5/15/24

(Seattle, WA) Flushing out the memories of an abysmal series in Minnesota, the Seattle Mariners were looking to build momentum after a successful Mother’s Day weekend as they welcomed the Kansas City Royals to town for a three-game series. Much like Oakland, the Royals have been a surprise team in baseball this season in what is shaping up to be a very competitive AL Central. Conversely, the AL West has been very up and down but with the Mariners on top, it was an opportunity for Seattle to get a much needed series win before arguably their toughest road trip of the season.

Mariners 6, Royals 2 (Game 1, May 13th)

George Kirby was looking to put the memory of his tough start in Minnesota in the rearview mirror when he took the ball in the opener against Brady Singer who is having a career year himself. While everything had been great for Singer, Seattle would give him the biggest blemish on his 2024 campaign while Kirby did indeed right the ship.

Despite needing 40 pitches to get through the first two innings, George Kirby hung up a couple of zeros and the Mariner offense ended up striking first. A leadoff double for Cal Raleigh in the bottom of the 2nd got things started for the M’s but the big blast came two batters later. Luke Raley has been taking things to a new level in May and continued to do so in this series. A sinker right down the heart of the plate was obliterated out to center for Raley’s second home run as a Mariner. The 432-foot blast did result in Raley breaking the Mariners home run trident, but also gave Seattle a 2-0 lead.

Back-to-back singles by Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco kept that momentum going to begin the bottom of the 3rd. It looked as though Cal Raleigh would one-up Raley’s blast as the Mariner catcher sent a fly ball to very deep center field. Dairon Blanco would make a leaping effort but the ball hit the top of the wall and turned into a 410-foot single as Polanco stopped at second as he had to wait and see if the ball was caught. Julio however saw the ball hit the ground and scored from second to make it 3-0. It would be Raley extending that lead with an RBI single to right to drive in Polanco and stake the Mariners with a 4-0 lead.

It was all zeros for Kirby throughout his seven innings of work in this one. After escaping a jam in the top of the 7th, his day was done and the M’s bullpen took over with Ryne Stanek up first. He would get in some hot water with runners on first and third with one out as Salvador Perez came to the plate. He would not be the problem as Stanek struck him out swinging, but would not have as much success against Michael Massey. Massey sent his fourth double of the season to center to score Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino to cut the Mariner lead in half down to 4-2. Andrés Muñoz would again enter in the 8th inning to strike out Nelson Velázquez to end the threat.

As the lead was cut down, Seattle had one last shot for insurance in the bottom of the 8th. A third hit for Luke Raley put a man on first with one out but Mitch Garver could not do anything in his AB and struck out swinging. After Raley stole second to get into scoring position, Ty France would send a high fly ball to left field. The ball would land in Edgar’s Cantina in left and insurance had been delivered. France’s third home run of the season had opened things up at 6-2. That would be the final as Muñoz retired the side in order in the 9th to give the Mariners the series opening win.

Notable Performances

Royals

• Michael Massey- 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
• Vinnie Pasquantino- 1-3, R, HBP
• Brady Singer (L, 3-2)- 5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

Mariners

• Luke Raley- 3-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB
• Ty France- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• George Kirby (W, 4-3)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO

Royals 4, Mariners 2 (Game 2, May 14th)

After having a similar start in Minnesota as George Kirby, Logan Gilbert would look to follow suit to Kirby’s bounce back as he took the ball for the second game of the series. Michael Wacha got the start for the Royals and the crafty veteran was a problem for the M’s when he faced them in San Diego just last season.

Neither team could get much of anything going early and the only opportunity for an extra base hit was erased when Sam Haggerty threw out Hunter Renfrow at second trying to record a double. In the bottom of the 4th, the first run of the game would be scored. With nobody on and two outs, Luke Raley stayed scorching hot as he sent a hanging curveball out to right. The line drive would be high enough and have enough juice to carry out for his third home run and second in as many days. Once again it was Seattle striking first with a 1-0 lead.

Still leading just 1-0, Logan Gilbert was carving up the Kansas City lineup from the word go on Tuesday night. The tall righty was coasting into his seventh inning of scoreless work but the top of the 7th would be his undoing. A leadoff walk to Bobby Witt Jr. was bad already as the speedy future star is always a pest on-base. He would move to second when Vinnie Pasquantino hit into a fielder’s choice, but Gilbert bounced back with his seventh strikeout of the game, getting Michael Massey swinging for the second out. Seattle opted to intentionally walk Salvador Perez and take their chances with Nelson Velázquez. He would make the Mariners pay. His third home run of the season sailed out into the bullpen and changed the entire complexion of this game. In the blink of an eye, the three-run shot had given the Royals a 3-1 lead.

An RBI single in the 8th by Maikel Garcia extended the Royal lead to 4-1 going into the 9th. James McArthur stayed on for Kansas City looking for the four-out save. A quick strikeout of Luke Raley was a good start for McArthur, but Mitch Haniger would not make everything easy on him. Already 2-2 with a walk on the day, Haniger drove a sinker right down the middle out to right field for an opposite field home run and Haniger’s sixth of the season. The Mariner deficit was trimmed down to two. It would not get better for Seattle as Dylan Moore struck out and Luis Urías hit a soft line out to short to end the game and even the series with the Royals earning the 4-2 win.

