a 6H – ZERO ER – ZERO BB performance vs the Rangers
OUT of the PEN
Still a strength, the pen combined for: 30IP-23H-8R-5ER-10BB-32K-1S
always good to have LESS hits than innings pitched
always good to have MORE strikeouts than innings pitched
only ONE save in SEVEN victories but then, there was only one save opp (thanks to the stellar offense)
AT the PLATE
Exceptfor a shutout vs Verlander, the offense was nothing short of spectacular! When was the last time you heard (read) those four words in reference to the Mariners?
Ty was the obvious standout hitter of this home stand – safe to say, he is ON FIRE . . . – 18/38 posting 19 RBI – 4 HR – 3 2B – 7 BB – He is TOP THREE in the AL in AVG (.371), HR (5), RBI (19) OBP (.459) SLG (.656) and OPS (1.115)
Eugenio and Adam are proving to be solid contributors
JP’s been steady from the start and just getting better
Jesse, continues to be “Mr. Patience” w/SEVEN more walks and leads the Majors w/FIFTEEN total
Julio and Jarred starting to come around, slowly but surely
Mitch missed all but the first game at home on the COVID DL (Skip was out for most of the home stand as well)
As a team so far in this young season, M’s offense is TOP THREE in the following categories . . .
RBI (2nd)
Runs (2nd)
OBP (1st)
OPS (2nd)
HR (3rd)
SB (3rd)
IN the FIELD
The defense has been fairly steady – a few spectacular plays, a few uncharacteristic flubs
They can definitely TURN TWO – second in the league in DP’s w/16 (turned FOUR in the first FOUR innings of Matt’s start vs. Houston)
Fielding Percentage of .983 (10th in the AL) could definitely be improved
some tweets of the home stand . . .
The @Mariners enter today's action with the best offense in @MLB according to @fangraphs wRC+ metric:
April sunshine in Seattle is a bit of a rarity – here’s hoping Mariners series’ wins like today (especially vs divisional opponents) become downright commonplace.
ON the MOUND
Matt’s first big league victory came at home vs the ‘stros today when he clearly didn’t have everything working for him. But, to get through it despite that … says a lot.
5.1IP-2H-2ER-6BB-5K
Fun to imagine what he’ll be able to do on a good day!
the ‘pen combined for 3.2IP-2H-0ER-1BB-5K . . . ya know, just what we’ve come to expect from the likes of Seawald, Steckenrider, Munoz and Castillo
AT the PLATE
their first SIX runs all came w/TWO outs
SEVEN batters had at least ONE hit
THREE batters had TWO hits (Adam, Ty, Jarred)
FIVE batters w/at least ONE RBI – Ty w/THREE (including a TWO-run homer)
Julio w/his first big league RBI (line drive single in the 4th)
IN the FIELD
DP, DP, DP, DP one in each of the first FOUR innings (a strike em out, throw em out and THREE Crawford-Frazier-France)
Great to be at the ballpark on a sunny, Sunday with my Dad 🙂
LOVE these fun murals on the way to the ballpark . . .
For a team where the expectations were few and far between, it was a happy and exciting circumstance for these Mariners to be playing in front of a packed stadium on the very last day of the season in a game that still mattered. It was so much fun for the players and win-starved fans alike. The experience gained from near-playoff baseball should prove to be invaluable to the young players going forward – in other words, despite not getting over that last hump, the future is looking bright.
Scott Servais: "Baseball's back in Seattle. We didn't get across the finish line, but I think everybody sees where we're headed, and I'm really excited to see that many people jump on the bandwagon with us because it's gonna be a fun ride."
And then, there was the special goodbye to Kyle Seager . . . emotional for him, his teammates and the fans. They were behind the entire game but, we’d seen them come back time after time (42 to be exact) so, all hope was not lost. Until the top of the 9th, when the out of town scoreboard turned in favor of the Red Sox and dashed any post season hope for the M’s (even if they had won the game, they help they needed hadn’t materialized). It was at that point that the crowd started chanting “Kyle – Seager!” and he was given the opportunity to have a moment with the fans (he was even presented with the 3B bag!). Kyle gave his all for eleven years – and it’s such a shame that, like Felix, he was never able to take part in post season baseball. Even with that, he seemed to harbor no regret and in fact spoke glowingly about his years with the M’s and, especially THIS specific team which, according to him, had a particularly special bond.
With tears in his eyes, Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager was given third base after everything stopped in the ninth inning against the Angels. His wife Julie wore a jean jacket with his image. All this and more as M's season ends. @RyanDivish reports https://t.co/OCSFUeGrqWpic.twitter.com/3ysv4ed35G
The Halos were relentless – base runners galore – not only TEN hits but SEVEN walks . . .
Tyler just didn’t have it today (not quite as bad as his previous start vs the Halos but, given the magnitude of the game, it sort of felt like it: 1.2IP-5H-4R-3ER-2BB-0SO
Ramirez got the last out of the 2nd and pitched a scoreless 3rd
Misiewicz and Swanson gave up THREE runs in their combined TWO innings
Munoz, Doolittle, Sadler and Steckenrider combined for FOUR scoreless innings (Munoz made his debut – throwing 101MPH)
AT the PLATE
NINE total hits, including TWO doubles but . . .
the runs came via Jarred and JP RBI singles in the 3rd and a JP force out in the 6th
they were only 3 for 11 w/RISP and left NINE on base
the middle of the order was 0-16
IN the FIELD
SB (Toro)
TWO errors (both pitchers not helping their cause: Anderson and Swanson)
Flex wasn’t super sharp but, still gave ’em a chance: 5.1IP-6H-1R-1Er-1BB-1SO
Sadler: gets the next TWO batters in the 6th (of course!)
