8/18/24

(Pittsburgh, PA) Following a devastating sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, the Seattle Mariners looked to right the ship as they headed to the Eastern Time Zone for the final time this season. Three games with the Pittsburgh Pirates would create the opportunity for the Mariners to try to get some momentum back on their side as the Pirates entered the series on a ten-game losing streak.

The strength of the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates has been pitching which creates a tough matchup for a struggling Mariners lineup. Not only were the Mariner bats struggling, but the bullpen had been limping along for a few weeks with a couple late blown leads in the Motor City. With the morale at a season-low, Seattle had to start pushing the issue in Pittsburgh.

Pirates 5, Mariners 3 (Game 1, August 16th)

Opening up the series, two All-Stars took the mound for the Mariners and Pirates. For Seattle, Logan Gilbert would look to snap Seattle’s three-game losing streak. Pittsburgh would send their rookie phenom Paul Skenes to the mound. Skenes started the All-Star Game just one year after being drafted from LSU.

Both pitchers looked tremendous through the first three innings. Pittsburgh would get a couple hits off of Gilbert while Skenes struggled a bit with his command which saw the Mariners get some free bases. In the top of the 4th, Seattle made Skenes pay. A leadoff walk to Jorge Polanco put a runner on for Luke Raley. Raley sent a ball into the Allegheny River during batting practice and clearly felt comfortable in PNC Park. A 97-mph fastball from Skenes in the middle of the plate got crushed by the big lefty. A 112.5-mph exit velo resulted in Raley’s 15th home run of the season. The two-run blast put Seattle on the board first, leading 2-0.

The celebration didn’t last too long as Pittsburgh got their first run in the home half of the 4th. A walk to Bryan Reynolds began the inning and Oneil Cruz moved him over with a groundout. Veteran utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa continued to play well since being traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline and got the Pirates on the board. IKF laced his 11th double of the season out to left which allowed Reynolds to score easily, making it 2-1.

One run got the Pirates going and in the bottom of the 5th they bailed out their young ace. With nobody on and one out, Yasmani Grandal crushed his fifth home run of the season 404-feet to tie the game at 2-2. Pittsburgh was not done however and they capitalized on a Mariner error. After getting on with a single, Michael A. Taylor used his speed to swipe second. Cal Raleigh’s throw got into center field, allowing Taylor to move up to third with just one out. Andrew McCutchen did the rest as a sacrifice fly to left scored Taylor and gave Pittsburgh a 3-2 lead.

After Dominic Canzone hit into a double play that killed a Mariner rally, it turned into a battle of the bullpens in the 7th. Logan Gilbert was pulled after a one out walk to Michael A. Taylor, putting good speed on base for Pittsburgh. McCutchen singled but then had to leave the game and was placed on the IL with a knee injury. Ji Hwan Bae ran for McCutchen and his speed resulted in a run. Oneil Cruz drove a fly ball out to right center that was almost caught by a diving Canzone. The ball ended up going off of his glove and head and with two outs, Taylor and Bae scored easily. Oneil Cruz stopped at second with his 26th double of the season as the Pirates had a 5-2 lead.

With the score still the same in the 9th, David Bednar looked to close things out for the Pirates. It did not start well for Bednar as Jorge Polanco sent his 12th home run of the season out to right center to make it 5-3. Luke Raley then singled to bring the tying run to the plate. Bednar would settle in and strikeout Dominic Canzone for the first out. Mitch Haniger followed suit and Justin Turner pinch hit as the last hope for the Mariners. Despite a good battle, Turner took a called strike three to put the opener away. Pittsburgh had ended their ten-game losing streak and extended the Mariners losing streak to four with a 5-3 final score.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Pirates

• Yasmani Grandal- 2-4, HR, RBI, R
• Oneil Cruz- 1-4, 2B, RBI
• Paul Skenes (W, 7-2)- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 SO

Pirates 7, Mariners 2 (Game 2, August 17th)

When every team is on a skid, they have that one pitcher that they can send to the mound to be the stopper and get the squad back on track. While there is an argument on which guy that is for the M’s, Luis Castillo is in the conversation and looked to do just that in game two. Seattle would go up against Bailey Falter who was also trying to bounce back from a tough outing against the Dodgers.