Notable Performances

Royals

• Michael Wacha (W, 3-4)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO
• Nelson Velázquez- 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Salvador Perez- 1-2, R, 2 BB

Mariners

• Mitch Haniger- 3-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
• Luke Raley- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Logan Gilbert (L, 3-2)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO

Mariners 4, Royals 2 (Game 3, May 15th)

A little day baseball wrapped up the homestand and the three-game series between the Mariners and Royals as Bryan Woo made his second start of the season against Alec Marsh who has been one of Kansas City’s best starters in the first month and a half. Seattle would also be looking to cap off another series win to build momentum heading into a tough road trip.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Cal Raleigh singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Luke Raley would then move him to third with a base hit to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Things would then get shaky as Ty France popped out to first and the returning Dominic Canzone struck out swinging. Dylan Moore would walk to load the bases with two outs for Luis Urías. The Mariner third baseman sent a grounder to his counterpart and former Mariner Adam Frazier at third. This was Frazier’s first start at third base since 2017 and he had issues immediately. He would boot the grounder, allowing everyone to reach base and giving Seattle a 1-0 lead. Seattle could not cash in more as a Josh Rojas groundout ended the inning and forced the M’s to settle for just one run.

The lead would be extended in the bottom of the 4th on a long moonshot. Ty France dropped the barrel on a sinker on the inner half and did not miss it. A bat drop signified that he had gotten his fourth home run of the year and the lead was extended to 2-0.

For the second consecutive start, Bryan Woo had to wait through a long delay in the bottom of the 5th, but this one wasn’t because of the Mariner offense. Home plate umpire Jim Wolf had to leave the game after taking a foul ball off the face mask. That meant another umpire, Ryan Blakney, had to go get his gear on to take over behind the plate. Once again the delay affected Woo in the top of the 6th. Kansas City quickly loaded the bases with nobody out for Bobby Witt Jr. All he could muster was a sacrifice fly which did cut the Mariner lead to one at 2-1. Gabe Speier came in and put out the fire though and left runners stranded at first and third and the lead still intact.

Dominic Canzone’s first hit back was a double to begin the home half of the 7th. It looked like it would come to pass as Dylan Moore and Luis Urías were both retired for two quick outs as Angel Zerpa came in looking for the third. He would not find it right away. An opposite field base hit for Josh Rojas would extend the Seattle lead as Canzone scored to make it 3-1.

Kansas City would then look to respond themselves in the top of the 8th. A single for Freddy Fermin and a double for Adam Frazier put runners on second and third with one out. That would again bring in Andrés Muñoz in the 8th inning. A groundout this time for Bobby Witt Jr. again resulted in a run but not more. Vinnie Pasquantino would then strikeout got the M’s out of the jam with the lead 3-2.

A leadoff single for Mitch Haniger began the bottom of the 8th and Leo Rivas would pinch run for him to add some speed. Rivas moved to second on a groundout from Cal Raleigh and that brought Luke Raley to the plate. The hottest hitter for the M’s in the series, Raley did it one more time with a base hit to right. Rivas scored easily and Raley was thrown out at second for the second out but did extend the Mariner lead to 4-2.

Looking for a five-out save, Andrés Muñoz came back out to pitch the 9th but it was not clean. A leadoff double for Salvador Perez and an error by Luis Urías put runners on the corners with one out. Then, dominant Muñoz reappeared. He would strikeout both MJ Melendez and Freddy Fermin to slam the door on the Royals. A back-and-forth game with plenty of ups and downs was over as the Mariners defeated the Royals 4-2 and took the series two games to one.

Notable Performances

Royals

• Freddy Fermin- 2-4, 2 R
• Bobby Witt Jr.- 0-3, 2 RBI
• Alec Marsh (L, 3-1)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO

Mariners

• Luke Raley- 2-4, RBI
• Ty France- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Bryan Woo (W, 1-0)- 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

What’s Next

A successful 4-2 homestand for the Seattle Mariners (24-20) saw Seattle extend their division lead to 1 1/2 games ahead of the Texas Rangers and five games ahead of the Houston Astros. However, the Mariners now embark on a very tough ten game road trip where they will play ten games in ten days. First up, Seattle will travel to take on the Baltimore Orioles (27-14) for a three-game series. Baltimore is viewed as one of two favorites to represent the American League in the World Series with one of the best and youngest lineups in baseball and a pitching staff that is getting stronger each game. Following that series, the Mariners will visit the only team in the AL with a better record than Baltimore in the New York Yankees for four before closing out the road trip by visiting the feisty Washington Nationals for three.

• Game 1, Friday 4:05pm- Bryce Miller (3-3, 2.66 ERA) vs. Cole Irvin (4-1, 2.90 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 1:05pm- Luis Castillo (4-5, 3.31 ERA) vs. John Means (1-0, 3.09 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 10:35am- George Kirby (4-3, 3.58 ERA) vs. Dean Kremer (3-3, 3.72 ERA)

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