4/3/24

Baseball is now in full swing with teams finally getting into a routine and moving past the Opening Day spectacles. Just seven games in, and things are looking up for many teams while others and their fans are already frustrated with how their teams have performed. For the Seattle Mariners, they fall in the latter category. What was supposed to be a new lineup that would cut down on the amount of strikeouts looks like it will be the same lineup as last season with less power to balance out the strikeouts. Add in some defensive struggles and pitching being hit or miss and so far this looks like it could be the worst season for the M’s since 2020.

Red Sox 6, Mariners 4 (Game 1, 3/28)

Opening Day of course came with a ton of excitement and optimism about this year’s Mariner squad. New signing Mitch Garver hit into a double play to kill the 1st inning momentum and going into the bottom of the 4th, Seattle trailed Boston 3-0 thanks to a two-run homer by Rafael Devers and a bad break on a throw home from Josh Rojas in which the ball hit the runner allowing him to score. It felt poetic that in the bottom of the 4th the first runs and first home run of the season would be recorded by returning Mitch Haniger, who got to raise the trident for the first time.

Boston would add on a run in the 5th and 6th innings to go up 5-2 as the Sox chased Luis Castillo who struggled with his command in his first start of the year. After the 7th inning stretch, Mitch Haniger reached base again and Dylan Moore entered the game to pinch hit for Dominic Canzone. Moore started off his 2024 campaign with a bang, launching a two-run shot to right center to make it 5-4 and cut the deficit to one.

That was as close as the M’s got. Former Mariner prospect Tyler O’Neill got that run back for Boston as he homered on his fifth consecutive Opening Day to get the lead back to 6-4. A two-out double by Garver in the bottom of the 8th was the last gasp for the Mariners but they couldn’t drive him in. Stringing hits together was the major issue for the Mariners as they dropped the opener 6-4.

Notable Performances

Red Sox

• Rafael Devers- 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Tyler O’Neill- 1-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Brayan Bello (W, 1-0)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Mariners

• Mitch Haniger- 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Dylan Moore- 1-2, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Luis Casillo (L, 0-1)- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Mariners 1, Red Sox 0 (Game 2, 3/29)

Friday night provided much better results for the Mariners but had far less action involved. That was due to George Kirby dominating on the mound for the M’s in his 2024 debut. Despite walking just 19 batters last season, Kirby walked two of the first three he faced to start 2024. After escaping that 1st inning jam by striking out Trevor Story and getting Tristan Casas to fly out, the dominant George Kirby arrived. Through his last 5 2/3 innings, Kirby only allowed two more baserunners and both of them were harmless singles. He would also strikeout eight Red Sox and had to watch on as Gabe Speier finished off the top of the 7th to preserve Kirby’s shutout, which Speier did flawlessly.

We all saw the 1-0 losses the Mariners had last season when Kirby was on the mound and this one felt eerily similar until the bottom of the 6th. A frustrating handful of at bats for J.P. Crawford were quickly undone with one swing of the bat. With Nick Pivetta rolling for Boston, he would leave a cutter that just caught to much of the inner half of the plate and Crawford didn’t miss it. The only question would be would it stay fair and the answer was yes. J.P.’s first home run of the season gave the Mariners the 1-0 lead.

That was enough on this night for Seattle as Ryne Stanek labored in the 8th which forced Andrés Muñoz to come in and get a four-out save. After getting Trevor Story to groundout to end the 8th, nobody else put the ball in play for Boston. Muñoz struck out the side in the 9th on 14 pitches to put a bow on the first Mariner win of the new season.

Notable Performances

Red Sox

• Nick Pivetta (L, 0-1)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 10 SO
• Masataka Yoshida- 1-3, BB

Mariners

• George Kirby (W, 1-0)- 6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO
• J.P. Crawford- 1-3, HR, RBI, R, BB

Mariners 4, Red Sox 3 (10) (Game 3, 3/30)

Game three on Saturday night provided the most drama out of any game on the homestand. It got off to a great start in the bottom of the 1st when J.P. Crawford reached on a bunt single and moved to second as the throw went down the right field line. He remained on second with two outs which would be when Mitch Haniger drove him in with a base hit to center. The early 1-0 lead lasted until the top of the 5th. After robbing Cal Raleigh of a base hit the inning before, Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to begin the 5th and used his speed to move to third on a sacrifice fly to left. A grounder hit by Pablo Reyes was enough to drive him in and tie the game up at 1-1.