Misiewicz: three ground ball outs for a scoreless 7th
Sewald was (understandably) out of gas: he ending up striking out the side in the 8th but, not before walking the first TWO batters and giving up a homer and the lead (4-3 halos)
Steckenrider: fly-out to Mitch; line-out to Jake; double; line-out to Toro – and that’s all she wrote for the 9th!
AT the PLATE
amaze-balls!!!
3rd: Ty w/a double and Mitch singled him in for the first run of the game
5th: Ty w/a double and Mitch homered him in (are you seeing a pattern here?)
8th: hit by a pitch, walk, sac-bunt, intentional walk, Mitch w/a 2-OUT, 2-run single, Kyle added a little insurance w/an RBI single
I feel like it's the best thing I’ve seen in my life. This is what I want. All game, I was imagining what it would be like to be out there. I was literally getting chills thinking about myself playing with these guys in front of 47,000 fans
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) October 3, 2021
Ty France with a double into right and Mitch Haniger scores him with a single to right. M's have a 1-0 lead and a little of the tension here has been relaxed for the moment.
Sewald would be absolutely fried by now, running on fumes. He has picked his team up plenty this year, time for them to return the favor! #LetsGoMariners
awesome pitching – unfortunately, the Halos TWO runs were all they needed . . .
Marco’s only struggle was in the 3rd: 6IP-3H-2R-2ER-2BB-5SO
Sadler: scoreless 7th (of course!) 7th
Sewald: scoreless 8th (including a strikeout of Otahni)
Castillow + Misiewicz = scoreless 9th
AT the PLATE
0-7 w/RISP, pretty much tells it all . . .
Toro singled w/TWO outs in the 2nd and Kelenic drove him in with a double for the first M’s run
huge opportunity in the 7th: Torrens led off with a triple, Toro walked but, the next three batters struck out in order
Kyle lead off the 9th with a double but then a ground out, popup, fly out
IN the FIELD
DP (Crawford-Toro-France)
tweets of the game . . .
more tweets than usual – couldn’t watch because, as of TODAY, Root Sports is no longer on DISH couldn’t be WORSE timing to lose the local sports broadcast 😦 😦 😦
For as much as we talk about Crawford's play on the field this year, his teammates are talking about the steps he's taken as a leader. Ty France said guys drift toward him. They call him the unicorn because he's so unique.
Marco has recovered from a shaky third inning with two scoreless frames, including a 1-2-3 fifth that ended with a ground out by Shohei Ohtani. Angels 2, #Mariners 1.
Gonzales with another 1-2-3 inning. He's retired seven in a row and is at 99 pitches through 6. #Mariners need some offense, trailing 2-1. It will be France, Haniger and Seager in the sixth.
This game was the M’s 41st comeback victory and their 12th straight vs the A’s And, it was SO cool to see the youth, the future, getting it done . . . No matter what happens over the next three games – the experience for them is INVALUABLE.
SUPER outing for young Logan: 5.2IP-3H-1R-1ER-2BB-4SO
Smith got the last out of the 6th
Castillo struck out TWO but, allowed a solo shot to re-tie the game at 2-2
Sewald + Steckenrider = TWO scoreless innings
AT the PLATE
only SIX total hits but, that’s all they needed (along with capitalizing on some A’s goofs)
6th: Mitch and Ty both reach via error: Jarred 2-run double to take the lead
7th: Dylan walk; JP hit n’ run single; Ty sac-fly to break the 2-2 tie
8th: Abraham with a solo shot
IN the FIELD
no DP’s or errors
tweets of the game . . .
*snort* I laughed out loud, after CB Bucknor (who's zone has been all over the place tonight) took one off the dome–went down behind home plate and it appeared he was okay… @heygoldy says as he rights himself "Dare I say this isn't going to make things get any better tonight"
Logan Gilbert is the youngest Mariners pitcher to make 6 September starts with a sub-3.00 ERA since Felix Hernandez (age 23) posted a 1.52 ERA in 6 September starts in 2009.
The Mariners have already recorded more wins in September than in any other month this season. Servais calls it gratifying and significant after saying "the guys would get better" so often early this season. His faith in the club and the guys hard work is paying off
There's a feeling in the air, the town is buzzing about baseball, a chance to make a lot of new fans tonight, I just have a feeling tonight is going to be special…… #Mariners@DaretoExp
Okay. Too aggressive. Toro pops up to very short center and JP tags up and tries to score. 8-2 out at home and they let Bassitt off the hook at 20 pitches. Not good.
Anderson is threw two scoreless innings. He made the final out himself on a popup in front of the plate that almost dropped as three people converged and no one took charge.
Huuuuge insurance run on an infield single by Tom Murphy. Shortstop Josh Harrison made a diving stop but then threw wildly. Toro scored, and the error allowed Torrens to get to third. #Mariners lead, 3-1, and still have runners on the corners with two outs.
Heading into tonight's game the Mariners have won 9 straight games against the A's. One more would tie a record for most wins against a single opponent.
A good sight on the field today, James Paxton throwing from 60 feet. Has been playing catch from shorter distances for two weeks, today the first time from 60.
Not including his two hits and two RBIs so far tonight, Luis Torrens has hit .261 with 13 HRs and 39 RBIs in 73 games since coming back from Tacoma in mid-June #Mariners
That was beautiful!!!!!!!!!!Haniger goes deep out to the back of the Mariners pen and it is 8-4 Mariners! Those 3 runs he almost saved? He got them back!
Compass Rosy 