By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In game two of their three game series, the Seattle Mariners would walk off the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth. Seattle relief pitcher Paul Sewald gave up a solo homer in the top of the ninth to Bobby Dalbec, as Jesse Winker almost robbed it but the ball slipped out of his glove. Following Abraham Toro’s game tying RBI single, Dylan Moore hit a line drive into left center field, scoring Eugenio Suarez for the win.
Dylan Moore would hit the walk off single in the bottom of the 9th with two outs (Photo Mathew Bermudez)
Late fight gives Seattle a chance to win a critical series
Following Bobby Dalbec’s solo homer in the top of the ninth, putting Boston ahead 6-5, it seemed like this game may be over. The Mariners characteristically bad plate appearances with runners in scoring position had continued, but we’ll discuss that later. With how inconsistent Seattle’s offense had been, and with how they had faltered when they actually had chances to put runs across the plate, it was fair to be doubtful about their chances.
Julio Rodriguez grounded out to begin the inning. JP Crawford drew a walk, Eugenio Suarez singled to put the winning run-on base. Adam Frazier came up, and lined a hard-hit ball to Boston right fielder Franchy Cordero to put two outs on the board. The game would come down to designated hitter Abraham Toro, who had a knack for late game hits. Toro would hit a bloop single to center field, scoring Crawford to tie the game at six. Up to the plate would step Dylan Moore, who had pinch hit for right fielder Taylor Trammell in the bottom of the seventh. Moore would slam a line drive into center field, falling just out of the diving reach of Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Sam Haggerty scored (pinch runner for Eugenio Suarez), and Seattle had won.
George Kirby had a solid start outside of two innings marred by homers (Photo Mathew Bermudez)
Kirby has bumpy start, settles in
Young Mariners starter George Kirby had a bumpy start to the game, as Boston plated three in the first inning. An error committed by Seattle shortstop JP Crawford on Trevor Story’s routine ground ball put one on the board. Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers blasted a towering two-run homer right after the Story at bat, giving Boston an early lead. Xander Bogaerts and Christian Vasquez recorded base hits to put a third run on the board, but after that inning Kirby spun three scoreless frames. That fifth inning saw two more runs, as Devers walked and Boston designated hitter J.D. Martinez slammed a two-run homer.
The homers are the main issue for Kirby to work on here, unlike a solid majority of the Seattle rotation. Unlike the other starters for the Mariners, Kirby posts one of the best strikeout to walk ratios in the league, ranking third in all of baseball. Kirby is playing in his first year and did get called up straight from AA, but he has shown some solid signs early on.
Adam Frazier left six men on base on the night (Photo Liv Lyons)
Game by game left on base issues
Yet again, what seemingly has been the story of the season, the Mariners had issues leaving men on base. Seattle left a total of eleven runners on base, but that number is exaggerated due to the two runners left on base when the Mariners walked the game off adding to the total. Let’s take a look at a few instances where Seattle could have done better with runners in scoring position.
In the bottom of the first, the Mariners had the bases loaded with one out. While they got two runs in the half inning, if you want to keep up with teams in the playoff race, you want to continue to add runs while they’re on base. In the bottom of the second, Seattle had runners on the corners, and Adam Frazier grounded out. In the bottom of the 4th, Ty France was on third with two outs, and France actually got picked off at third. In the bottom of the sixth, the Mariners had the bases loaded and Julio Rodriguez popped out. Leaving these runners on base is a serious flaw to address if this team wants to make any news in relation to the postseason.
Eugenio Suarez went 2-3 on the night with a walk (Photo Liv Lyons)
Quick notes
Eugenio Suarez reached base safely tonight, pushing his streak to 13 consecutive games. He has hit safely in 12 of his last 13 contests.
When Ty France was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, it would be the 41st time that he’s been hit since the beginning of the 2021 season. That’s the most in all of baseball in that span.
Interestingly enough, the Mariners have played the fewest home games in all of baseball this season.
Following their walk off win, Seattle now has a chance to win their fifth series in a row. As mentioned in our last article and on the Mariners segment of CSS on Converge, winning series is the expectation if you want to be taken seriously. Seattle has their “prized free agent signing” on the mound in the rubber match, so on paper they should have a solid chance. Robbie Ray gets the nod for Seattle, bringing his 5-6 record and 4.97ERA to the matchup. Boston currently does not have their starter listed. First pitch is at 1:10PM PST.
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