Logan Gilbert had to dance out of danger a couple of times while the Mariner bats couldn’t get much going against Kutter Crawford. However, both bullpens were dominant and kept the game at 1-1 going into extra innings. With the automatic runner starting at second to begin the 10th, Trent Thornton got off to an amazing start when Enmanuel Valdez bunted the ball straight into the air and it was caught by Luis Urías at third for the first out. Pablo Reyes would give the M’s some trouble as he drove in his second run of the game with a base hit to center. Things got worse for the Mariners after Reyes was caught stealing when Reece McGuire doubled to put a runner in scoring position with two outs. Tayler Sauced came in to pitch and intentionally walked Tyler O’Neill to face Masataka Yoshida. The lefty-lefty matchup was won by Yoshida as he singled to center to score McGuire and make it 3-1 Boston going into the bottom of the 10th.

Ty France started the inning at second and Luke Raley led off against Joely Rodriguez. A broken bat blooper was placed perfectly into left field for a base hit. France got a great read on it and scored to immediately make it 3-2. After a hard line out by Urías, Josh Rojas laced a base hit to right field and Wilyer Abreu let it get past him which allowed Raley to get to third and Rojas to move up to second as the winning run. The lineup turned over as J.P. Crawford came to the plate and with the infield in, hit a soft grounder to second. Enmanuel Valdez immediately came home with it, but great speed and an even better slide by Raley beat the tag and tied the game up at 3-3 for Julio Rodriguez. After really struggling in clutch situations in his first two seasons, Julio came through with his first career walk-off with a base hit to center to score Rojas. The party was on in Seattle as the M’s dug deep to earn the 4-3 win in 10 innings.

Notable Performances

Red Sox

• Kutter Crawford (ND)- 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO
• Ceddanne Rafaela- 2-4, 2B, 2 R, Fantastic Defense
• Pablo Reyes- 1-4, 2 RBI

Mariners

• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO
• Josh Rojas- 2-4, RBI
• Luke Raley- 1-4, RBI, R

Red Sox 5, Mariners 1 (Game 4, 3/31)

Sunday’s finale is when things began to go very bad for the Mariners. After Garrett Whitlock struck out the side against the Mariners in the bottom of the 1st, Tyler O’Neill recorded his second home run of the opening series as he took a Bryce Miller fastball out to left to give Boston an early 1-0 lead. Seattle had a nice response in the home half of the inning when Mitch Haniger doubled and Ty France singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Things looked bleak when Dominic Canzone and Luke Raley both struck out for two quick outs. However, Josh Rojas continued his nice start to the season with a base hit to right to score Haniger and tie the game at 1-1.

After the Rojas hit, the Mariners only recorded one more hit in the entire game. In the top of the 4th, Boston had runners on the corners with two outs and Enmanuel Valdez coming to the plate. Miller fell behind 3-1 and tried to blow a fastball by Valdez but was unsuccessful. Valdez launched his first home run of the season to right field to make it 4-1 Red Sox. It felt like the Mariners were lifeless after that. Trailing 5-1, the M’s did get runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the 7th, but Seby Zavala’s flyout to center killed that rally. There would not be another one as Seattle had to settle for a four-game split with Boston as they dropped the finale 5-1.

