5/12/24

(Seattle, WA) A rough series in Minnesota did not make it a fun plane ride back to the Pacific Northwest for the Seattle Mariners but they would have to quickly hit the reset button as they prepared for a six-game homestand. Up first was their first look at a division rival in the Oakland Athletics for a three-game series. A surprising start for Oakland this season made this homestand more difficult than many expected coming into the season. With the A’s sitting in third place in the AL West, the M’s would see their rotation get back to full health over the weekend while they tried to find some consistency at the plate against a team playing with house money.

Mariners 8, Athletics 1 (Game 1, May 10th)

For the first time this season, Bryan Woo took the mound on Friday night as the Mariners and A’s began their series. Paul Blackburn would get the start for Oakland, but everybody had their eyes on Bryan Woo and he looked very strong early. Woo struck out two of the first four batters he faced and did not allow a hit until the top of the 3rd. On a limited pitch count, it looked like Woo would go five or six innings but there was not any run support early.

Offensively, it took a couple of walks to get the Mariners going. In the bottom of the 4th, Mitch Haniger and Cal Raleigh both walked to begin the inning. After Mitch Garver struck out for the first out, Luke Raley would come through and drive in the first run of the game. Raley slashed his second double of the season to center to drive in Haniger and move Cal up to third with one out and a 1-0 lead. Ty France would follow suit and smashed a liner down the left field line and into the corner. Raleigh and Raley both scored on France’s sixth double of the season to make it 3-0 and the Mariners still weren’t done. Dylan Moore was in for a big night and it started with an 0-1 slider that hung in the middle of the plate. D-Mo wouldn’t miss it and just kept a liner fair for his third home run of the season. It would cap off a five-run inning as Seattle had given Woo a 5-0 lead.

That inning would be a blessing and a curse. After sitting for so long, Woo could not get his arm to loosen up on him and had to be pulled from the game after getting the first out of the 5th. Seattle would get good news on Woo as it is an issue he has faced this season after long offensive innings and Woo is expected to make his next start on Wednesday.

Following a tremendous defensive play by Josh Rojas to end the top of the 5th, Seattle carried over their offensive momentum. Back-to-back singled from Mitch Haniger and Cal Raleigh once again got the inning started, and Mitch Garver joined them this time with a walk to load the bases with nobody out. The bases remained loaded with two outs as the opportunity began to slip through the Mariners grasp, but Dylan Moore would have none of it on Friday night. Moore continued his monster night with a base hit into left. Raleigh and Garver would both score on the single and the lead grew even more to 7-0.

Dylan Moore finished with five RBI as he singled in Luke Raley in the 7th to make it 8-0. Austin Voth would look for the final three outs of a dominant series opener and got the first one quickly as Seth Brown grounded out. Trouble then began to brew as Kyle McCann and Tyler Soderstrom both singled to put runners on first and second. Max Schuemann hit a fly ball to Julio Rodriguez in center for the second out, but the shutout could not be completed. An RBI single for Lawrence Butler got Oakland on the board and Brett Harris was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Former Mariner, Abraham Toro then stepped up to the plate, but Voth got him to ground out to Josh Rojas at second for the final out, giving the Mariners a series opening 8-1 win.

Notable Performances

Athletics

• Lawrence Butler- 2-4, RBI
• Kyle McCann- 1-1, R
• Paul Blackburn (L, 3-2)- 4 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Dylan Moore- 3-4, HR, 5 RBI, R
• Ty France- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R
• Bryan Woo (ND)- 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO

Athletics 8, Mariners 1 (Game 2, May 11th)

Game two would see the Oakland starter make his season debut as Joey Estes took the mound for the first time in 2024 to take on Bryce Miller. A Cy Young caliber start to the season, Bryce Miller was looking to continue his early dominance with a great fastball and his new splitter he had been working on.

Seattle would get on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd on the first pitch of the inning. Cal Raleigh sent a cutter right down the middle 387-feet for his 10th home run of the season already. The quick strike would be quickly answered in the top of the 3rd. A leadoff walk for Lawrence Butler and a single by Brett Harris had runners on first and second for Oakland. Abraham Toro then hurt his former team with a liner into right, scoring Butler and tying the game up 1-1. Miller would then record a couple of outs and was one out away from getting out of the jam, but a jam shot just into right field by Brent Rooker changed that. Harris walked home and Oakland had their first lead of the series 2-1.

It was a very frustrating day for the Mariner bats. They were squaring up the ball consistently but kept hitting it right at Oakland players and the A’s were also making some very nice defensive plays as well. However, the Mariners kept their deficit at just one going into the 8th as Bryce Miller ended up with another quality start.

Against the Mariner bullpen, Oakland blew it wide open. A double for Tyler Nevin started the top of the 8th and Esteury Ruiz pinch ran for him and moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Brent Rooker would work a walk against Gabe Speier and stole second to put runners on second and third. J.D. Davis entered the game as a pinch hitter but Speier struck him out for the second out. They then loaded the bases by intentionally walking Shea Langeliers to face Max Schuemann. The gamble did not pay off as Schuemann lined one down the left field line and into the corner. It would clear the bases as Schuemann made his way to second with his third double of the season to make it 5-1.

