7/20/23

Mariners 5, Twins 0

(Seattle, WA) Bad news started the day for the Seattle Mariners on Thursday afternoon. We learned left fielder Jarred Kelenic would miss a good chunk of time with a broken foot after kicking a water cooler after striking out in the 9th inning on Wednesday night. That left a big hole in the middle of the Mariner order as Kelenic had caught fire as of late and was riding a seven-game hitting streak. In this sport you have to just role with the punches and an emotional Jarred Kelenic spoke to the media before the game and took full responsibility, apologizing to his teammates as well. Those teammates would then take the field and one in particular stood out in George Kirby. Kirby got himself back on track and gave most of the bullpen a well deserved off day as he rolled right through the Minnesota Twins and helped the Mariners earn a series split with a 5-0 shutout.

The bottom of the 1st had the potential to be a big inning for Seattle but they had to settle for minimal production. J.P. Crawford sent the first pitch from Pablo Lopez into left field for a single. Julio Rodriguez followed with a single and Eugenio Suarez walked to load the bases with nobody out. The struggle for Mike Ford continued as he struck out for his fifth straight plate appearance for the first out. Of course Mariner fans were worried this would be another bases loaded opportunity to turn into no runs. Teoscar Hernandez came to the rescue for the M’s. Teo smoked a line drive to left field for a base hit. Crawford scored as everyone moved up 90-feet with Seattle leading 1-0. That would be it in the inning as Cal Raleigh and Ty France both struck out to end the inning and that would leave a lingering taste in the Mariners mouths as the game moved on.

That score remained the same as George Kirby struck out seven through the first four innings and looked in complete control of all of his pitches. In the bottom of the 4th, Seattle gave him another run of run support. Leading off the home half of the 4th, Teoscar Hernandez struck again with a bang. A fastball at the top of the zone was sent over the center field wall for his 16th home run in his first season with the Mariners. The solo shot was Teo’s second RBI of the game and grew the lead to 2-0.

Of course the lack of offense will once again draw criticisms from fans, the story of this one was George Kirby. The young starter showed once again that he can be an ace for any team sooner rather than later at only 25-years old. Only one Twin got in scoring position and that was on a two-out triple by Kyle Farmer and he would be left stranded. Kirby’s final line is arguably the best of his career and we’ve said that a lot this season. That line read seven innings of four hit ball with no runs or walks allowed and ten strikeouts which tied a career high for Kirby. The brilliant performance also gave the bullpen a bit of important rest as Seattle won’t have an off day until Monday. You just could not ask for anything more than what Kirby did on Thursday.

Matt Brash pitched a quick three up, three down inning in the top of the 8th thanks to a phenomenal basket catch by Eugenio Suarez. Jorge Lopez would then become a little infamous in Seattle when he pitched the bottom of the 8th for the Twins. The lead was extended quickly after Eugenio Suarez began the inning with a single and Mike Ford broke out of his slump with a bang. A hanging slider was crushed for a two-run shot and Ford’s 10th home run of the season to make it 4-0.

Things then got real ugly for Lopez. He would strikeout Teoscar Hernandez and the debuting Cade Marlowe but would also hit Cal Raleigh, Ty France, and Jose Caballero. Boos rained down on as manager Rocco Baldelli as he pulled Lopez and brought in Cole Sands. Sands would not dance out of danger as a wild pitch let Raleigh trot home from third to make it 5-0 headed into the 9th.

Paul Sewald got some needed work as he had only faced one batter in the last three games. A strikeout of Alex Kirilloff was followed by a single for Donovan Solano. Sewald was just fine from there as Matt Wallner grounded out to Ty France at first and Byron Buxton watched strike three clip the outer black for the final out as Seattle managed a split with the 5-0 win.

After salvaging a split, Seattle (48-48) will wrap up the ten-game homestand with a Wild Card rematch as the Toronto Blue Jays (54-43) come to town. Bryce Miller (6-3, 3.66 ERA) was very solid in his first start since returning from a blister issue. Miller went just five innings of five hit, shutout ball against Detroit on Sunday. A former Mariner in Yusei Kikuchi (7-3, 4.13 ERA) will start in game one for Toronto. Kikuchi has been hit or miss this season but the walks are the key for him. When he can avoid walking guys, things go well while if he is walking guys the start is normally a short one. Game one will start at 7:10pm on Friday.

Matt’s Takeaways

Well here we are. Another series completed and the Mariners are still at .500. The worst part about all of this is that when you think they are dead in the water, they put together a strong stretch that has people believing they are back. Then they will follow it up with a horrific stretch that has the team looking like sellers. I would love for them to just take a path either way. Right now, I think it is better to focus on next season. Do things that will help the 2024 Mariners because I don’t see the 2023 Mariners making a run. Guys like Teoscar Hernandez and Bryan Woo should be made available. That would help the M’s get some talent for next season and beyond. They just aren’t on the same level as those top tier teams. The future is still bright with this rotation and some good core players as well as a team captain in J.P. Crawford. All the pieces just didn’t fall into place. There is still time, but it is hard to see things turning around like they need to.

Notable Performances

Twins

• Matt Wallner- 2-4
• Kyle Farmer- 1-3, 3B
• Pablo Lopez (L, 5-6)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

Mariners

• George Kirby (W, 9-8)- 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO
• Teoscar Hernandez- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Mike Ford- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R

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