8/21/24

(Los Angeles, CA) With their nine-game road trip already labeled a disaster, the Seattle Mariners limped into one of their toughest series of the season as they got back to the West Coast for three games against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of the very best lineups in baseball, the Dodgers would be a whole new challenge for the one strength of the Mariners, the starting rotation.

The lone reason for optimism would be the that the Mariners strength is the Dodgers weakness. A rotation that continues to be inconsistent as well as beat up would present at least a chance for a historically bad Mariner offense to get some runs on the board. With a 1-5 record so far on the roadie, the M’s would need to play their best baseball in months to have any chance of a series win at Dodger Stadium.

Dodgers 3, Mariners 0 (Game 1, August 19th)

Opening up the series, the Mariners breakout star of 2024 took the mound as Bryan Woo would look to find the solution to the loaded Dodger lineup. For Los Angeles, it would be Gavin Stone trying to do what every other pitcher has been able to do this season, shut down the Seattle Mariners.

It was a pitcher’s duel from the very beginning between the two young starters. Neither team got out of the gates and when they did have some opportunities, the defenses made some great defensive plays. Freddie Freeman was a thorn in the side of the Mariners as he made a number of great plays including one that turned into an inning ending double play. With Woo on his game, Los Angeles couldn’t muster many opportunities at all.

After Stone finished off the top of the 7th with his 10th strikeout of the game, Woo came back out for the bottom of the 7th. After getting the first out, another Gavin would strike against the Mariners. Gavin Lux got a sinker in the middle of the plate and proceeded to untie the game. Lux sent his ninth home run of the season out to center to make it 1-0. Woo would then exit the game after hitting Will Smith to put a runner on with one out. Yimi García came into pitch but it did not go well. In his first game back from the IL, Max Muncy returned with a bang. A 110-mph two-run bomb left over the right field wall. It was Muncy’s tenth of the season and opened the Dodger lead up to 3-0.

Seattle continued to struggle at the plate but a struggling Dodger bullpen would have to get the final six outs. First out of the pen would be Joe Kelly and he cut right through the Mariners for a 1-2-3 8th inning. The last chance for the Mariners would come against Evan Phillips for the top of the 9th. It would be the top of the order for Seattle but they would go down without a fight. Robles, Arozarena, and Raleigh went down on 13 pitches for the final three outs. Seattle had been shutout for the eighth time this season as they dropped the opener 3-0.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Dodgers

• Gavin Stone (W, 11-5)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 10 SO
• Max Muncy- 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Gavin Lux- 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB

Dodgers 6, Mariners 3 (Game 2, August 20th)

Game two would feature another intriguing pitching matchup as Bryce Miller would take the mound for Seattle. In his first season back from Tommy John, starting pitcher Walker Buehler would get the ball for the Dodgers as he looked to get things dialed in in what has been an injury plagued season.

After Buehler got a couple of quick flyouts by Victor Robles and Julio Rodríguez, Seattle put some pressure on Buehler. Cal Raleigh shot a grounder the other way down the left field line and into the corner. Raleigh’s 13th double of the season put a runner in scoring position and extended the inning. Luke Raley and Randy Arozarena then drew walks to load the bases with two outs for Jorge Polanco. Polo pulled a liner that was out of the reach of Freddie Freeman at first. Raleigh and Raley were both able to score on Polanco’s clutch two-out knock and the Mariners had a 2-0 lead.

Bryce Miller had to throw a lot of pitches in his first two innings of work but did not allow a run while doing so. In the top of the 3rd, Seattle added on. Raleigh began the inning with a single before moving to second on a wild pitch. Luke Raley then walked for the second time in the game but Arozarena lined out for the first out of the inning. Jorge Polanco then took advantage of the fast outfield as he sent a grounder all the way to the warning track in center. He reached second with his ninth double of the season, extending the Mariner lead to 3-0.

Seattle wasted a double from Victor Robles in the top of the 4th and the Dodgers capitalized on their opportunity. Leading off the bottom of the 4th, Gavin Lux sent a deep drive out to center. Robles crashed into the wall as he tried to rob the homer. The ball ended up going behind the padding on the wall and falling back onto the warning track. After initially giving Lux a triple, the umpires awarded him his 10th home run of the season making it 3-1. Two batters later, Max Muncy crushed another homer for his 11th of the season. The two solo shots got the Dodgers back in it, but the Mariners still led 3-2.

Bryce Miller was pulled after just four innings due to his high pitch count. The bullpen took over and looked to protect the one run lead with the majority of the game yet to be played. They held that lead until the bottom of the 7th. Tommy Edman led off the inning with a double off of Tayler Saucedo, putting the tying run in scoring position. After getting Kike Hernandez to fly out, Saucedo was replaced by Andrés Muñoz for the top of the Los Angeles order. Muñoz got Shohei Ohtani to lineout to Justin Turner for the second out. He wasn’t as fortunate against Mookie Betts. The outfielder smoked a double out to left field for his 18th two-bagger of the season. Edman trotted home and the game was tied at 3-3. It looked like Los Angeles would take the lead when Teoscar Hernández lined a base hit to right. However, Mitch Haniger threw an absolute strike to the plate to get Betts for the final out and keep things even.

