Mariners ace Marco Gonzales tosses complete game, highlights character of team at end of emotional road trip
While all of the wheeling and dealing around baseball hit a crescendo Monday afternoon, and the trade deadline passed, Marco Gonzales, once a key trade acquisition at the midsummer deadline himself in 2017, was doing some dealing of his own in Anaheim.
The Mariners ace, in his best start of this abbreviated season, worked quickly and efficiently through the Angels’ lineup, collected
the second complete game of his career, and capped what has been an emotional week-long road trip with a 2-1 win at Angel Stadium.
Tuesday the Mariners (15-22) topped the Padres for a fourth consecutive win. Wednesday they made a unanimous team decision to sit out their scheduled game in San Diego in protest, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Kenosha, Wis. Thursday Taijuan Walker, a reliable veteran starter and clubhouse leader, was traded to the Blue Jays, and the Mariners split their doubleheader with the Padres. Friday and Saturday they dropped back-to-back games to the Angels, and Saturday’s 16-3 drubbing was their most lopsided loss of the season. An extra-innings win on Sunday got them back on track, but was followed by more goodbyes to catcher Austin Nola, and relievers Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla, who were traded to the Padres. Monday’s win was preceded by one more departure of reliever Taylor Williams, also to San Diego.
So, to close out the road trip with a win, especially a win as uplifting as this one, was particularly meaningful for Gonzales and the Mariners.
“For a lot of reasons this was a tough road trip,” Gonzales said on a postgame video call with reporters, before pausing briefly to collect himself. “And I wasn’t expecting to be as emotional as I was today. But, it’s just one of those things where it seems to all kind of pile on at once. For us to go out and kind of close up the road trip the way we did, it really meant a lot.
“I just can’t speak enough about character of this group. We’ve hung together through a lot of tough times, and it’s kind of been a roller coaster trip.”
But, as he so often does, Gonzales provided a steadying presence as the Mariners worked through their final game before heading back home to Seattle. He allowed one run on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts as Seattle (15-22) earned a split with the Angels. The Mariners return having finished the trip 4-3.
“Marco brings a ton of leadership on the field and in the clubhouse, but the biggest thing he does is lead by example,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “When he goes out and just takes control of a game like that, it says more than anything you can say. We talk about it frequently around here — your actions speak louder than your words. And he is some kind of competitor.”
Andrelton Simmons collected a base hit off Gonzales to lead off the first inning Monday, on a pop up to short that J.P. Crawford lost in the sun, and Justin Upton gave the Angels their only lead on a homer to center to open the second. But, Gonzales retired the next 21 batters he faced.
“When I walked off the field in the eighth, I looked at Skip and I said, ‘This is this is my game,’ ” Gonzales said. “I knew it from the first inning, I knew it from the first pitch. It’s just one of those things where I kind of just wanted to get home. I want to be home. I want to be back in Seattle. A lot of emotions.”
Servais didn’t argue with his 28-year-old veteran left-hander.
“I said, ‘You’re right. It is your game. Go get ‘em,’ “ Servais said. “I was really happy he was able to get through it.”
Gonzales allowed a leadoff single to pinch hitter Shohei Ohtani, and then another to Simmons to bring always-looming Mike Trout to the plate with no outs.
Trout, after striking out in his first three at-bats against Gonzales, jumped on the first pitch he saw, hitting a sharp liner toward the third base side. But, Kyle Seager snared it, and doubled up Ohtani trying to dive back to second for a quick two outs.
“I don’t think I’ve ever snapped my neck around so fast to see if Seager was standing there to catch it,” Gonzales said. “It’s just one of those things where it worked out perfectly.”
Gonzales then walked Anthony Rendon, but got Albert Pujols to pop up to short to end it. He threw 102 pitches in the second complete game of his career, and first since he tossed nine frames against the Royals in June 2018 at T-Mobile Park.
He also completed the feat working in a game for the first time with catcher Joe Odom. Gonzales had primarily worked with Austin Nola this season before Nola was traded Sunday night to the Padres. Working together during the COVID-19 shutdown period, and during most of Gonzales’ starts this season, the two built a friendship. Gonzales even recently noted that his catcher was his favorite player right now. He spoke to Nola before his departure.
“I said it didn’t matter what we did on the field or how good of a player you are, I’m truly losing one of my brothers, and somebody who has always had my back, and someone who is just the ultimate teammate,” Gonzales said. “I couldn’t be happier for the way that he’s broken into the big leagues and made a name for himself. He has immense value to any team that he’s on and I can’t speak highly enough about him.”
But, he also noted how Odom, who wasn’t in summer camp with the Mariners and had appeared in only nine games in the majors entering the day, has worked tirelessly to get to know Seattle’s pitchers and their plans. The two went over the scouting report together pregame, made necessary in-game adjustments to the Angels’ unusually aggressive approach at the plate, and Gonzales ended up with his fourth win. He is now 3-0 against Anaheim this season, and 8-1 against the Angels in his 14 career starts against them.
“The biggest thing is he’s an absolute pro,” Odom said. “He had his game plan. I’m just kind of in the passenger’s seat trying to give him a good target and letting him drive.”
Gonzales, who again is leading Mariners starters in wins (4-2 in seven starts) and ERA (3.09), and is one of the few veterans on this young team, said he continues to stick to his daily process as the Mariners work through the bigger picture of this multi-year rebuild.
“Sometimes trusting the process can become monotonous, it can become unfulfilling and it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Gonzales said. “So I’ve kind of transformed it into ‘Win the day,’ and come prepared, come prepared to win, and don’t settle for anything less.
“I have high expectations for the guys that I play with, I have high expectations for my coaching staff and I have high expectations for this organization, and I think that’s the only way that we’re going to get to where we want to go.”
And the results that he’s produced by staying true to his and the club’s philosophy of dominating the strike zone? The young arms in Seattle’s rotation like Justus Sheffield, Justus Dunn, Nick Margevicius and newcomer Ljay Newsome are seeing them.
“There’s Sheffield, Dunn — all of those guys are up at the rail,” Servais said. “They’re watching, and they’re seeing the results, and they’re learning. Marco, that’s what he’s about. He does not back off. He does not throw 95 mph. He don’t care. He’s going to compete. He’s going to fight you. He’s going to figure out a way.”
Seattle’s offense gave Gonzales what he needed in the win. Rookie outfielder Jake Fraley tripled for the first time in his career to open the third, and Odom promptly knocked him in with a base hit to tie the score at 1-1.
Rookie Jose Marmolejos, who is 8-for-19 since being recalled from the Mariners’ alternate site last week, delivered the decisive run in the sixth when he crushed a solo shot to center. It was his third homer in six games since rejoining the club.
The Mariners now return to Seattle for a week, though the start of their upcoming homestand will be delayed at least two days following a positive COVID-19 test in Oakland’s organization Sunday. Both Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games at T-Mobile Park have been postponed with the A’s currently self-isolating in Houston and waiting on results from further testing and contact tracing.
Servais said the Mariners will take the day off Tuesday, do a late afternoon workout on Wednesday, and see what Thursday brings.
“This this road trip has been a very emotional trip,” Servais said. “From what went through over in San Diego, the postponement of the game there and what our guys have gone through, to the trades we’ve had and losing some good friends, some guys you’re really close to, really proud of the group.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 3:48 PM.
