4/2/23

Guardians 6, Mariners 5 (10 Innings)

(Seattle, WA) What started as a positive beginning weekend of the 2023 season quickly turned into a rough series with one of the better teams in the American League. All series long, the Mariners were inconsistent at the plate and had some uncharacteristic defensive errors. One more error in extra innings on Sunday would cost the Mariners as they dropped the finale to the Guardians 6-5.

Game four started just like the series started which was good for Seattle. Marco Gonzales pitched a quick 1-2-3 first and it would take one pitch to get the Mariners on the board. Julio Rodriguez drove a sinker the other way off of Cal Quantrill and into the seats in right field. It would be the first home run of the season for Julio and the Mariners had a 1-0 lead.

After missing out on an opportunity to add on in the 1st, the Mariners watched their lead evaporate off of the bat of a former Mariner. A Josh Bell walk and a two-out single by Andres Gimenez brought Mike Zunino to the plate against his former teammate. Zunino would win this battle with a moonshot home run to left field. The three-run shot was the first of 2023 for Zunino and gave Cleveland a 3-1 advantage.

It wouldn’t be long before that score flipped again. In the bottom of the 3rd, Kolten Wong drew a walk after Julio was caught stealing, but Ty France came through with a base hit to center to put runners on the corners with one out. Eugenio Suarez hit a rocket up the middle just pass the second baseman Gimenez and into centerfield for an RBI single to make it 3-2. A wild pitch moved runners to second and third with still just one out. It would be the Mariner catcher giving them back the lead as Cal Raleigh smashed a double to the gap to score both France and Suarez to make it 4-3 M’s.

Zunino continued to haunt the Mariners with a double in the 5th to put the tying run in scoring position. A perfectly placed bunt by Myles Straw got him on base and runners were on the corners with no outs and Steven Kwan at the plate. It would be a win-lose for both teams as Kwan hit into a 6-3 double play but Zunino would score to tie the game 4-4.

A double for Suarez along with a wild pitch and an error gave the Mariners back a 5-4 lead. Marco Gonzales left the game after five pretty strong innings. Marco is not a strikeout pitcher and the Guardians are a team that feed off of contact pitchers like Gonzales. Five innings while allowing four runs on six hits is not the worst performance from Marco but he has to be careful allowing home runs. That is something that has hurt Marco in his career so if he can cut that number down, he will see a solid bounce back year.

Mike Zunino kept haunting the Mariners with his third extra-base hit with another double to lead off the 7th. Will Brennan pinch ran for Zunino and moved to third on a sacrifice fly. Steven Kwan did it to the Mariners again with a game-tying RBI single to right field and the Mariner bullpen watched the lead slip away with the score now 5-5.

The score stayed 5-5 headed into extra innings.  Bases were loaded with one out after a couple of walks (one intentional) by Penn Murfee. Gabe Speier took over on the mound to face Josh Naylor. A chopper right back to Speier looked like it would get the M’s out of the inning. Speier came home to cut down the runner at the plate, but Cal Raleigh spiked the throw to first which would get by Ty France. A run would score on the error and the M’s had work to do trailing 6-5.

Sam Haggerty stole third with one out to put the tying run 90 feet away. Unfortunately, Suarez would strike out swinging and Cal Raleigh flew out to center to end the game with the Mariners on the wrong end of a 6-5 loss.

After a tough finish to opening weekend, the Mariners (1-3) will stay home for their first division series on the season as the Los Angeles Angels (2-1) come to Seattle. Game one on Monday at 6:40pm will see George Kirby make his season debut for the Mariners against Reid Detmers for the Angels.

Matt’s Takeaway

First of all, my apologies for no recap for Saturday’s game. A hole in my tire on the way to the game left me trapped without my laptop on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

This was not an enjoyable series. Robbie Ray going down is a big blow to the Mariners rotation. The defense is what I am most concerned about. Normally the defense is the strength of the Mariners but that wasn’t the case this weekend. I am optimistic however. J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh owned their errors and will be just fine. It is such a long season and don’t forget how the M’s played for two months last year before turning everything around. Do not panic regardless of how things go in this next series with the Angels.

Notable Performences

Guardians

• Mike Zunino- 3-3, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Jose Ramirez- 1-4, BB, R
• Cal Quantrill (ND)- 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Mariners

• Eugenio Suarez- 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R
• Julio Rodriguez- 2-5, HR, RBI, R
• Marco Gonzales- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO

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