Notable Performances

Red Sox

• Enmanuel Valdez- 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Tyler O’Neill- 2-3, HR, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Garrett Whitlock (W, 1-0)- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO

Mariners

• Josh Rojas- 1-2, RBI
• Mitch Haniger- 1-4, 2B, R
• Bryce Miller (L, 0-1)- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Mariners 5, Guardians 4 (Game 1, 4/1)

In a game that started very peacefully for Mariner fans, it ended up being a little tight down the stretch as the Mariners opened up a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians. A highlight reel catch by Julio Rodriguez robbed Will Brennan of extra bases and seemed to springboard a nice offensive charge in the bottom of the 2nd. Back-to-back one out walks for Mitch Garver and Cal Raleigh set the table for the Mariners hottest hitter in Ty France. France continued to hit the ball well with a line drive to center field to score Garver and move Raleigh to third. Then Dominic Canzone delivered a big blow against Triston McKenzie. A fastball was at the top of the zone and just on the outside corner but Canzone sent a drive to center field. It would end up being the first Mariner home run hit into the Pen this season and the three-run blast opened up a 4-0 lead.

A controversial hit by pitch started the top of the 3rd for Cleveland and Bo Naylor and Brayan Rocchio followed with singles to load the bases against Emerson Hancock with nobody out. Seattle would trade a run for an out when Steven Kwan hit a grounder to Jorge Polanco at second but the M’s couldn’t turn two and runners were still on the corners with just one out and a 4-1 game. Andrés Giménez would drive in another run with a sacrifice fly and José Ramírez singled to put runners on the corners again with two outs and a 4-2 game. Hancock escaped the jam with a Josh Naylor groundout but the Seattle lead was cut in half with the score 4-2.

Another great catch by Julio in center helped Hancock out in the 4th and again got the offense going too. Singles by Cal Raleigh and Ty France were followed by an error at first by Josh Naylor which loaded the bases with one out. Cleveland went to their bullpen and brought in Nick Sandlin but he was unable to retire Luis Urías who drew a bases loaded walk to make it 5-2. J.P. Crawford hit a fly ball to center field and the Mariners tested the arm of Tyler Freeman by trying to score Ty France. Freeman would deliver a strong throw and Cleveland cut down France at the plate to escape the jam with the M’s only adding one single run.

Julio couldn’t make another great catch as a ball went off of his glove and over the wall for a Tyler Freeman solo home run in the top of the 6th to make it 5-3. Another baserunning mistake cost the Mariners in the bottom of the 7th after Julio Rodriguez and Jorge Polanco singled to begin the inning. Mitch Haniger then singled to left and Julio ignored the stop sign at third and tried to score. The Guardian relay was quick enough to get Julio at the plate for another out at home. Mitch Garver would then strikeout and Cal Raleigh lined out to end the threat and keep it at just a 5-3 Mariner lead.

Things got interesting late after Josh Naylor launched his first home run of the season in the top of the 8th to make it 5-4 despite the Mariners using Andrés Muñoz in the 8th instead of the 9th. That was the only runner allowed by Muñoz and the score was still 5-4 going into the 9th. Ryne Stanek would be tasked with closing out the win and luckily he was much sharper than he was in his season debut. Stanek got Ramón Laureano to hit a weak pop up to Ty France at first and then struck out Bo Naylor. A fly out to Julio from Brayan Rocchio ended the potential comeback bid as the Mariners hung on for the 5-4 win, giving Emerson Hancock his first career win.

Notable Performances

Guardians

• Josh Naylor- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Tyler Freeman- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Triston McKenzie (L, 0-1)- 3.1 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Mariners

• Dominic Canzone- 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Ty France- 2-3, RBI, R, BB
• Emerson Hancock (W, 1-0)- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO

Guardians 5, Mariners 2 (Game 2, 4/2)

A battle of the aces in game two of the three-game series turned out to not quite be as intriguing as it should have been. Both Luis Castillo and Shane Bieber had to work with runners on base in two of the first three innings, but neither side could deal any damage in the early going. In the top of the 4th, José Ramírez singled to begin the inning, but was still at first after two pop outs in foul territory to Josh Rojas at third. Things then fell apart. Will Brennan singled to right and Mitch Haniger whiffed on it allowing the ball to get by him. Ramírez scored all the way from first on the error to give Cleveland the 1-0 lead. Bo Naylor made the M’s pay even more for the error with his first home run of the season with a two-run shot to right field to make it 3-0.