In the bottom of the 8th, LA put together another threat. Andrés Muñoz got the first out but then hit Will Smith and walked Max Muncy to put a couple of runners on. After striking out Tommy Edman, Muñoz would have to face pinch hitter Jason Heyward. Muñoz threw a 2-1 fastball at the top of the zone and Heyward got to it. The veteran lefty pulled a three-run bomb for his sixth home run of the season. That would be enough to earn the Dodgers the win as the Mariners could do anything with a Leo Rivas double in the 9th and fell yet again, 6-3.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Dodgers

• Jason Heyward- 1-1, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Max Muncy- 1-2, HR, RBI, 2 R, 2 BB
• Walker Buehler (ND)- 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO

Dodgers 8, Mariners 4 (Game 3, August 21st)

After not being swept in the first half of the season, Seattle looked to avoid being swept for the third time since the All-Star Break. Looking to lead the team to avoiding that sweep would be one of Seattle’s All-Stars in Logan Gilbert. He would face off against the newest LA Dodger pitcher Jack Flaherty.

After a scoreless 1st, Seattle put some pressure on LA in the 2nd. Randy Arozarena was hit by a pitch and then stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Justin Turner then served a one-out single to center but Arozarena had to hold up at third with one out. Dominic Canzone sent a sacrifice fly out to center to drive in the game’s first run as Arozarena scored and the Mariners had a 1-0 lead.

After a little benches clearing incident that started between Randy Arozarena and Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers seemed to find their spark. In the bottom of the 3rd with nobody on and two outs, Leo Rivas committed an error at shortstop to extend the inning. Shohei Ohtani drew a walk to put a second runner on and Mookie Betts cashed in. Betts yanked a liner down into the left field corner and with two outs the runners were flying. Kevin Kiermaier and Ohtani both scored on Betts’19th double of the season and the Dodgers had the lead 2-1.

After Will Smith hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Dodgers lead 3-1 things got ugly for Seattle. A two-out RBI double by Freddie Freeman made it 4-1 in the 5th and things spiraled out of control. Teoscar Hernández singled in Freeman, making it 5-1. Gavin Lux then singled and Will Smith drew a walk to load the bases with still one out to get for the M’s. Logan Gilbert was replaced by Trent Thornton to face Max Muncy and the pitching change didn’t pay off. Muncy sent his 10th double of the season to right, clearing the bases in the process. Los Angeles had blown things wide open with five consecutive two-out baserunners as their lead grew to 8-1.

Seattle would get some back. Dylan Moore drew a bases loaded walk to make it 8-2, but Seattle couldn’t do anything else with that threat. Dominic Canzone added another sacrifice fly in the 8th before Mitch Haniger recorded his 12th home run of the season in the 9th. However, it was much too little too late as Seattle’s nightmare of a road trip came to an end with an 8-4 loss to the Dodgers.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Dodgers

• Max Muncy- 2-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI
• Teoscar Hernández- 2-4, RBI, 2 R
• Jack Flaherty (W, 10-5)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO

What’s Next

After holding a ten-game lead in the AL West on June 18th, the Seattle Mariners since then have fallen off a cliff and have a record of 20-32 which is one of the worst in baseball since then. Despite Houston losing two out of three to the Boston Red Sox, the Mariners still lost ground due to being swept by the Dodgers. Seattle sits five games back of the Astros in the AL West and have fallen to 7 1/2 back of Kansas City and Minnesota who are tied for the second and third Wild Card spots. Houston will now have a tough four-game series in Baltimore while Kansas City hosts Philadelphia for three and Minnesota hosts St. Louis for a three-game set.

For the Mariners (64-64) they will return home for six games in what could be the last gasp for the 2024 squad. First up, the Mariners will play a third consecutive interleague series as they welcome the San Francisco Giants (65-64) to the PNW. San Francisco has played themselves back into the NL Wild Card race as they sit 3 1/2 games behind Atlanta for the final playoff spot. As of late, the Giants offense has struggled against everyone except the White Sox. Over their last 12 games, the Giants are averaging just three runs per game while allowing just over three as well. However, Seattle is coming off of a nine-game road trip in which they averaged just under three runs per game despite scoring 10 against Pittsburgh and the pitching allowed just under six runs per game.

One of baseball’s biggest breakout stars in 2024 will take on the Mariners for the first time this weekend. Heliot Ramos (pronounced Elliot) made the NL All-Star team last month and continues to dominate both offensively and defensively. While he doesn’t lead the Giants in most offensive categories, that could change as soon as this weekend. Ramos is hitting .283 this season after being called up in early May and seems to produce offense every time he takes the field. Ramos sits just two homers and two RBI behind Matt Chapman for the team lead despite having 123 fewer at-bats than Chapman. With another rookie in Tyler Fitzgerald setting things up at the top of the order, Ramos taken his game to a whole new level. If the Mariners want to keep the Giants bats at bay, they have to take care of the top of the San Francisco order or it could be the final nail in their coffin.

• Game 1, Friday 7:10pm- Hayden Birdsong (3-3, 5.01 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (10-12, 3.51 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 1:10pm- Blake Snell (2-3, 3.67 ERA) vs. George Kirby (9-9, 3.40 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 1:10pm- Kyle Harrison (7-5, 4.00 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (5-2, 2.12 ERA)

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