4/10/23

Cubs 3, Mariners 2

(Chicago, IL) The 2021 and 2022 Seattle Mariners became known for winning close games and getting the job done in extra innings. The 2023 Mariners have not had that success so far and that continued as the team traveled to Wrigley Field to open a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs. For the second straight day and third time this season, the Mariners were not able to get the job done in extra innings and watched as the Cubs celebrated a walkoff win 3-2 on Monday night.

Luis Castillo looked to continue his dominant start to the season against a former Mariner that never pitched a game for the Mariners in Drew Smyly. Both pitchers were incredible early in the game. Only two batters reached base in the first three innings and both were just singles for the Cubs that were left stranded at first base. It felt like it might be a game where the first team to score would win.

The first team to score would be the Mariners in the top of the 4th. A one out double by Ty France would end the early perfect game bid. Eugenio Suarez drew a walk as the Cubs made sure to be very careful with the red hot third baseman. A hard hit single by Teoscar Hernandez followed but France had to hold up at third since the ball was hit so hard. With the bases loaded and one out, AJ Pollock drove a 2-2 curveball to left field that was fairly deep. Ian Happ made the catch and tried to get Ty France tagging up from third but the throw would be offline and a little late as France scored to make it 1-0 Mariners. The M’s couldn’t add on as Sam Haggerty popped up a 3-0 pitch that was caught by Dansby Swanson to end the inning.

I am getting really tired of typing out this next sentence. That lead would not last for long. In the bottom of the 4th Chicago struck. A leadoff walk for Ian Happ turned into a triple when he stole second and Tom Murphy’s throw went into center field allowing Happ to go from first to third with no outs. New Cub, Cody Bellinger hit a hard grounder to score Happ on Bellinger’s first double of the season. Back-to-back singles by Trey Mancini and Eric Hosmer would score Bellinger to give Chicago a 2-1 lead with runners on first and second with still nobody out. Castillo would wiggle out of the jam with a strikeout of Patrick Wisdom and then got some defensive help from Sam Haggerty as he made a diving catch on a Yan Gomes line drive and stepped on second for an unassisted double play to end the inning.

The Cubs had a couple of threats throughout the remainder of the game but Castillo and the bullpen pitched around them to keep it just a one run game. The Mariners only had one good threat and that was in the top of the 8th. A leadoff double by Cooper Hummel put the tying run in scoring position. J.P. Crawford hit a grounder back up the middle but Dansby Swanson was there and threw out Hummel trying to advance to third to cut down the lead runner. Julio Rodriguez got hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second but with just one out. Ty France hit a slow roller to Hosmer at first but his only play was to first so Seattle had runners on second and third with two outs with Eugenio Suarez coming to the plate. Suarez would hit one on the button but right at the right fielder Nelson Velazquez to end the inning and the threat.

In the top of the 9th, Seattle would find a way to tie it. Jarred Kelenic unloaded two years of frustration into a Michael Fulmer cutter and launched a 414-foot home run off of the right field scoreboard to tie the game at 2-2. It was Kelenic’s first home run of the season and felt like it was the turning point for a still 23-year-old with all sorts of potential. Neither team pushed across another run so we headed to extra innings.

With the ghost runner on second, Cooper Hummel drew a walk to put runners on first and second with nobody out. J.P. Crawford would follow with a tough at bat. His first bunt attempt went foul and he would pop up his next attempt to third baseman Patrick Wisdom for an unproductive out number one. Julio Rodriguez drew a walk to load the bases with one out. Ty France is the guy the Mariners wanted up in that situation but he would strikeout for the second out. Eugenio Suarez is another strong threat for the M’s but he grounded out to third to end the inning and give the Cubs a chance to win it in the bottom of the 10th.

Nick Madrigal pinch ran for Yan Gomes and took off for third to start the inning. Matt Brash stepped off and threw to third but a bad throw allowed Madrigal to reach third anyway. After striking out Tucker Barnhart, the top of the order came to the plate starting with Nico Hoerner. Nobody else needed to come to the plate for the Cubs. Hoerner lined a base hit to right field to score Madrigal and walk it off for Chicago’s 3-2 win and the second straight walk-off loss for the Mariners.

The loss for the Mariners (4-7) dropped them to 0-3 in extra innings so far this season. They will try to bounce back with Chris Flexen (0-1, 3.00 ERA) in game two on Tuesday at 4:40pm. The Cubs (5-4) will go with Hayden Wesneski (0-0, 5.79 ERA) who makes just his second start of the season after a rainout pushed back his initial second start.

Matt’s Takeaways

I know I know. The lineup has issues. You know what is worse? The Mariners lead the league in unearned runs allowed. Giving free runs to opposing teams makes your offenses job way harder. The defense needs cleaned up badly. Bad throws like the one Brash made to third hurt you tremendously when it should be a free out. The throw Murphy made to second that went into centerfield hurts even though the runner was going to be safe anyway. 90 feet is a lot in baseball. The Mariners have to stop giving teams 90 feet for free.

Notable Performances

Mariners

• Jarred Kelenic- 1-2, HR, RBI, R
• Cooper Hummel- 1-3, 2B, BB
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Cubs

• Nico Hoerner- 3-5, RBI, SB
• Eric Hosmer- 2-3, RBI, BB
• Drew Smyly (ND)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO

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