Seattle wasted an early scoring opportunity and fell behind on Castillo’s second pitch of the game. Isiah Kiner-Falefa launched his eighth home run of the season to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Seattle was able to respond quickly in the top of the 2nd. Singles by Mitch Haniger and Leo Rivas put runners on the corners with two outs. Victor Robles came up clutch with a base hit to left. That scored Haniger and evened the game at 1-1.

Both Falter and Castillo locked in for the next couple of innings, but Castillo blinked first. In the bottom of the 4th, Oneil Cruz worked a walk and stole second to start the inning. With one out, Rowdy Tellez did what he does best: hit the ball far. Tellez took a 1-1 slider out to right center for his 10th homer on the year. The two-run blast broke the tie, giving the Pirates a 3-1 lead.

While Seattle got a run back in the 5th on a two-out RBI double by Jorge Polanco to make it 3-2, Pittsburgh got that run back in the 6th on a Bryan de la Cruz single. With a 4-2 score going into the bottom of the 7th, the wheels fell off for Seattle. JT Chargois gave up a solo shot to Jared Triolo to make it 5-2. Joey Bart added on a run with his eighth double and then he scored on an RBI double by Rowdy Tellez. Seattle found themselves down 7-2 late in the game.

In the top of the 9th, Domingo Germán came in for Pittsburgh looking for the final three outs. He struggled immediately with a walk to Luke Raley before hitting both Mitch Garver and Leo Rivas to load the bases with nobody out. Closer David Bednar would then be thrust into duty and got some defensive help. Ji Hwan Bae made a great diving catch in right to take a hit away from Victor Robles. Neither Randy Arozarena or Julio Rodríguez could put the ball in play as they both struck out to end the rally. Pittsburgh once again celebrated a victory over the Mariners with a 7-2 win while the M’s saw their losing streak grow to five games.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Pirates

• Rowdy Tellez- 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa- 3-4, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Bailey Falter (W, 6-7)- 5.2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO

Mariners 10, Pirates 3 (Game 3, August 18th)

Notable Performances

Mariners

Pirates

• Joey Bart- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• O’Neil Cruz- 2-4, 2B, R
• Jake Woodford (L, 0-5)- 4 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

What’s Next

Yet another disappointing series for the Seattle Mariners puts the team in a very tough spot. The M’s had to watch Houston take two out of three from the Chicago White Sox. With Texas now way back in the AL West, it is down to a two-team race with Houston leading Seattle by four games. Seattle also is trailing in the Wild Card race as they are 5 1/2 games behind Kansas City as the Mariners continue to slide. This week, Houston will host Boston for three while Kansas City will look to keep their four-game winning streak alive with three games at home against the Los Angeles Angels.

Unfortunately for the Mariners, they will get the toughest test of all as they will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series beginning on Monday night. Los Angeles has had to right the ship themselves as their division lead has been trimmed down to just three games ahead of San Diego and four ahead of Arizona. A beat-up pitching staff for the Dodgers does create some opportunities for the Mariners, but the Seattle staff will have their hands full. LA’s lineup is extremely dangerous with Mookie Betts recent return to support Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, and former Mariner Teoscar Hernandez.

• Game 1, Monday 7:10pm- Bryan Woo (5-1, 2.06 ERA) vs. Gavin Stone (10-5, 2.63 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 7:10pm- Bryce Miller (9-7, 3.29 ERA) vs. Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.58 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 7:10pm- Logan Gilbert (7-9, 2.96 ERA) vs. Jack Flaherty (9-5, 3.06 ERA)

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