By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – Scoreless through seven and a half innings, it became apparent that the June 28th contest between the Mariners and Orioles was going to come down to the wire. Some late heroics were in order, and Jesse Winker delivered. A double in the bottom of the 8th gave the Mariners the lead, and Paul Sewald would slam the door shut. The victory gives Seattle the opportunity to win the series, following the brutal defeat in game one. The Mariners also got some important injury updates as well., as outfielders Mitch Haniger and Kyle Lewis took brief batting practice. The two are not returning in the imminent future, but seeing them perform on field activities is a very positive sign.
Winker chats with Root Sports’ Angie Mentink postgame (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Ray day celebration continues
In Robbie Ray’s last three starts heading into this matchup, he had only allowed one run or less per game. All three of those outings saw him go for six plus innings, as well as give his team great opportunities to win the game. Tonight’s outing was no different, as Ray went for seven innings, allowed only one hit, and no runs. He was able to keep his walks to a minimum, allowing three and they all came in the first four innings. Ray faced the minimum number of batters in an inning four times, and retired the last eleven batters that he faced.
Ray, with the addition of a sinker to his arsenal, generated 17 swing and misses, which was double as much as the second most by a pitcher in the game. It seems that ever since Seattle pitching coach Pete Woodworth came to talk to Ray in the June 6th game in Houston against the Astros, the 2021 American League Cy Young award winner has found that next gear. Maintaining this form would be a huge help for Seattle, and would continue to keep it’s string of quality starts from it’s rotation going.
Robbie Ray had another quality start (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
The week of Winker
Mariners left fielder Jesse Winker has had an eventful seven days. Firstly, during the road Oakland series, his wife and daughter were in attendance as Winker seemingly found some offensive groove. Secondly, on Sunday the 26th Winker was heavily involved in the benches clearing brawl between the Angels and Mariners that is definitely not over just yet. And today, to add to the dramatics, Winker blasted a ball deep to the right-center field wall in the bottom of the 8th inning that would eventually give Seattle a lead they would never lose. That ball would carry, hitting near the top of the wall as Orioles right fielder Austin Hays could not make the catch.
While Winker will still have to serve some sort of suspension for his involvement in the brawl (he has yet to serve any of his seven-game suspension yet as he looks to appeal), he is winning over the hearts of Mariners fans everywhere. If Winker is able to find the hitting prowess that he had last season (he was also an all-star last season), Mariner fans will love him even more.
Carlos Santana made several solid plays in the infield for Seattle (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Welcome Carlos!
On Monday, the 27th, Seattle acquired infielder/designated hitter Carlos Santana from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league pitchers Wyatt Mills and William Fleming. Santana’s timing is perfect for the Mariners, as All-Star candidate first baseman Ty France is out for the near future with a left forearm strain. While France was on the field for a fielding drill the day of this game, Santana will definitely need to be played at first. In this Mariners win, Santana made several great plays at first, including one in the top of the eighth that might have saved a run.
If Santana (who is actually technically in his second stint with Seattle), is able to continue the form that he has seen this June, the Mariners will be in good hands. Santana is hitting a .357 average, .478 on base, .554 slugging for a 1.032 on base plus slugging in the month of June. He does not strike out much, and he draws a lot of walks. Getting on base is something very important for the Mariners offense, and if Santana can keep his June form consistent, Seattle will have won that trade by a mile.
Taylor Trammell suffered a right hamstring strain in the win (Photo Birdzeyeviewvisuals)
Quick notes
Heading into this matchup, Seattle’s defense was tied for the fewest committed errors this season, at 27. They were tied with the San Diego Padres.
Seattle pitchers have recorded 35 quality starts this season, the 3rd most in all of baseball behind the Padres (40) and Astros (38)
The Mariners have drawn the second most walks in baseball this season, at 280. They trail only the New York Mets.
The win for Seattle sets up a rubber match in game three of the series, a 1:10PM PST matinee game. The Mariners look to take this series, before starting a four-game slate against the Oakland Athletics. Seattle will have Chris Flexen on the mound for this game, as Baltimore will give the ball to Austin Voth, a mostly unproven pitcher.
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