The Seattle Mariners decided to forgo pitching and just outscore their opponent the Anaheim Angels of Rancho Cucamonga for a 2 game series win where they outscored the Angels 18-12. The two game series saw plenty of fireworks from both teams but was punctuated by an offensive outburst by the Mariners after a poor showing in Houston just days before. No one particularly expected the M’s pitching to shine, but there was plenty of optimism after this sweep in the hit parade that was the Mariners at bats.
July 30th @ Angels W 8-5
Jose Marmolejos nailed a 3 run blast for his first career home run 412 feet over the wall in right field in the first inning while Shed Long hit his 1st homer of the season to spark a 5 run nineth inning. Marco Gonzales was superb into the seventh inning. Marco’s final line was 6.1 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs (0 earned runs), 1 walk and 6 strikeouts on 94 pitches.
“We learned a lot about ourselves here over the last week, and guys are really excited to get back home and get back in T-Mobile,” manager Scott Servais said in a Zoom video conference. “It is going to be process throughout the year, but I am super, super excited about where we’re headed. … We’re just seeing the confidence shoot through the roof right now.”
July 29th @ Angels W 10-7
An extremely efficient 10 runs off of 13 hits spelled doom for the Angels. The two Kyles (Seager and Lewis), Dylan Moore, and JP Crawford were showed a veracity on Tuesday that kept the M’s in the game. Seager started off the show with a 4th inning single that scored Evan White.
JP saw the leadoff position for the 1st time in his career. He was able to translate that into reaching base four times with two singles and two walks. But it was his 10-pitch at-bat with two-outs that produced a two-run single in the eighth inning off lefty Ryan Buchter that turned an unsettling, one-run lead into a workable, three-run cushion while providing tantalizing hope for the Mariners.
“He was just not going to give in,” manager Scott Servais said during a Zoom video call with reporters. “J.P. is as good of a competitor as we have on this ballclub. You can just see the confidence growing, day after day. He was pretty upset about the error back in the fourth. It was really bugging him the whole game, so it says a lot about our young players to put that away, come back and do something on the positive side.”
Photo credit: (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
