8/11/24

(Seattle, WA) Over the course of a 162-game season, there is sure to be plenty of highs and lows for each and every team in MLB. For the Seattle Mariners, a series win over the Philadelphia Phillies was a high, followed by an immediate low in a series loss to the Detroit Tigers. The good news for the M’s was that they ended that series against Detroit with a dramatic, comeback walk-off in the finale to end the series on a high note. They would hope that the vibes would carry over into a big series against one of the hottest teams in the sport.

Since June 3rd, no team in the game of baseball had a better record going into the weekend than the New York Mets. A team that looked to be surefire sellers at the trade deadline all of a sudden found themselves in a playoff spot as the plane landed in Seattle after a successful series in Colorado. With many former Mariners on the team such as Edwin Diaz, Jesse Winker, Luis Torrens, Ryne Stanek, and even Ben Gamel, the Mets were hoping for the opposite of what the M’s hoped for and would try to continue to silence the Mariners inconsistent offense. Things lined up well for the Mets as they sent their three most trusted starters to the mound over the weekend.

Mariners 6, Mets 0 (Game 1, August 9th)

Friday night at home means the City Connects were out in full force both on the field and in the stands for the opener between the Mariners and Mets. First up on the mound for Seattle would be Bryce Miller who got bailed out by the bats in a tough start against Philadelphia. For the Mets, veteran lefty José Quintana would try to quiet the Mariners bats yet again

Seattle left a runner in scoring position in the 1st while the Mets did the same in the top of the 2nd. In the home half of the 2nd, Mitch Haniger recorded the first Mariner hit with a base hit to left field with one out. That brought up the freshly recalled Ryan Bliss who would get the start against the lefty Quintana. Bliss wasted no time swinging at the first pitch curveball on the outside corner and pulled it out to the bullpens in left center. It was the first home run at T-Mobile Park for Bliss and his second of his rookie season. The two-run bomb was a great start for the M’s as they took a 2-0 lead.

After allowing a hit in each the 3rd and 4th innings, Bryce Miller showcased his ability to pitch with runners on. New York never had an inning against the young Mariners starter where they got multiple runners on base. A two-out single in the top of the 4th by Jeff McNeil was the last baserunner to reach for the Mets against Miller. Bryce retired the final seven batters he faced as his night ended after six scoreless innings of three hit ball with only one walk allowed and six strikeouts. A red-hot lineup coming in was quickly tamed by miller who immediately erased the memory of his rough start the last time out.

Collin Snider got in some hot water after allowing two runners on to start the 7th, but he got Mark Vientos to hit into a double play and then Francisco Alvarez flew out to escape the trouble. The bats would open things up a bit after the 7th inning stretch. A walk for Mitch Garver and single for Dylan Moore put the first two men on in the bottom of the 7th. Mitch Haniger struck out while Ryan Bliss grounded out to put runners on second and third with two outs. Another rookie came to the plate in shortstop Leo Rivas. After working a full count with a big strike zone, Rivas got a changeup right at the knees and on the outer black and didn’t try to do too much with it. Rivas slapped a grounder into right field for a two-out knock. Both Garver and Moore scored easily and Leo Rivas had doubled the lead with all four runs driven in by Mariner rookies.

The Leo Rivas base hit chased Quintana and Adam Ottavino was first out of the bullpen for the Mets. After Rivas stole second, Victor Robles drew a walk before he and Rivas pulled off a double steal to once again put runners at second and third with two down. A Randy Arozarena walk loaded the bases for the Mariners RBI leader in Cal Raleigh. After taking a hanging sweeper for a strike, Cal jumped on a fastball in the middle of the plate and lined it down the right field line. Rivas and Robles came into score while Arozarena stopped at third on Raleigh’s two-run single. Some big two-out damage was done as the Mariners opened up a 6-0 lead.

Austin Voth stranded two baserunners with a strikeout of Pete Alonso on a generous call to end the 8th. With a large lead, Scott Servais could stay away from his closer and instead brought in Trent Thornton for the 9th. After giving up a leadoff double to J.D. Martinez, Thornton settled in nicely. He would get Jeff McNeil to fly out to center and Mark Vientos to pop out to Ryan Bliss for two outs on nine pitches. Francisco Alvarez was the last chance for the Mets but Thornton kept everything down and away from the power hitting catcher. Alvarez went down swinging on a sweeper to finish off the opener of the series. Seattle got to celebrate the fireworks night as winners as the Mariners took game one from the Mets, 6-0.

Notable Performances

Mets

• Jeff McNeil- 2-4
• Brandon Nimmo- 1-3, 2B, BB
• José Quintana (L, 6-8)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO

Mariners

• Bryce Miller (W, 9-7)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
• Ryan Bliss- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Leo Rivas- 1-3, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB

Mariners 4, Mets 0 (Game 2, August 10th)

Maybe no other Mariner has garnered more attention on a national level this season than All-Star starting pitcher Logan Gilbert. Coming off back-to-back losses, Gilbert had a little edge to him going into game two with the Mets on Saturday. For the Mets, former AL West rival Sean Manaea would get the start as the Mets went with a lefty for the second consecutive game.

