4/22/23

Mariners 5, Cardinals 4

(Seattle, WA) Every once in a while, a team’s ace just has a bad day. Saturday was that day for Luis Castillo for the Seattle Mariners. Coming into the game with the lowest ERA in baseball, La Piedra had a rough day for his standards which is expected to happen a few times throughout the season. Going up against a struggling ace in Miles Mikolas for St. Louis, the offense would be able to get Castillo off the hook as he has done for them throughout his Mariner tenure. The offense and the bullpen shouldered the weight as Seattle grinded out a 5-4 win on Salute to Service Night.

Castillo would be fighting from the first batter on in his five innings. In the top of the 1st, Lars Nootbaar and Alec Burleson hit back-to-back singles to put pressure on Castillo from the get-go. With runners on the corners and one out after a strikeout of Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado capitalized on the early opportunity with a base hit to right. Nootbaar scored to make it 1-0 St. Louis. The bases would be loaded with two outs after a walk to Nolan Gorman. The 29th pitch of the inning would be the last as the Red Birds left the bases loaded as Tyler O’Neill went down swinging to end a stressful 1st inning.

A new Mariner wielded the trident in the bottom of the 2nd but it would be an unsurprising Mariner. Jarred Kelenic continued his breakout campaign fighting off a sinker down and in. The strength of Kelenic was enough to push the ball over the left field wall for his fifth home run of the season. The solo homer got the M’s on the board tying the game up at 1-1.

It didn’t stay tied for long. With a runner on first and two outs, it looked like Castillo was righting the ship en route to another great outing. That would be when the Cardinals would strike. Willson Contreras lined one to the gap in right center. Teoscar Hernandez couldn’t field it which took away any opportunity for the Mariners to cut down the run. Burleson scored from first on Contreras’ sixth double of the year and the Cardinals were back in front 2-1. The next batter, Nolan Gorman, gave one a ride to right field and Hernandez couldn’t bring it in which gave the Cards another double and another run. The fifth double for Gorman made it 3-1 St. Louis.

Luis Castillo pitched out of some trouble to finish his outing but the Mariners offense couldn’t catch a spark until after he left the game in the 6th. In the home half of that frame, Cal Raleigh laced a single to right with one out. Dealing with a rough outing defensively in right field, Teoscar Hernandez made up for it at the plate. Hernandez battled with Mikolas and on the seventh pitch, the new Mariner won the battle. Hernandez drove a sinker out of center field for a two-run shot for his fifth homer of the season. For the second straight game, Hernandez had tied the game with a home run making it 3-3.

After the 7th inning stretch, new energy was injected into T-Mobile Park which injected new life into the Mariner lineup. A leadoff walk for Kolten Wong and a single by J.P. Crawford got the inning off to a great start putting runners on first and second with no outs. Julio Rodriguez flew out but Ty France recorded a swinging bunt with a tapper back to Giovanny Gallegos. Seattle then had runners on second and third but with two outs. Eugenio Suarez clutched up against his former division rivals. Suarez hit a line drive on a rope into left field for a base hit. Wong and Crawford both scored easily and the M’s had taken their first lead 5-3.

Again, the Seattle bullpen was dominant. Only two Cardinals reached base in innings 6-8 and one was erased with a double play. Paul Sewald looked to wrap up the series in the top of the 9th. After a strikeout of Dylan Carlson, thanks in help from the home plate umpire, drama would begin to build. Tommy Edman hit his third home run of the season to right field to make it a one-run game at 5-4. With the top of the Cardinals order coming to the plate, the margin for error was small. Lars Nootbaar was dealt with as he went down looking for the second out. Alec Burleson then gave the Seattle fans a scare with a long drive to centerfield. Julio Rodriguez tracked it down on the warning track to make the catch and give the M’s the 5-4 win.

Seattle (10-11) can now end the homestand with a sweep if they can win the finale on Sunday at 1:10pm. The Mariners send Chris Flexen (0-3, 7.79 ERA) to the mound as he looks to earn his first win of the season. The St. Louis Cardinals (8-13) will try to salvage a game in this series and Jack Flaherty (1-2, 2.95 ERA) will be the guy charged with the task in the finale.

Matt’s Takeaways

Wow! A sweep, then they get swept, and now they have a chance for another sweep. That would be as dramatic of a way to earn a 6-3 homestand as possible. Teoscar Hernandez continues to struggle on defense but at the plate Hernandez just gets hotter and hotter. He along with the bullpen are lifting this team in this series. Outside of the Tommy Edman home run, the bullpen has been unhittable these last couple of games. If this is what we can expect from Los Bomberos, these close losses will continue to flip to close wins. The offense is now consistently scoring 5 runs per game and that should be enough with this rotation and bullpen. April is ending and the Mariners are turning things around. Happier days are just beginning.

Notable Performances

Cardinals

• Willson Contreras- 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Tommy Edman- 2-4, HR, RBI, R
• Miles Mikolas (ND)- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

Mariners

• Jarred Kelenic- 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, R
• Teoscar Hernandez- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO

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