6/19/23

(Seattle, WA) A quick six-game homestand came to an end over the weekend for the Seattle Mariners as they looked to take a second consecutive series with the Chicago White Sox in town. Two teams who have underperformed so far in 2023 had the opportunity to build some positive momentum. There wouldn’t be any blowouts in this series, but it would be the Mariners celebrating Father’s Day with a series win to cap off a 4-2 homestand.

Mariners 3, White Sox 2 (Game 1)

Seattle once again was wearing their city connect uniforms for the opener of the three-game series but for the first time they would be victorious in those jerseys.

Bryan Woo and Michael Kopech traded zeros but for Woo it would be much less stressful. The rookie struck out six in the first four innings and only allowed one hit in those innings. The offense however couldn’t come up with a big hit. Seattle loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the 2nd but could not push across a single run in that threat.

That missed opportunity allowed the White Sox to strike first in the top of the 5th. Gavin Sheets launched his eighth home run of the season to put Chicago out in front 1-0. Seattle’s bats finally woke up to answer immediately in the home half of the 5th. Julio Rodriguez began the inning with his 13th double of the season. Two batters later, Teoscar Hernandez stayed red hot with a double down the left field line for his 10th two-bagger of 2023. That double tied the game at 1-1. Walks to Jarred Kelenic and Eugenio Suarez loaded the bases again for the Mariners with only one out. Again, the opportunity slipped by them. Cal Raleigh struck out and AJ Pollock popped out to kill the threat and the M’s had to settle for a tied game.

The game didn’t remain tied for long as the Sox got the lead back in the top of the 6th. Andrew Benintendi got his first home run as a member of the White Sox with two outs to put Chicago back out in front 2-1. That also ended another strong outing for Bryan Woo as the rookie left with a deficit after 5.2 innings pitched. Woo allowed just the two runs on three hits with no walks allowed and a career high nine strikeouts in his third career start.

Good news came for Bryan Woo in the bottom of the 6th when the offense got him off the hook for a potential loss on his record. With J.P. Crawford on second after his 14th double of the season and two outs, Seattle finally got a clutch hit. Ty France snuck a grounder through the left side of the infield for a base hit. Crawford was able to score while France was tagged out after being caught between first and second but Seattle had tied the game again at 2-2.

After Matt Brash wiggled out of some trouble in the top of the 7th, Seattle was able to take their first lead of the day. Leading off the bottom half of the inning, Teoscar Hernandez sent a fastball 432 feet out into center field for his biggest home run as a Mariner. It gave Teo a share for the team lead in home runs with 12 and more importantly gave the Mariners a 3-2 lead.

Andres Muñoz and Paul Sewald locked things down from there as they both pitched 1-2-3 innings in the 8th and 9th to give the Mariners a frustrating but satisfying win by a final score of 3-2 in the opener.

Notable Performances

White Sox

• Gavin Sheets- 2-3, HR, RBI, R
• Andrew Benintendi- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Michael Kopech (ND)- 4.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 BB, 4 SO

Mariners

• Teoscar Hernandez- 2-4, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Ty France- 2-4, RBI
• Bryan Woo (ND)- 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO

White Sox 4, Mariners 3 (Game 2)

The middle game of the series created more frustration for the Mariner offense to go along with a strong performance on the mound. The game did start off very well for the Mariners, or for the day as a salute to the Negro Leagues, the Steelheads. On the very first pitch thrown by Chicago starter Lucas Giolito, J.P. Crawford jumped all over it for his fourth home run of the season. Immediately, Seattle had a 1-0 lead.

That lead grew later in the inning. Back-to-back singles by Ty France and Teoscar Hernandez put runners on the corners with one out. A big blow was dealt to that threat when Jarred Kelenic struck out swinging. However, the M’s didn’t even have to put the ball in play to score another run. A slider got by Chicago catcher, Seby Zavala, allowing France to score from third, making it 2-0 Mariners.

Two pitches into the top of the 2nd, the White Sox found their way onto the scoreboard against Logan Gilbert. Eloy Jimenez took advantage of a hanging slider and crushed it for his eighth home run of the season. The Seattle lead was trimmed down to 2-1.

Seattle would leave the bases loaded once again in the bottom of the 2nd which kept the score the same until the 5th. After two quick outs, Andrew Benintendi singled and Zach Remillard drew a walk to put a couple of runners on for the South Siders. Luis Robert would cash in on the two out rally with a base hit to right field. Benintendi scored easily and Chicago had tied the game 2-2.

For the second consecutive game, Teoscar Hernandez drove in the go-ahead run for the Mariners. After a single and stolen base by Julio Rodriguez, Hernandez smoked a grounder into left field for the big base hit. J-Rod scored without a throw and the Mariners had a 3-2 lead again after five innings.

Still 3-2 going into the 9th, Paul Sewald came on looking for another save on the season. Unfortunately, it would not come. A single by Elvis Andrus began the inning and a one out walk for Andrew Benintendi kept things going. After Tim Anderson had to leave the game early due to an injury, Zach Remillard made his MLB debut as the replacement. It was a dream debut for Remillard and it continued in the 9th. Remillard singled to left field allowing Andrus to score and tying the game at 3-3. Sewald managed to escape the rest of the inning with the game still tied.

