9/9/22

Braves 6, Mariners 4

(Seattle, WA) The defending World Series champions came to town for game one of a three-game series as the Mariners looked to make a statement against the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta came into Seattle riding a seven-game win streak with veteran Charlie Morton taking on the Mariners Robbie Ray on Apple TV Friday night. Both teams had some extra pop in their bats, but it would be Atlanta getting the last laugh with a 6-4 win in the opener.

The Mariners found themselves in a hole almost immediately. Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to leadoff the top of the 1st. After he stole second, Acuña Jr. was able to walk home as Dansby Swanson sent his 19th home run of the season to center field. The two-run shot had the Braves up 2-0 just two batters into the game.

Seattle got their opportunity in the bottom of the 2nd. Jesse Winker reached first base on a four pitch walk to bring up Carlos Santana. After falling behind 0-2, Santana would foul off a couple of well-located pitches from Charlie Morton. Morton would then make a mistake. A fastball at the top of the zone would get crushed by the veteran for a no doubter to right field. It was Santana’s 13th of the season and the game would be tied at 2-2.

It would remain tied until the 4th inning. Rookie sensation Michael Harris II doubled into left field on the first pitch of the inning by Robbie Ray to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Harris would move to third on a sacrifice fly by Marcell Ozuna for the first out. It would be the Braves veteran Robbie Grossman to break the tie. A base hit to center allowed Harris to score easily and put Atlanta back ahead 3-2.

The long ball continued to fly in the top of the 5th. Travis d’Arnaud would send his 17th home run of the season to left off of Robbie Ray. We got a firsthand look and got to see how good the Braves are as they extended their lead 4-2.

This time it would be a quick counter for Seattle. It would only be half an inning for the Mariners to get that run back. As Atlanta got a home run by their shortstop, it was only fair for Seattle to get one from theirs. Mariner captain J.P. Crawford line one to right field and it would carry enough to get over the wall for a solo home run. It was Crawford’s sixth home run of the year and the Atlanta lead was cut to 4-3.

The top of the 6th would be the death knell for the Mariners. Matt Festa came on in relief of Robbie Ray who did not have his best start of the season. Festa would face Michael Harris II to leadoff the inning and Harris would jump on a 2-2 fastball and launched it into left field for his 16th home run of the season. Th lead was now 5-2 for the Braves. Two batters later, Robbie Grossman would strike again with a solo shot to right for his fifth home run of the season. The long ball had powered Atlanta to a 6-2 lead.

Carlos Santana continued his nice night in the bottom of the 7th. Leading off the inning, Santana hit his second home run of the game and his 14th of the year. Santana has a big game every couple of weeks and Friday night was his night as he drove in three runs and cut the deficit to 6-4.

That would be as close as the Mariners could get. Raisel Iglesias pitched the 8th for Atlanta and would strikeout the side with a walk in the mix as well. Kenley Jansen then slammed the door on the Mariners in the bottom of the 9th with a 1-2-3 inning to give Atlanta their eighth straight win as they knocked off Seattle 6-4.

The Mariners (77-61) continue a slide this week and now sit in the last Wild Card spot in the American League. They would play a three-game Wild Card series in Cleveland if the season ended today. Both Tampa Bay and Toronto stayed hot on Friday night with wins and the Mariners are now two games behind the Rays and half a game behind the Blue Jays. The closest team to the Mariners in the race for the postseason are the Baltimore Orioles who are four games back of Seattle. The Mariners and Braves will meet again in game two of their series on Saturday at 6:10pm. George Kirby (6-3, 3.15 ERA) will look for a normal start after a rain delay ended his previous outing early as he takes on Atlanta ace Max Fried (13-5, 2.48 ERA) in game two.

Matt’s Takeaway

We knew that this was going to be a very tough homestand. The Mariners were hosting three teams all contending for a playoff spot. However, it was vastly important for the Mariners to take the series from Chicago. Now it will take one heck of an effort to have a .500 homestand. Max Fried is an absolute stud so runs will be at a premium in game two. These next four games could be tough, but if Boston can take care of Baltimore, the Mariners shouldn’t lose any ground. If they can go 2-2 over the remainder of this homestand, everything will be alright.

Notable Performences

Braves

• Robbie Grossman- 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Michael Harris II- 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Charlie Morton (W, 8-5)- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Carlos Santana- 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• J.P. Crawford- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Robbie Ray (L, 12-9)- 5 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO

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