Victor Robles and Justin Turner ignite Mariners’ offense in early game against Phillies

SEATTLE – A team that left town eight days ago beaten on the field, struggling in the paint and losing five of six games returned to Seattle Friday night after a 4-2 away game with a different lineup, a solid offense and a little more spice.

Wait, offensive production? Spice?

The Mariners opened a nine-game homestand and 10-day road trip, showcasing their team after the trade deadline, which manager Scott Servais said had a “spice” added to it with four new additions, with one of their most dominant wins of the season, beating the Phillies 10-2.

It was the third time in the last seven games that the Mariners have scored in double figures and the sixth time they have scored more than six points.

Victor Robles, who left Wednesday’s frustrating loss in Boston with a sore hip, set the tone offensively on a warm and muggy evening by turning the first pitch thrown by Philadelphia starter Tyler Phillips into a thunderous home run into the upper deck of left field.

But it wasn’t just the impressive force of the explosion, it was Robles’ reaction. He knew the ball was gone the moment it made contact. He threw his stick, turned and shouted a celebration to the bench before he even thought about running away.

Then came the endless second half that Phillips was unable to finish.

After retiring Josh Rojas, Phillips gave Dylan Moore a walk and singled to Mitch Haniger. Phillips was down 2-0 to Luke Raley and threw a fieldable sinker that was fouled. The missed opportunity left Raley shaking his head in disgust. It had been a familiar trend for a month

In 22 games in July, Raley hit .129/.247/.257 with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI, three walks and 25 strikeouts.

But any irritation at missing a chance at 2-0 quickly disappeared when Phillips sent the ball into the strike zone, the definition of middle-of-the-middle.

Raley didn’t miss the “cookie,” as the players like to call it. His wild swing from the left side produced a ball in the air that simply climbed as it flew toward right field. It landed in the lap of a fan sitting in the first row of the top deck in right field, netting a three-run home run.

According to MLB Statcast, the strikeout was 459 feet with an exit velocity of 115.4 mph. It was the second-longest homer of his career and the hardest-hit ball of his career.

It was tied with Nelson Cruz for the second-longest home run by a Mariners player in T-Mobile Park history, according to Statcast data. The last player to hit a ball into the T-Mobile third deck was Shohei Ohtani in 2021 against Marco Gonzales.

But the game was just getting started.

Phillips came back to throw out Leo Rivas for the second out. He didn’t record a third out. Robles singled to center, Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh each drew walks to load the bases.

Justin Turner, one of those “spicy” signings, took advantage of Phillips’ hanging slider to end his outing. Turned threw an error over the visiting bullpen for a grand slam.

The outing, thankfully, came to an end for Phillips, who allowed eight runs on five hits in 1⅔ innings, with three walks, one strikeout and three homeruns — one in the upper deck to left, one in the upper deck to right and a grand slam.

A seven-point second game and an 8-0 lead gave Seattle starter Bryan Woo ample scoring support.

And he responded with his best performance of the season, throwing seven shutout innings, allowing five hits, no walks, and six strikeouts. Facing a fearsome lineup, Woo threw fastballs, and Phillies hitters looked to hit fastballs and got outs.