8/28/22

Mariners 4, Guardians 0

(Seattle, WA) It was a sunny and beautiful day in Seattle on Sunday as the Mariners looked to take three of four from the Cleveland Guardians in a potential playoff preview. The team was rocking their Sunday cream uniforms which always bring out the good vibes. Robbie Ray would ensure those good vibes would stay in T-Mobile Park for the entire day as he dominated Cleveland and helped end Ichiro weekend on a high note as the M’s shutout the Guardians 4-0.

Both Ray and Cleveland pitcher Aaron Civale were in control early in the ball game. After four innings of play, each team only had one base runner a piece and Cleveland’s was erased when Cal Raleigh threw out Oscar Gonzalez trying to steal second. The two pitchers had combined for just two hits and eight strikeouts heading to the top of the 5th.

Robbie Ray continued his dominance in the next frame. He would sit the Guardians down in order with a couple of strikeouts to keep the game scoreless. A couple of mistakes would prove to be costly for Cleveland in the bottom half of the inning.

Ty France would lead of the bottom of the 5th by snapping an 0-21 skid with a base hit to left and a hug with first base coach Kristopher Negron. However, he was quickly erased when Carlos Santana hit a groundball to first baseman Owen Miller. Miller would cut France down at second but the throw back to Civale at first would be missed by the Cleveland pitcher and roll into the dugout to put Santana at second with one out. Cal Raleigh then grounded out to first to move Santana to third with two outs. Adam Frazier would then reach base for the second time with a walk. Dylan Moore stepped up with runners on the corners and two outs. It looked like Cleveland was going to escape the inning when Moore hit a pop up in foul territory near the first base camera well. Owen Miller would grab the net to attempt to make the play which is not allowed. Therefore, it was a foul ball and Moore’s at bat continued. The very next pitch was hit out to left next to Edgar’s Cantina for a three-run shot for Dylan Moore who was a late addition to the lineup. His sixth home run of the season gave Seattle a 3-0 lead.

Robbie Ray would turn into a different alliteration when he gave his best Harry Houdini impression with a magical escape out of trouble. A leadoff double by Andres Gimenez started the top of the 6th and a single by Austin Hedges had runners on the corners with nobody out. Myles Straw then hit a fly ball to right that everyone expected to be deep enough for Gimenez to try to tag up and score. Mitch Haniger had different ideas. After making the catch, Haniger threw a 92 MPH strike to Raleigh at the plate to keep Gimenez at third and draw a loud ovation from the crowd. It looked even better when Stevan Kwan popped up to second and Amed Rosario struck out swinging to get the M’s out of a jam with their 3-0 lead still intact.

The Mariner’s lefty would finish his day with a quick and easy 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 7th with a couple groundouts and a lineout. Ray went seven strong scoreless innings while only allowing three hits, no walks and striking out seven. It was the exact performance that the Mariners wanted from him after making him their big offseason acquisition.

The offense would help the bullpen out by giving them a little more breathing room in the bottom of the 7th. Ty France led off and hit a monster home run that everyone knew was gone the moment it left the bat. His 15th home run of the season really put that skid in the rearview mirror and put the Mariners up 4-0.

Erik Swanson would have a couple of bumps in the top of the 8th in relief of Robbie Ray. A leadoff infield single by Owen Miller was quickly answered with a couple of fly outs by Andres Gimenez and Austin Hedges. Pinch hitter Will Benson kept the inning alive with a base hit to left to put runners on first and second with two outs. Swanson then struck out one of the hardest players to strikeout in baseball in Steven Kwan on only three pitches to end the Cleveland threat.

Paul Sewald stepped onto the mound in the top of the 9th looking to send Mariner fans home happy. Amed Rosario would strikeout quickly for the first out. The always tough Jose Ramirez would hit a fly ball on the first pitch to Mitch Haniger in right for a quick second out. Oscar Gonzalez would be the last chance for the Guardians, but a groundout to Eugenio Suarez at third finished off the Mariners series win with a 4-0 victory and a postgame dance as per usual.

The Mariners (70-58) quickly made up the game they had lost on Baltimore, the first team on the outside of the playoffs, as they now sit 2.5 games ahead of the Orioles. The Mariners also took over the second Wild Card spot from Toronto due to the Blue Jays loss on Sunday and Seattle now sits a game ahead of their Canadian neighbors. The M’s still remain just a half game back of Tampa Bay for the top Wild Card. Seattle will have Monday off to travel to Detroit to start a three-game series on Tuesday at 4:10p. George Kirby (5-3, 3.32 ERA) will start in game one for the Mariners against Matt Manning (1-1, 2.37 ERA) for the Tigers.

Matt’s Takeaway

THIS ROTATION IS INCREDIBLE! The Mariners went into a playoff series with their guys on the mound for all four games. Marco Gonzales, Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo, and Robbie Ray did everything they needed to do to give the lineup a chance to win against another very good rotation. All of them were dialed in and seemed to treat it just like a playoff series. The four Mariner pitchers went a combined 25.1 innings, just 19 hits, only four runs, two walks, and 23 strikeouts. In case you weren’t sure, that is very good. These guys constantly put the offense in a position to win. The Mariners never get blown out and always are within striking distance because of the terrific pitching. The bats still need to get going and get back to where they were in July but that takes time with guys coming off of injury. Lastly, you had to feel so happy for Ty France when he shared a hug with Negron after snapping his long skid. The guy was going through it and was beating himself up more than anyone else could. And then he added a home run to hopefully signal that Ty France is back!

Top Performers

Guardians

• Andres Gimenez- 1-3, 2B
• Aaron Civale (L, 2-6)- 6.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Robbie Ray (W, 11-8)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO
• Dylan Moore- 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Ty France- 2-3, HR, RBI, R

Updates

• J.P. Crawford had an MRI on his pectoral muscle that was injured on Saturday. The MRI showed no tear or significant injury and he is considered day-to-day.
• Evan White was activated from the 60-Day IL and optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. White won a Gold Glove in his rookie year in 2020 but injuries have kept him from the field for the majority of two years.

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