7/28/23

Mariners 5, Diamondbacks 2

(Phoenix, AZ) The old adage is that it isn’t how you start, it’s how you finish. Sometimes though it can be about how you start. That was the case for the Seattle Mariners on Friday night when they began a three-game series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks. With temperatures flirting with 120 degrees, Seattle’s offense came out of the gate just as hot as they managed to do their damage early and keep the Snakes at bay for the rest of the game on their way to a 5-2 win

From the very first pitch on, Seattle had control of the game. J.P. Crawford lined the first pitch thrown by Tommy Henry into the right field corner for his 24th double of the season. A shattered bat died as a hero for Julio Rodriguez as he muscled one into left field to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Julio stole second for his 24th stolen base of the season as Eugenio Suarez struck out for the first out of the game. Teoscar Hernandez was then walked to load the bases for Cal Raleigh. While Henry did get Raleigh to hit a groundball, it would stay just inside third base and down the left field line for a base hit. Crawford and Rodriguez both scored on Cal’s 15th double of the season as Seattle led 2-0. Both catchers were in the starting lineup for the M’s on Friday night as Tom Murphy stepped up to the plate as the DH. Murphy jumped on a changeup and sent it to the wall out in center. Teo and Raleigh scored easily as Murphy recorded his 12th double of the year and the Mariners gave Logan Gilbert a 4-0 lead before he ever took the mound.

There wasn’t too much offense to speak of for either team for awhile after that. Henry settled down and only allowed two more baserunners in the rest of his outing. Logan Gilbert was dealing with traffic all night on the other side of the coin. Arizona had a baserunner in every inning of this game, but with Gilbert out there they left a lot of runners stranded. Neither pitcher was giving up free bases either so it looked like that big first inning would be the difference.

Some add-on came for Seattle after Tommy Henry left the game in the top of the 7th. A one-out walk for Jose Caballero against Austin Adams turned into a double when Caballero stole his 17th bag of the season to put himself in scoring position. After J.P. Crawford struck out for the second out, Julio Rodriguez was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive. Eugenio Suarez cashed in on the two-out RBI opportunity. Geno got one off the very end of the bat and flicked it into center for a base hit. Caballero was going on contact with two outs and scored without a throw to extend the lead to 5-0.

Arizona then got some offense of their own in the bottom of the 7th. A one-out single for Jose Herrera followed by Geraldo Perdomo’s 16th double of the season put runners at second and third and ended Gilbert’s night. Matt Brash came in but was little wild and it would cost the Mariners. A wild pitch allowed Herrera to score but the throw from Cal Raleigh got by Brash and rolled all the way to Ty France at first. That error by Raleigh allowed Perdomo to score as well to make it 5-2. Brash then walked Ketel Marte and gave up a single to Seattle native Corbin Carroll to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. Even worse for the Mariners, that tying run was power hitter Christian Walker. The good news was, Walker would pop out to Eugenio Suarez in foul territory for a big second out. Brash would then get Dominic Canzone to fly out to Teo in right to end the inning and keep the Mariners out in front at 5-2.

Seattle had opportunities to score in the 8th and 9th but couldn’t add on. With runners on the corners with one out in the 8th, Mike Ford would strikeout and Kolten Wong flew out both as pinch hitters to end that threat. In the top of the 9th, runners on second and third with nobody out couldn’t produce a run either. J.P. Crawford was thrown out at the plate on a groundout for Teoscar Hernandez which meant it would stay a three-run game headed into the bottom of the 9th.

The centerpiece of the trade discussions revolving around the Mariners is closer Paul Sewald. So he took the mound in what could be his final appearance as a Mariner on Friday night looking for his 21st save of the season. It was a strong start for the Mariner closer as he got Geraldo Perdomo to groundout and Ketel Marte to flyout for a quick two outs. Corbin Carroll extended the game with a walk and also stole second. It did not matter however as Sewald took apart Christian Walker on four pitches, finishing him off with a fastball for the strikeout to give the Mariners the 5-2 win and earning Sewald that 21st save.

For the fifth time this season, Seattle (53-50) will try to win their fourth consecutive game. If they succeed in doing that on Saturday at 5:10pm, the Mariners will work their way to a season-high four games over .500. Bryan Woo (1-4, 4.91 ERA) will look to be the guy to help the Mariners get over that hump when he gets the start in game two in Arizona. Woo has really struggled since the All-Star break against Toronto and Minnesota, but will try to take advantage of a struggling lineup to bolster his confidence as we get into August. For the Diamondbacks (55-49) it will be 24-year-old Brandon Pfaadt getting the ball in the second game of the series. Pfaadt (0-4, 8.81 ERA) has really struggled in his rookie season but was solid his last time out as he went six innings against Cincinnati and only allowed three runs on four hits in his first start since the end of June.

Notable Performances

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 2-5, 2 2Bs, 2 RBI, R
• Tom Murphy- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
• Logan Gilbert (W, 9-5)- 6.1 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO

Diamondbacks

• Ketel Marte- 3-4, BB
• Geraldo Perdomo- 1-5, 2B, R
• Tommy Henry (L, 5-4)- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

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