Winker comes up clutch as Mariners sweep Royals in 12 inning nail biter
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – The Seattle Mariners outlasted the Kansas City Royals, winning their April 24th matchup 5-4 in 12 long innings. Seattle started off hot again in this one, as first baseman Ty France launched a two-run homer on the second pitch he saw. The Royals would get a solo homer in the top of the ninth to tie things up, with both teams trading runs in the tenth. Seattle gets their first sweep of the season, and they finish the homestand with a seven-win, two loss record.
Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan threw the ceremonial first pitch
Vive La France!
Ty France would continue his excellent homestand, finishing the Mariners first home stay with an excellent stat line of 18 hits, 9 runs, 3 homers, 15 RBI’s, and 3 walks in 38 at bats. France is an excellent hitter, and proved that he’s more than a bat last year, impressing with his glove. While France was snubbed in the first base gold glove voting, it obviously isn’t showing, as he’s picking up right where he left off from last year. Seattle’s first baseman has been on fire lately, and the 27-year-old seems to have everything coming together.
Ray day on a Sunday
Mariners starter, and presumptive ace, Robbie Ray got the ball on the mound for Seattle and threw six solid innings. While Ray did have the two earned runs to his name, he was able to get out of counts that he was out of and threw five scoreless frames outside of the third inning. Acquiring Ray was arguably the biggest move that Seattle made this offseason, and so far, he’s paying off. It will be interesting to see how Ray looks when we approach the midseason mark, as he should be fully settled in by then.
Robbie Ray had another solid start for Seattle in the win
Winker wins it
Outfielder Jesse Winker, another big splash by Seattle in the offseason, has relatively struggled at the plate to start the season. Heading into this game, Winker had a batting average of .154, nine strikeouts and only eight hits in 16 at bats. Granted there was some bad luck involved, things could be going better for Winker, generally speaking. If we look at the advanced numbers, the Mariners left fielder sits at the 88th percentile in xwOBA (Expected weighted On-Base Average), the 71th percentile in expected batting average, and 72nd percentile in expected slugging percentage. None of that really mattered when we reached the 10th and 12th innings. In the 10th, Winker hit a deep sacrifice fly that scored Adam Frazier, tying the game up. In the 12th, with two runners on and no outs, Frazier hit an RBI single to win it.
Seattle takes a travel day before their next series, as they begin their road trip. When they get back to play, the Mariners take on the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game road slate. The first game is on Tuesday, April 26th with a 3:40PM PST first pitch. Logan Gilbert will be on the mound for Seattle, while Josh Fleming gets the ball for Tampa Bay. The Rays currently sit at a 9-7 record, and are coming off of a series win over the Boston Red Sox.
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