A phenomenal double play that one could see on any highlight reel from this weekend was turned by Jorge Polanco and Leo Rivas to help Gilbert spin a scoreless 1st. Manaea wasn’t as fortunate as the M’s got to the southpaw immediately. Victor Robles began the inning with his seventh double of the season to put a runner in scoring position right away. Randy Arozarena then stepped to the plate and didn’t have to do much as Robles stole third. Arozarena would do plenty as he also yanked a double down the left field line. The Mariner left fielder’s 24th double of the year got the M’s on the board, but they weren’t done. After moving up to third on a wild pitch, Randy Arozarena came into score as Justin Turner hit a double off the wall in right center to make it 2-0. With two outs, Mitch Haniger stayed red hot with a base hit right back up the middle. Turner came around to score standing up and after just an inning of play, Seattle had a 3-0 lead.

There wasn’t much offensively from other side after the opening inning. Some great defensive plays made by the Mariners helped out Logan Gilbert as Robles made a diving catch in center and Polanco made another fantastic, bare-handed play at second. The Mets also had some nice defense from Harrison Bader and Mark Vientos, but the damage was already done and the Mets bats were sound asleep. Following a standout performance by Bryce Miller, Logan Gilbert kept the train rolling. Gilbert worked ahead consistently and finished his day with seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out six himself.

While there wasn’t a lot of offense after the 1st, there was still some scoring for the Mariners for some late insurance. In the bottom of the 7th, Phil Maton took over on the mound for the Mets and quickly struck out Victor Robles. Randy Arozarena had more success with a single followed by a Cal Raleigh walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Justin Turner came through again with a single through the left side of the infield. Arozarena scored easily with his speed, making it 4-0 Mariners.

After Yimi García spun a scoreless 8th, Scott Servais had to get Andrés Muñoz into the game after not pitching in a week. For Muñoz, the time off didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Riding a streak of ten consecutive outings without allowing a hit, Muñoz kept things rolling. A harmless Brandon Nimmo groundout was taken care of by Justin Turner for the first out. J.D. Martinez followed with a hard line drive right at Jorge Polanco, putting the Mariners one out away from a series win. Pete Alonso could not keep the game alive as the Polar Bear hit a grounder to Leo Rivas at short for the final out. For the second consecutive night, the Mariners had shutout the Mets, winning game two 4-0 and taking the series with still one game to go.

Notable Performances

Mets

Mariners

• Logan Gilbert (W, 7-8)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
• Justin Turner- 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB
• Randy Arozarena- 2-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI, BB

Mariners 12, Mets 1 (Game 3, August 11th)

Notable Performances

Mets

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 3-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Jorge Polanco- 3-5, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Luis Castillo (W, 10-11)- 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO

What’s Next

Things could not have gone better in Seattle over the weekend with the Mariners (63-56) dominant sweep of the New York Mets. However, it wasn’t all good news for the M’s as the Houston Astros also earned a sweep of the Boston Red Sox. That keeps things even atop the division as the Mariners and Astros continue to pull away from the Texas Rangers who lost two out of three to the New York Yankees. All three of the teams in the mix in the AL West will be on the road for the weekday series as Houston visits Tampa Bay for three while the Rangers visit the Boston Red Sox for three while they sit 7 1/2 games back of Seattle and Houston.

Next up for the Mariners after a 6-3 nine-game homestand is a day off on Monday before a tough nine-game road trip. First up for the Mariners, they will look for a little bit of revenge as they visit the Motor City for three games starting on Tuesday. The Detroit Tigers (56-63) were riding high after taking two out of three in Seattle last week but followed that up by losing two out of three in San Francisco. Detroit will be highly confident knowing that they just beat the Mariners and will look to prove that it was no fluke. The Tigers will be without Wenceel Pérez who was placed on the 10-day IL on Saturday which will create a hole at the top of the Tigers order.

Instead of rehashing the player profile of Tarik Skubal, this time we take a look at Matt Vierling. Vierling is putting together a good season but the damage that he is doing at home at Comerica Park is something to take note of going into this week. While Vierling only has five more hits at home than on the road, he has done a lot more damage with his hits in his friendly confines. Compared to the three home runs and 13 runs batted in that Vierling had on the road, he has 10 home runs and 31 RBI at home. Both his slugging and OPS jump over .100 points each from .377 and .652 all the way up to .484 and .797. Matt Vierling only played in one game in San Francisco, but went 2-5 with a homer and a double while driving in and scoring two. He will likely be the leadoff man for the Tigers when the M’s roll into town on Tuesday.

• Game 1, Tuesday 3:40pm- George Kirby (8-8, 3.13 ERA) vs. Tarik Skubal (13-4, 2.57 ERA)
• Game 2, Wednesday 3:40pm- Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.27 ERA) vs. TBD
• Game 3, Thursday 10:10am- Bryce Miller (9-7, 3.46 ERA) vs. TBD

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