The game remained tied into the bottom of the 10th. With the runner starting at second in the form of Julio Rodriguez, the White Sox opted to intentionally walk Teoscar Hernandez. A double steal put runners on second and third with only one out and put Seattle in a perfect spot to get the walkoff win. Alas, it was not meant to be. Cal Raleigh struck out while Eugenio Suarez grounded out to squander the win and move the game to the 11th.

Chicago would not score a run easily. Elvis Andrus stood on first after the Mariners cut down Jake Burger at third to begin the inning. With two outs, the M’s were an out away from getting another opportunity to walkoff the game with just one run. Benintendi and Remillard had other plans. Back-to-back singles by the two at the top of the Sox order got Andrus to score to put Chicago out in front 4-3. Despite their best efforts, Seattle could not answer as they were held scoreless in the bottom of the 11th to give the White Sox a 4-3 win in extras.

Notable Performances

White Sox

• Zach Remillard- 3-3, 2 RBI, BB
• Andrew Benintendi- 4-5, 2B, R, SB
• Lucas Giolito (ND)- 5 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Teoscar Hernandez- 2-4, RBI, BB
• J.P. Crawford- 1-4, HR, RBI, R, 2 BB
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO

Mariners 5, White Sox 1 (Game 3)

It is very rare that a team can strikeout as much as the Mariners did in the finale on Sunday and yet still come away with the victory. Thanks to another fantastic start from Bryce Miller paved the way for the M’s to pull off the tricky task to earn a second consecutive series win on Father’s Day on Sunday.

Seattle would get on the board in the bottom of the 3rd. With Cal Raleigh on first after a leadoff single, J.P. Crawford drew a two-out walk to keep the inning alive for Julio Rodriguez. J-Rod came through with a big knock as he found the gap in right center. Raleigh scored from second and Crawford was going on contact with two outs and scored from first on the Julio double. Just like that, Seattle had grabbed a 2-0 lead.

Lance Lynn continued to strikeout Mariner after Mariner while Bryce Miller continued to put up zero after zero. That was until the top of the 6th. Elvis Andrus led off the inning with his sixth double of the season and Andrew Benintendi quickly drove him in with an RBI single to make it 2-1. That would be it for Bryce Miller as he was very strong in his next couple of innings in the longest start of his young career. Miller went seven innings and allowed just the one run on four hits with no walks allowed and six strikeouts. He would be outdone in some ways by Lance Lynn who also went seven innings allowing four hits but three runs on two walks with 16 strikeouts on the day. The 16 strikeouts by Lynn tied the White Sox franchise record in a single game.

Lynn began the bottom of the 8th but Kolten Wong chased him with a bunt single. That brought in Reynaldo Lopez and he was not on his A-game which was good news for Seattle. With Crawford on first and two outs, Lopez really fell apart as he walked Ty France and Teoscar Hernandez to load the bases for Jarred Kelenic. The lefty would come up with a massive hit as he drove a pitch the other way into left center field and the ball rolled all the way to the wall. Kelenic’s second triple of the season cleared the bases and broke the game open for the M’s 5-1.

5-1 would be the final as Ty Adcock came in and let a couple of runners on base but left them both stranded to earn the Mariners the series win over the Chicago White Sox.

Notable Performances

White Sox

• Lance Lynn (L, 4-8)- 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 16 SO
• Andrew Benintendi- 1-4, RBI
• Elvis Andrus- 1-3, 2B, R

Mariners

• Bryce Miller (W, 5-3)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO
• Julio Rodriguez- 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB
• Jarred Kelenic- 1-4, 3B, 3 RBI

Seattle (35-35) end the six-game homestand with a 4-2 record and will now head east for a six-game road trip this week. They will begin things with three games with the New York Yankees (39-33) in the Bronx. George Kirby (6-5, 3.24 ERA) will face a lineup missing Aaron Judge which will clearly take a lot off of his plate. Kirby was unbelievable in his first start against the Yankees a few weeks ago in Seattle when he eight scoreless innings with just three hits allowed against the Bronx Bombers on May 31st. Seattle’s bats will have the unenviable task of facing Gerrit Cole (7-1, 2.75 ERA) who right now looks like a legit contender for the AL Cy Young award in 2023. The opener is scheduled for Tuesday at 4:05pm.

Matt’s Takeaways

I have never been more frustrated with a series where the Seattle Mariners actually won the series. There were plenty of issues that made these games closer than they should have been and cost the M’s the sweep.

For one, they have to stop leaving so many runners on base. Against good teams like say the Yankees and Orioles, they aren’t going to let you off the hook for that. Especially when there is a runner on third with less than two outs. Which leads me to another issue. The rate at which this team is striking out is extremely concerning. I have mentioned this before that if the team is hitting home runs, you can live with more strikeouts. But the M’s aren’t a big home run team so far this season. Bat to ball skills have to improve.

So yes there were some good things. The rotation looked very good and the bullpen was OK but I am not going to worry about them. It was a winning homestand to build some momentum. But these guys have to be better at hitting with runners in scoring position. Especially with a big time opportunity against a struggling Yankees team coming off of being swept by Boston. It is now or never because the other three contenders in the AL West aren’t going away anytime soon.

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