Oakland added three more in the top of the 9th on a wild pitch and JJ Bleday’s fifth home run of the season to make it 8-1. Seattle would have to face Michael Kelly in the 9th but could not do anything against him. Dylan Moore, Josh Rojas, and Julio Rodriguez went down in order to finish the game and even the series as the A’s took game two, 8-1.

Notable Performances

Athletics

• Max Schuemann- 1-4, 2B, 3 RBI
• Brent Rooker- 2-4, RBI, R, BB
• Joey Estes (W, 1-0)- 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 1-3, HR, RBI, R
• Jorge Polanco- 1-3, 2B
• Bryce Miller (L, 3-3)- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO

Mariners 8, Athletics 4 (Game 3, May 12th)

Pink was spread all over T-Mobile Park on Mother’s Day on Sunday as Seattle and Oakland wrapped up their three-game series with a rubber game between the AL West rivals. New Oakland A, Alex Wood took the mound against the Mariner ace Luis Castillo on what was a very beautiful Sunday in Seattle.

Things were good early for the Mariners as they struck in the bottom of the 1st. Dylan Moore singled and then stole second with two outs when Mitch Garver drove him in with a base hit to center to make it 1-0. Things got even better in the bottom of the 2nd. An error allowed Ty France to reach base to begin the season and Luis Urías followed with a walk. Seby Zavala moved both runners up with a sacrifice bunt and Sam Haggerty cashed in with an RBI single to make it 2-0. With runners on the corners and just one out, Dylan Moore would keep the good vibes going with a sacrifice fly to center to score Urías and make it 3-0. But the best thing to happen followed Moore’s sacrifice fly. After starting to drive the ball in the air, Julio Rodriguez finally came through with a first for him in 2024. J-Rod drove his second home run of the season and first at T-Mobile Park out to center field. The young phenom looked like a massive weight was taken off his shoulders as he rounded the bases to the tune of a 5-0 Mariner lead.

It was a home run fest for both teams and Oakland got their first long ball of the day in the top of the 5th. Max Schuemann built off his big base hit the night before by hitting his second home run of the season and getting the A’s on the board down 5-1. But Seattle had their counter ready. In the home half of the 5th, Julio Rodriguez led off the inning by hitting a double off the very top of the wall out in center. J-Rod moved up to third on a groundout by Mitch Haniger, but the big shot came from the other Mitch. Mitch Garver has steadily built himself back up and out of the early season hole he was in and he crushed a first pitch fastball this time around. The 411-foot blast was Garver’s fifth of the year and opened the lead back up to 7-1.

After really grooving through the first five innings, Luis Castillo had to really work in the top of the 6th. A leadoff home run for Abraham Toro, his fourth, made it 7-2 and Oakland looked poised for more. With one out, JJ Bleday and Brent Rooker both singled to put a couple of runners on as Shea Langeliers stepped up to the plate. With his pitch count rising, Castillo struck out Langeliers and then got J.D. Davis swinging on his 100th pitch to end the threat. La Piedra had to power through the end, but his day was successful after completing six innings and just allowing two runs on seven hits and striking out eight without walking a batter.

Seby Zavala extended the Seattle lead with his first home run as a Mariner in the bottom of the 6th to make it 8-2. Once again however, Oakland’s bats were ready for the Mariner bullpen. Tyler Nevin walked against Cody Bolton and with two outs, things began to get interesting. Brent Rooker launched his 10th home run of the season to make it 8-4 and gave Oakland some momentum late.

With the lead shrinking, Scott Servais decided to have Andrés Muñoz pitch the 9th in a non-save situation. It looked like things could get hairy after J.D. Davis smoked a line drive, but it was right at Mitch Haniger for the first out. A soft tapper was booted by Zavala, allowing Lawrence Butler to reach on the error. It would not matter in the end as Max Schuemann hit a grounder to Dylan Moore at shortstop for a 6-3 double play to end the game. It was a great bounce back series for the Mariners as they won the finale 8-4 to take two out of three from the Oakland Athletics.

Notable Performances

Athletics

• Brent Rooker- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Abraham Toro- 2-4, HR, RBI, R
• Alex Wood (L, 1-3)- 2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Mariners

• Mitch Garver- 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB
• Julio Rodriguez- 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Luis Castillo (W, 4-5)- 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO

What’s Next

Not only did the Seattle Mariners (22-19) have a good weekend for themselves, but the Texas Rangers were also swept by Colorado which puts the Mariners in first place in the AL West, half of a game ahead of the Rangers. After facing one surprise team, the Mariners will now host another one as the Kansas City Royals (25-17) come to Seattle for a three-game series. Kansas City was a thorn in the side of Seattle last season and have only gotten better with a very good pitching staff. Two of the very best young starts will meet as Julio Rodriguez takes on Bobby Witt Jr. as the Mariners try to flush the troubles from Minnesota as George Kirby and Logan Gilbert will both make starts in the series.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- Brady Singer (3-1, 2.36 ERA) vs. George Kirby (3-3, 4.15 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- Michael Wacha (2-4, 5.15 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (3-1, 2,94 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 1:10pm- Alec Marsh (3-0, 2.53 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

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