Rockies tack on runs late, Mariners can’t catch up in series-opening loss
Garrett Hampson homered against the Mariners bullpen in the seventh. Charlie Blackmon and Daniel Murphy did the same in the eighth.
Within minutes a one-run Rockies lead late Friday night became entirely insurmountable, and Seattle sputtered to another lopsided loss, this time 8-4, in their series opener against Colorado at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners (5-10) have now lost six of eight in their opening homestand, and play two more this weekend against the National League West leaders.
“Tonight’s game got a little crazy at the end after a well-pitched ballgame early on,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said during his postgame video call with reporters. “I thought Yusei Kikuchi had really good stuff again tonight. Much of the same type of outing that we saw last time out.”
Kikuchi wasn’t quite as dominant for Seattle as he was last week when he tossed six shutout innings against the A’s, and was tagged with a loss in his first decision in three starts, but continued to show the confidence the Mariners have been looking for.
“Really happy with where Yusei is at right now,” Servais said. “Certainly he wants a little bit better results than maybe what he’s getting. The final line maybe doesn’t look that great, but he threw the ball really, really well.”
“I felt pretty good out there from the start,” Kikuchi said through interpreter Kevin Ando. “I had confidence in all of my pitches today.”
It was again the bullpen that allowed the most meaningful damage.
Seattle trailed just 4-3 entering the seventh before Erik Swanson left a fastball up over the plate that Hampson buried in the Mariners’ bullpen in left center.
Mariners Rule 5 Draft pick Yohan Ramirez hadn’t allowed a run in his first three outings, but served up three in the eighth. A solo homer by Blackmon to lead off the inning was quickly followed by a walk to Matt Kemp and a two-run blast by Murphy to make it 8-3.
“The Rockies have a very good lineup, there’s no question,” Servais said. “They’ve got power, and Charlie Blackmon is one of the toughest outs in the league and he’s swinging the bat really well right now.
“Yohan’s got a great arm. ... He’s a young guy, doesn’t have much experience and we’re going to give him an opportunity there. He does have tools to get major league hitters out, but he needs the experience, he needs the innings, and we’re going to continue to give them.”
The Mariners added another run after the parade of Rockies homers, but never seriously threatened late.
Kikuchi worked efficiently through two innings before allowing a pair of quick runs in the third. Chris Owings singled, Elias Diaz doubled and both runs eventually scored on ground balls. Diaz beat out a throw home from Kyle Seager to make it 2-1 at that point.
But, Kikuchi regrouped, escaping another small jam later in the inning and retiring eight consecutive hitters before the Rockies slipped away in the sixth. Blackmon singled and Kemp reached on a double, and Murphy leaked a two-out single past diving second baseman Shed Long Jr. to scratch across two more runs.
“I thought Yusei made a good pitch,” Mariners catcher Austin Nola said. “I thought he made a lot of good pitches and got some ground balls, and that’s always a win for us to get ground balls and that’s all we can control. We can’t control where it goes. He made the right pitch and got a ground ball.”
Kikuchi completed 5 2/3 innings, allowing the four runs on six hits while walking one and striking out three on 95 pitches. He left trailing 4-1. Swanson came on in relief and struck out Ryan McMahon to prevent further damage.
The Mariners cut the lead to a run in the bottom of the sixth, but never caught up. After Seager — who finished 2-for-4 — doubled with one out, Austin Nola sent a laser into Edgar’s Cantina in left for his first homer of the season.
Seattle’s only run after Colorado’s flurry of homers came in the eighth. Rookie center fielder Kyle Lewis notched another hit and Nola doubled him in. Nola finished 2-for-4 with the three RBI.
Ramirez loaded the bases on a base hit and two walks in the ninth, but ultimately struck out the side without the Rockies extending the lead further. Nola at one point took a 97 mph fastball to his left hand, but stayed in the game after he was evaluated by a trainer. Servais said the catcher would undergo X-rays postgame.
“It will be sore, I’m sure, but we’ll see,” Nola said.
The Mariners opened the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back singles from Tim Lopes and Dee Gordon, but didn’t produce any runs.
Blackmon, who now has 22 hits this season, passed Lewis for the major league lead in hits. Lewis’ late single was his only hit of the game. He still leads the AL with 21 this season.
This story was originally published August 7, 2020 at 9:55 PM.
