8/4/23

Mariners 9, Angels 7

(Anaheim, CA) Stressful games have become the norm as of late for the Seattle Mariners. Friday was even more intense as the Mariners battled the Los Angeles Angels in game two of the four-game series between two of the top AL Wild Card teams. Luis Castillo got roughed up as he took the mound for the Mariners, but the bats were just too hot for the M’s to go quietly. A record breaking night for Eugenio Suarez got the job done for Mariners as they survived a high scoring shootout with the Angels 9-7.

Unlike in game one on the series, the Mariners capitalized on a 1st inning opportunity in game two. A leadoff single by J.P. Crawford followed by a Julio Rodriguez put a couple runners on right out of the gate for the M’s. Eugenio Suarez hit into a 5-4-3 double play to take away some of the early momentum as Seattle had just a runner on third with two outs. Moving up into the cleanup spot, Tom Murphy didn’t hit it as hard as a team wants their cleanup to hit, but it got the job done anyway. A slow groundball to second was fielded by Brandon Drury, but the throw was late and off target to score Crawford and put Seattle out in front 1-0. Teoscar Hernandez found his groove a bit on Friday night as he roped a line drive that was going to hit the top of the wall, but a fan reached over and touched the ball which cost the Mariners a run as Murphy had to stay at third on Teo’s 18th double of the year. It would not cost the Mariners a run as Ty France ended a homerless stretch with a three-run bomb to center field. It was France’s eighth home run of the season and it gave the Mariners a 4-0 lead with all four runs coming with two outs.

The first pitch thrown by Luis Castillo let the Angels get on the board in the bottom of the 1st. Luis Rengifo jumped all over a fastball and sent his 11th home run of the season out to right field. That got the Angels one run back but Seattle would answer immediately as the teams ended up trading solo home runs. In the top of the 2nd, Dylan Moore got a fastball at the top of the zone and continued his recent stretch of hot hitting with a line drive home run to left. D-Mo’s fifth home run of the season extended the lead back to four making it 5-1.

Los Angeles turned the game back around and got the crowd back into it in the bottom of the 3rd. Back-to-back baserunners began the inning as Rengifo singled and Shohei Ohtani walked. New Angel, C.J. Cron, shot a grounder into right field for a base hit. The speed of Rengifo helped him score without a throw to make it 5-2 with runners on the corners. Mike Moustakas had a big day at the plate for the Angels and it all started in this inning. The former World Series champion got a slider that hung above the knees and smashed a no-doubter to right field for a three-run home run. It was the 10th home run of the season for Moustakas as the Angels had comeback to tie the game at 5-5.

It looked as if that big inning by the Angels would help Reid Detmers pitch his first stressless inning in the top of the 4th. The lefty got Dylan Moore to line out and then struck out Jose Caballero for a quick two outs. Then J.P. Crawford put together one heck of an at-bat to stretch out the inning. In the 8th pitch of the AB, Crawford shot a single back up the middle for a two out single. That brought up Julio Rodriguez and J-Rod quickly took away the stressless inning for Detmers. Rodriguez sent a heater the other way to right field for a two-run home run to give Seattle back the lead with his 18th home run of the season. The game continued to swing back and forth as Seattle retook the lead 7-5.

After missing out on a chance to extend the lead in the top of the 5th, Los Angeles took advantage and took momentum right back. A single for Mike Moustakas brought Mikey Moniak to the plate with one out and the former #1 overall draft pick bit the Mariners ace. Moniak sent his 12th home run of the season into the trees in center field to again even the score back up at 7-7.

A bases loaded, no out opportunity was also squandered by the M’s and that felt as if it would be the deciding factor in this one. It was not. In the top of the 8th against another new Angel in Reynaldo Lopez, Seattle got the job done. A one-out double for Julio Rodriguez put a runner in scoring position with one out to bring up record breaker Eugenio Suarez. For the 10th straight game, Geno recorded an RBI passing Edgar Martinez for the longest streak in franchise history. The Suarez RBI single not only made history, but it also gave the M’s the 8-7 lead.

That lead grew just a little bit as Seattle got some insurance in the top of the 9th, Cal Raleigh made it four home runs in the game for the Mariners as he faced Aaron Loup. Usually his power comes from the left side of the plate, but batting righty Cal sent out his 18th home run of the season. Seattle got that little bit of insurance as they led 9-7 headed into the bottom of the 9th.

Justin Topa and Tayler Saucedo both faced the minimum in the 7th and 8th but Matt Brash ran into a bit of trouble in the 9th. A single for Randal Grichuk began the inning and Luis Rengifo walked to put runners on first and second with Shohei Ohtani coming to the plate representing the winning run. Matt Brash then dialed himself in and blew away Ohtani with a big strikeout and then also struck out C.J. Cron. Brash would then finish off the 9-7 win by getting Mike Moustakas to fly out to Cade Marlowe for the final out and moving the Mariners to just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot.

Seattle (58-52) will now try to wrap up a series win when they take on the Angels (56-55) on Saturday at 6:07. George Kirby (9-8, 3.43 ERA) will take the ball for the Mariners. It’s been a mixed bag for Kirby since his first All-Star appearance as he has rotated between rough outings and dominant outings but is coming off a strong outing against Boston. Former Mariner, Tyler Anderson (5-2, 4.98 ERA) will go for Los Angeles. The lefty hasn’t quite had the success he had last year but is coming off his best month in July as he posted a 3.28 ERA over the course of the month.

Notable Performances

Mariners

• Julio Rodriguez- 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• Ty France- 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, R, 2 BB
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 6 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

Angels

• Mike Moustakas- 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Luis Rengifo- 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Reid Detmers (ND)- 4 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

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