Homers and great pitching give Mariners series and homestand opening win against Nationals
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – To kick off their six game homestand, the Mariners used two long balls and quality pitching to beat the lowly Washington Nationals, 4-2. Outside of the two homers, the Mariners were relatively quiet offensively, collecting only six hits on the day and getting none from All-Stars Julio Rodriguez and Ty France. Starter Robbie Ray pitched an excellent game, taking a no hitter into the seventh inning.
Mariners manager Scott Servais was honored pregame for collecting his 500th managerial win, as John Stanton, Catie Griggs, and Jerry DIpoto presented him with a plaque (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Ray no hits through six, gives Seattle great winning opportunity
Since some rough starts in July, Seattle starter Robert Glenn Ray has been rock solid for the Mariners. The last four starts for the 2021 AL Cy Young award winner have seen Ray only allow one to two runs in the outings, mostly off of one homer in three of the four outings. Pitching such as this has helped Seattle get to the position that they are currently in.
In tonight’s game, Ray carried a no hitter into the seventh inning, which was broken up due to a solo homer by Joey Meneses. Shortly after, Ray would be pulled. All in all, if a starting pitcher allows just a solo homer over the course of seven innings, a team can live with it in today’s league. Getting a Ray like we have seen over the past four outings is huge for the Mariners to climb the Wild Card rankings and secure the first overall spot.
Mariners starter Robbie Ray was again solid for Seattle (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Mariners ride the long ball to victory
Despite the low number of hits by the Mariners in this game, Seattle took advantage and were efficient of what little they had. In the bottom of the fourth, Jesse Winker led off with a single that just barely squeezed its way through the infield. Mitch Haniger followed Winkers hit up with a deep blast to the left field concourse, breaking the scoreless tie and putting the Mariners ahead. In the bottom of the seventh, designated hitter Carlos Santana dropped a single into left field, and Eugenio Suarez would score him with a throttled homer that would smash off of the electronic scoreboard in left field.
While this offensive method is not very sustainable or trust worthy, it certainly is fun now and then. Seattle stills need to be able to execute “Small ball” and work base hits to keep the lineup moving. The Mariners rank near the bottom of the league in singles, and still ranks poorly in hits with the bases loaded.
Mariners right fielder Mitch Haniger is interviewed post game by Root sports’ Jen Mueller (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
“Los Bomberos” make their new debut
Seattle’s bullpen has been outstanding this year, similar to the sort of reputation they had in the 2021 season. The group was finally given a nickname the day of the game, one that was voted on by the players themselves. They selected “Los Bomberos,” which translates to “the firemen.” In case you do not get the reference, a fireman is a term given to a reliever who is called into the game to “put the fire out” when a team gets in a jam.
Mariners reliever Andres Munoz came into the game in the seventh inning, and an introduction for the newly nicknamed group was displayed for T-Mobile Park to see. There was a light show, fire graphics, and the lights on the roof even displayed a fire pattern as Munoz pitched. The Seattle bullpen would again come up clutch, as Munoz, Swanson, and Sewald secured the win.
Andres Munoz came in to the new bullpen nickname “Los Bomberos” (Photo by Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Quick notes
Seattle right fielder Mitch Haniger has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games
During that span, Haniger is batting .343 with four homers and nine runs batted in
Attendance for tonight’s game was 38,254, not including the number of dogs as it was bark in the park night
The Mariners are now 40-25 when wearing their navy-blue jerseys this season
In other jerseys: 3-4 in the northwest green, and 5-3 in Sunday cream
Designated hitter Carlos Santana has never hit a sac bunt in his professional career, which has spanned twelve years
What’s next?
The Mariners will end their two-game series against the Washington Nationals with a 1:10PM PST day game tomorrow. Young Seattle starter George Kirby gets the nod to start in this game, as he duels against Nationals pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez posts an 0-5 record on the season, with a 6.43 ERA.