4/15/23
Mariners 9, Rockies 2
(Seattle, WA) All across MLB on Saturday players wore the #42 and honored the memory and contributions to our society of Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in sports on April 15th, 1947. Ken Griffey Jr. was the first to wear the number 42 to honor the late American icon back in 1997, the same day the number was retired all across baseball. While many memories and stories about Jackie Robinson were shared on one of my favorite days of the season, there was business to take care of. The Mariners took care of business in emphatic fashion by blowing out the Colorado Rockies 9-2.
Just like in the opener of the three-game series, Colorado struck first. In the top of the 2nd, George Kirby struggled locating his pitches. He caught too much of the plate too often and that allowed the Rockies to hit their way onto the scoreboard. Singles by C.J. Cron and Elias Diaz put runners on first and second with one out. The rally continued when Elehuris Montero slapped one the other way to right field. Cron scored easily without a throw to make it 1-0 with runners on the corners and still just one out. Kirby pitched out of trouble as Yonathan Daza hit a weak chopper back towards Kirby. The Mariner sophomore made a nice play pouncing off the mound and turned a potential swinging bunt into a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning and the Colorado threat.
Seattle could not get anything going against Colorado starter Ryan Feltner until the bottom of the 4th. Eugenio Suarez drove a slider in the middle of the plate the other way. He got enough of it to get it over the wall for his second home run of the season to tie the game 1-1.
With Cal Raleigh on first and two outs, it seemed like the bottom of the 4th would only see the Mariners tie the game. Then Feltner lost control and fell victim to control issues as he has so far this season. Walks to Tommy La Stella and Kolten Wong loaded the bases for J.P. Crawford. The Mariner shortstop continued to thrive in the nine spot with a base hit to left to move everyone up 90 feet and scoring Raleigh to give the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Julio Rodriguez then dealt the big blow. A rocket down the right field line found the corner. With plenty of speed and two outs, the bases cleared as Crawford scored easily from first and Rodriguez had a stand up triple for his first of the season to make it 5-1 Mariners.
The bottom of the 6th is wear the Mariners put the Rockies down and out. After a leadoff single by Jarred Kelenic, Kolten Wong hit into a potential double play, but shortstop Ezequiel Tovar missed the throw from the first baseman Cron to let Kelenic reach third with Wong at first and one out. Crawford walked again and Julio drove in another run with a fielder’s choice.
With a 6-1 lead, runners on the corners and two outs, the Colorado bullpen lost all kinds of control. Ty France was hit by Brent Suter to load the bases and Connor Seabold hit Eugenio Suarez to score a run making it 7-1. Cal Raleigh walked to make it 8-1 for another free run. Teoscar Hernandez put together a nine pitch at bat before chopping one down the third baseline. Montero kept the ball on the infield but had no play to give Hernandez and RBI single to then make it 9-1 Mariners.
The Rockies managed another run on an RBI double by Elias Diaz in the top of the 7th to cut it to 9-2. Diego Castillo came into the game in the 9th to try to finish it off. Like they said on the broadcast, it was a good time for Castillo to have a bad outing. Diego really struggled with his command. He walked Ryan McMahon and hit Elehuris Montero with a fielder’s choice in between the two. Runners on first and second with one out was when Castillo was able to fight through the command struggles. Castillo got both Yonathan Daza and Ezequiel Tovar to fly out to finish off the ballgame. The Mariners earned a 9-2 win to solidify their first home series win of 2023.
With the series wrapped up, the Seattle Mariners (7-8) will now go for their first sweep of the year and get back to .500. They have the right man for the job as they will send ace Luis Castillo (1-0, 1.02 ERA) to the mound against a struggling Colorado lineup. The Rockies (5-10) had to adjust their rotation after placing their ace German Marquez on the IL. Colorado now turns to Noah Davis who makes his season debut and only his second appearance in the big leagues in his career.
Matt’s Takeaways
Instead of my usual thoughts stemming from the game, I am just going to leave a link here. Please check out the link and learn all about the incredible life of Jackie Robinson.
Notable Performances
Rockies
- C.J. Cron- 2-4, 2 R
- Elias Diaz- 2-4, RBI
- Ryan Feltner (L, 0-2)- 3.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO
Mariners
- Julio Rodriguez- 1-5, 3B, 4 RBI, R
- J.P. Crawford- 2-2, RBI, R, 2 BB
- George Kirby (W, 1-1)- 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO
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