Seattle Mariners Analysis: A Decisive Victory in Retrospect

At approximately 8:45 p.m. on Thursday night, things were not looking promising for the Seattle Mariners.

Mariners activate Julio Rodriguez from IL, placing him at DH

Seattle was heading into the ninth round of the series finale against the Detroit Tigers, one step away from being swept by one of the bottom teams in the American League. To make matters worse, the Mariners’ batting problems were taking their toll. Up to that point, they had managed just five points in the three-game series.

In less than 72 hours, Seattle completely flipped the script.

Mitch Haniger turned the game around shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday night, scoring three runs on a double that capped a stunning ninth-inning rally. The Mariners then carried that momentum into the weekend, beating the New York Mets 22-1 during a dominant three-game series. By 6:52 p.m. Sunday night, the Ms were suddenly riding on four straight wins after routing the Mets 12-1 in the first ESPN “Sunday Night Baseball” game at T-Mobile Park in two decades.

Let’s remember that this was the same Mets team that entered the weekend with an MLB-best record of 39-21 in their previous 60 games.

The Mariners are now 10-5 since beginning their trade process before the trade deadline on July 25, acquiring power forward Randy Arozarena.

“Because we made the acquisitions there before the trade deadline, there’s a different vibe in our clubhouse,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said after Sunday’s game. “There’s a lot more confidence in our group. Even on the nights when we don’t ultimately get it done and win, we just feel different about where we’re at right now.

“And that’s a credit to our players – not just the ones we’ve signed, but the ones that have been here all year. They’re playing, they’re doing it a little bit differently. And again, overall, it’s just a really confident group right now.”

Let’s take a closer look at the Mariners’ decisive win and what the future holds for the team.

Classification update

The only bad news for Seattle this weekend was that the Houston Astros also came away with a victory, winning all three games against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. That means the Mariners (63-56) are still in a virtual tie with Houston (62-55) atop the AL West. Meanwhile, the third-place Texas Rangers (55-63) have dropped 7.5 games in the AL West race after losing two of three games to the New York Yankees this weekend.

Seattle is fourth in the AL wild card race, 2.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals, who are fighting for the third and final playoff spot.

Historic Pitching Weekend

Earlier this season, the Mariners became the first MLB team since 1917 to open the season by allowing opponents to score two or fewer runs in 21 consecutive starts.

Their pitching staff reached another milestone this weekend.

Seattle limited the Mets to just one run in the entire series, which is a franchise record for fewest runs allowed in a series of at least three games. The Mariners have accomplished this feat twice more in franchise history, allowing one run in a three-game set against the Montreal Expos in 2004 and one run in a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds in 2010.

Equally impressive was the fact that it happened against the Mets. Before this series, New York had averaged 5.55 runs per game over its previous 60 games, second-most in the league during that span.

“(It’s) remarkable that we were able to do that against a pretty good offensive club,” Servais said. “… These are experienced guys who have long-term contracts, who have done a lot in this league to earn them. But that’s because of our pitching and being aggressive, being on offense, getting the secondary pitches into the game, not getting bad results. All those things have to add up.”

Bryce Miller opened a dominant weekend of pitching with six scoreless innings on three hits in Friday’s 6-0 victory. It was the sixth time this season that Miller has had a scoreless outing of six or more innings.

Logan Gilbert continued his pitching clinic Saturday, throwing seven scoreless innings with three strikeouts in a 4-0 victory that lowered his ERA to 2.91, good for fourth in the AL, and marked the 11th time in 24 starts this season that he has allowed one run or fewer.

Luis Castillo finished the weekend in style, striking out nine batters while limiting the Mets to one run in six innings. The 31-year-old ace struck out five consecutive batters at one point, including a viral moment when he sent Mets shortstop José Iglesias to the ground with a nasty sinker that severely cut his hands. Castillo reached 1,300 career strikeouts during his appearance, becoming one of only 24 active pitchers to reach that milestone.

The final tally for Miller, Gilbert and Castillo this weekend: one run, 10 hits, 19 innings, 21 strikeouts and just four walks. The Mariners lowered their team ERA to an MLB-best 3.42, which is 0.30 better than any other team. Seattle also has an MLB-leading 73 quality starts, 12 more than any other club.

The bats are coming out

The Mariners exploded for a season-high 12 points on Sunday, ending a productive streak at the plate in which they scored at least four points in all three games. They are now 26-8 this season when they have reached the four-point mark.

Here are some of the weekend’s highlights:

• Cal Raleigh hit two home runs Sunday, giving him 26 home runs on the season, the most among MLB catchers. He became the first MLB catcher with three consecutive seasons with 25 or more home runs since Mike Piazza did it eight times in a row from 1995-2002.

“When he’s up there, he’s hunting down pitches,” Servais said. “He’s got a ton of power. And if you make a mistake, leave the ball in his happy zone, we’re really happy because good things are happening, just because he’s got so much power.”

• Jorge Polanco went 3-for-5 with a homerun and a double on Sunday. After a rough first half, the veteran second baseman has a .254 average with six homeruns and four doubles in 19 games since the All-Star break.

“Polo looks great right now,” Servais said. “He’s doing things in the box that we haven’t seen from him all year.”

• Dominic Canzone had a double-double in each of his first two at-bats Sunday after returning from a four-week stint on the injured list.

• Rookie second baseman Ryan Bliss hit a two-run home run on Friday, and rookie shortstop Leo Rivas added a two-run single later in the game, giving the Mariners four RBIs from players Nos. 8 and 9 in their lineup on the night.

Don’t forget about the internet gems

While the Mariners played spectacularly this weekend, their defense also notched several assists.

Polanco and Rivas made a sensational double play that could have been the Internet gem of the year. Polanco made another impressive play, barehanded, side-spinning the ball to throw out the batter at first base. And in the outfield, center fielder Víctor Robles and left fielder Randy Arozarena made full, diving catches.

“When you have pitchers that are working that fast and throwing that many strikes, your defense is always on its feet,” Servais said. “And our guys played incredible defense all weekend.”

Next

The Mariners have Monday off, then nine consecutive days of three-city road games against the Detroit Tigers (56-63), Pittsburgh Pirates (56-61) and Los Angeles Dodgers (69-49).

“We have a lot of big games coming up in the next six weeks,” Servais said. “And we’re going to have streaks where we win five, six, seven in a row and lose a few. We just have to stick to the plan.

“And the plan is to focus on pitching, have good at-bats, trust the guy behind you and put pressure on opposing hitters, and it will all fall apart.”

More about Seattle Mariners

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• Watch: Each of Mitch Haniger’s eight walk-offs, a franchise record
• Seattle Mariners roster moves: OF Dominic Canzone activated from IL
• Seattle Mariners’ developing, underrated prospect worth watching

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