Eugenio Suarez walks off Blue Jays in game two of series
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez sent Seattle home happy with a three-run homer in the eleventh inning. Seattle’s game two win ensures that the Mariners will at very minimum split the series against the Blue Jays, who currently hold the third wild card spot in the American League. With the win, the Mariners are above .500 for the first time since May 2nd, right before the last time that the time was at .500. The win also pushes Seattle just two games out of a Wild Card spot, and two and a half games out of the second Wild Card Spot.
Julio Rodriguez crosses home for the second run of the game (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Turning the tables
For a solid majority of this 2022 season, the Mariners have been the ones putting runners in scoring position, and then leaving them on base. Bottom three in all of baseball with the bases loaded, Seattle has had plenty of chances throughout the year to cash in and help their chances or extend leads in several games. Tonight, Toronto racked up 12 hits, but the Mariners stranded 13 of their runners.
Although Seattle has been a slight bit better lately with the runners in scoring position, the failure to cash in on several occasions could certainly impact their record and push them to a better win-less ration than they are currently at. Holding the Blue Jays, who have tons of offensive firepower, to two runs over eleven innings is a result the team will gladly accept.
George Kirby had a solid outing, but was pulled in the 5th inning (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Kirby keeps them in it
Young Mariners starter George Kirby faced off against a talented Toronto lineup, and more or less had a satisfying result. Playing a lineup that can put tons of runs on the board, Kirby was able to minimize the damage to only two runs, despite allowing ten hits to Toronto. There were several instances where Kirby was in trouble, but the rookie was able to manage the situations and get out of them. Manager Scott Servais said that the rookie is learning, and today he learned how to “slow the game down.”
Eugenio Suarez is doused with Gatorade (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Suarez sends Seattle home happy.
Seattle third baseman Eugenio Suarez had another great night. Similar to last night, Eugenio had some tough defensive plays early on, missing out on a few plays at third base. Again, similar to last night, Suarez would make up for the mistakes later on in the game. Suarez would go two for five on the night with two runs, but ultimately his big play would be the walk off homer in the bottom of the eleventh inning.
Postgame, Suarez would say that he discussed hitting a homer with his wife before he left for the ballpark. He stated that “I told her if I hit one tonight, it’s for her. So, I dedicate this one (his walk off homer) to her.” The homer to left field was Suarez’s first walk off homer in his career, and it comes at a very crucial time for his current ballclub.
Ty France played his second straight game in the DH spot (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Quick notes
Despite leading major league baseball in home runs since 2019, Eugenio Suarez has never hit a walk off home run until tonight.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Robbie Ray has generated 275 swinging strikes this season, the third most in all of baseball.
The Thursday win against Toronto was the 950th win for Seattle at home (T-Mobile Park/Safeco field).
The Mariners are tied with the Houston Astros at 14-3 for the best record in baseball since June 21st.
This series is critical for Seattle in a multitude for ways. One of them is that it’s Toronto, and most of Canada comes down to Seattle to cheer on their Blue Jays. Another is that winning this series would put the Mariners even closer to a Wild Card spot before the All-Star break. And lastly, a potential sweep of Toronto would put the Mariners in the Blue Jays spot, the third Wild Card seed in the American league.
Game three of the series is tomorrow, Saturday July 9th, with a 7:10PM PST first pitch time. Seattle will have their ace Robbie Ray on the mound, who has been phenomenal since about mid-June. Across the way, Toronto will have a quality starter on the mound in the iteration of Alek Manoah. A critical game in this four-game series will decide if Toronto will be able to potentially split the series, of if the Mariners will win the series.