Carlos Santana’s clutch two-run homer gives Mariners series win over Blue Jays
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In the second tight game against Toronto in as many days, the Seattle Mariners again used a late home run to beat the Blue Jays. A Carlos Santana two-run slam, his first as a Mariner, in the bottom of the seventh gave Seattle a one-run lead they would never give up. Since trading for Santana, the Mariners are 10-1, and today he paid off huge for Seattle. The win sets up a huge Sunday matchup that if the Mariners win and complete the four-game sweep, Seattle would take the third Wild Card spot from Toronto.
Carlos Santana’s two-run homer was the difference maker (Photo Liv Lyons)
Carlos comes up clutch
Veteran first baseman Carlos Santana was viewed as a solid addition to this ball club, coming at a convenient time as Ty France had gone down with an injury. The experience and leadership were a big addition for the club, but Santana’s June was incredible statistics wise. This past series has been good for Santana, topping it off (so far) with the two-run homer that scored JP Crawford, and give Seattle a one run lead they would not relinquish.
Another factor that Santana brings to this ballclub is his friendship with young superstar Julio Rodriguez. If you see any of the photos our photographers get when one of the two does something good, Rodriguez and Santana are sharing big hugs always. The two trained together in the offseason, so to add that friendship and presence for Julio could be big for his development.
Robbie Ray shows emotion after getting out of a bases loaded jam (Photo Liv Lyons)
Robbie Ray continues great stretch
2021 AL Cy Young winner and prize free agent signing Robbie Ray has been on an incredible run since the sixth of June, when he gave up six runs against the Astros down in Houston. The most important thing for a starting pitcher is keeping your team in the game (aka a quality start), and Ray helps lead the charge for the Mariners rotation that has the third most quality starts in all of baseball.
Ray allowed only three hits on the night, and one of them was the only run that Toronto put up on the night. A George Springer solo homer in the top of the sixth. Ray would get pulled, but ultimately, he had kept Seattle in the game. The Mariners just needed to give him run support, and they would do that in the next inning.
George Springer points to the sky following his solo homer (Photo Liv Lyons)
Relievers slam the door shut
A night after the Mariners had to use six of their relievers, Seattle’s bullpen pitched three scoreless innings to secure the victory. Relief pitchers Matt Brash (called up prior to game time from AAA Tacoma), Andres Munoz, and Diego Castillo spun great frames, including a daring top of the ninth inning.
In the top of the ninth inning, Diego Castillo came in for his third appearance in as many days. The Blue Jays would load the bases after Lourdes Gurriel Jr was intentionally walked with two outs. A base hit would give Toronto the lead, as Matt Chapman stepped to the plate for the Blue Jays. Castillo was able to get Chapman to ground out, giving the Mariners their seventh win in a row. Castillo spoke about being pitched for the third game in a row, postgame.
“Right now, we’re competing to the playoffs and we’re in a great position right now. So, I mean, for me, I told (Servais) ‘I’m ready, whatever, when you need me.’ So, I was ready for today,” Castillo reflected.
Young sensation Julio Rodriguez went 0-3 today (Photo Liv Lyons)
Reflection
With the win, Seattle has won six series in a row. The Mariners run of 15-3 over their last 18 games is the best stretch in a period like that since 2003. The Mariners are rolling, looking to sweep a four-game series against a reeling Toronto team, and on track to take a Wild Card spot in July. With the starting rotation putting in the quality starts that they have and the offense pulling it out when it matters, the Mariners seem in good shape. Some more offensive consistency is needed in order to sustain this sort of form, and Seattle may get some of that later in the month when they get outfielders Kyle Lewis and Mitch Haniger back from injury.
Quick notes
Prior to the game, the Mariners made eight roster moves, including optioning young starter George Kirby to AAA Tacoma.
Over the course of their past seven games, the Mariners have outscored their opponents by 21 runs (33 to 12).
Since May 15th, Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh has the most RBI’s in all of baseball at 29.
The Mariners are the only team in baseball to have five pitchers record five or more quality starts this season.
Rookie Julio Rodriguez is in the top three amongst all American League outfielders in the following statistics: stolen bases, hits, runs, home runs, RBI, extra-base hits, total bases, times on base, bWAR, fWAR, and wRC+.
The series finale of this four-game set against the Blue Jays is tomorrow, July 10th with a first pitch time of 1:10PM PST. The Mariners will have sophomore starter Logan Gilbert on the mound, amidst his great season. Gilbert’s ten wins on the season are tied for third best in all of baseball. Due to a rotation shakeup, it is currently unsure who the Blue Jays will have on the mound, as former Mariner Yusei Kikuchi is the “scheduled” starter but his play has been very poor as of late. Seattle will look for the sweep against an unknown starter until potentially a few hours before first pitch.