It continued to snowball in the top of the 5th when Brayan Rocchio led off the inning with his fourth double of the season. Steven Kwan continued to be a thorn in the side of Mariner pitching as he laid down a bunt to Josh Rojas at third. Rojas would throw it away allowing Kwan to reach and Rocchio to score as the deficit grew to 4-0. While Castillo somehow got out of the inning only allowing that run, Cleveland tacked on another in the top of the 7th on a Tyler Freeman sacrifice fly, making it 5-0.

With Shane Bieber finally out of the game in the bottom of the 7th, the Mariners had to make their move. A leadoff single for Cal Raleigh was followed by a Ty France walk to put a couple of runners on. After Dominic Canzone flew out, Josh Rojas made up for his error with his first double of the season to score Raleigh making it 5-1. Cleveland traded a run for an out as J.P. Crawford was retired on a grounder to short, making it 5-2 with a runner on third and two outs. Julio Rodríguez couldn’t drive in Rojas as he flew out to end the threat. The Mariners didn’t get much offense after that as All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase slammed the door in the 9th as the M’s drop game two to the Guardians, 5-2.

Notable Performances

Guardians

• Shane Bieber (W, 2-0)- 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO
• Bo Naylor- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• José Ramírez- 2-5, 2 R

Mariners

• Josh Rojas- 1-4, 2B, RBI
• Cal Raleigh- 2-4, R
• Luis Castillo (L, 0-2)- 5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO

Guardians 8, Mariners 0 (Game 3, 4/3)

This game was gross. I am not going to spend too much time on it because it was just so bad. George Kirby really struggled with location and the defense and offense were somehow worse. Miscues on the field had the M’s down 3-0 before they ever got to the plate and 5-0 after two innings. Seattle never got anything going offensively and Kirby never seemed to settle in. Josh Rojas would actually pitch the top of the 9th and capped off the only positive for the M’s and that was 5 1/3 scoreless innings pitched by the bullpen in which only two runners reached. The game finally ended but it would be the Guardians celebrating a series win with an 8-0 blowout to cap off the Mariner homestand.

Notable Performances

Guardians

• José Ramírez- 2-4, 2 2Bs, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Steven Kwan- 3-5, 3 R
• Logan Allen (W, 2-0)- 6.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO

Mariners

• Luke Raley- 1-1, 2B
• Luis Urías- 1-3, 2B, BB
• George Kirby (L, 1-1)- 3.2 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Matt’s Takeaways

Well the more things change, the more they stay the same I guess. I don’t even know where to begin. The offense was terrible and the strikeout issue is still very much alive and well. Normally one of the better defensive teams in baseball looked more like something you’d see on a little league field. I have no idea what is going on with Luis Castillo.

Now don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not allowed to overreact early in the season. It is natural. A .196 team batting average is the fourth worst in baseball even below the Oakland Athletics. 17 total runs is also the fourth lowest in baseball and the Mariners are third in strikeouts with 74 which is an average of more than 10 per game. Normally you are ok with striking out as long as the team is hitting home runs but with only four home runs, the M’s are tied for 25th in baseball in that category.

As a whole, pitching has been OK. A 3.94 team ERA is tied for 14th in the game. However, the Mariners pitching has to be a lot better than OK if this team is going to have any sort of success. Luis Castillo is off to an abysmal start with a 6.75 ERA through 10 2/3 innings. I am not worried about the pitching. They will all be just fine and work their way into a groove. That aspect will be just fine.

Last year through seven games, the M’s were 2-5. It is a very long season. Fans are allowed to be frustrated and concerned though. When a fanbase is promised something and then get the complete opposite (fewer strikeouts) they are going to be very upset. Management has put themselves in this spot where they have to show results this season or the seats for everyone from Jerry Dipoto to Scott Servais will get very hot. I am always an optimist when it comes to the Mariners. Anyone that knows me personally will attest to that. Even my patience is beginning to wear thin. Something has to change. Losing the same way over and over and over again is unacceptable. The clock is ticking and although there is a lot of season left, the pressure is already on Dipoto and Servais to fix this.

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