Mariners’ six-game winning streak ends with loss to Giants
The Mariners’ run of six consecutive wins to open September came to an end Tuesday night in San Francisco.
Since this final month of the regular season opened a week ago, Seattle’s starting rotation has been one of the best in the majors, posting quality starts in each of those wins.
Looking to continue that encouraging trend, the Mariners ran young right-hander Ljay Newsome out for their series opener against the Giants. Newsome impressed in his first career start against the Padres late last month, and looked poised to build off that outing despite having not pitched in 11 days due to the postponement of Seattle’s previously scheduled series against the A’s last week.
The 23-year-old worked a solid first inning against the Giants, but never got the opportunity to settle into what the Mariners hoped could be yet another quality outing.
Newsome was hit on his pitching wrist by a line drive just 21 pitches into his outing, was removed from the game immediately to be evaluated, and the Mariners turned to their bullpen early, using four relievers in what eventually turned into a 6-5 loss to open their five-game road trip.
“I thought the guys competed very, very well tonight,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said on a postgame video call. “We’ve been playing really good baseball, tonight just come up a little bit short.”
Newsome, pitching for the first time since he replaced veteran starter Taijuan Walker, who was traded to the Blue Jays, in a series in San Diego on Aug. 27, appeared to have the Mariners (19-23) on the right track again early.
His offense spotted him an early one-run lead, and though the Giants tied the game with a run on two hits in the first off Newsome, he bookended the inning with his two strikeouts.
The Mariners tacked on a few more runs in the second, giving Newsome a quick 4-1 lead to work with. But, Newsome’s night was over moments into the the bottom half of that inning, when Brandon Crawford sent a 100 mph line drive back toward the mound. Newsome didn’t have time to react, or get a glove on the ball, and it ricocheted off his pitching wrist and into Kyle Seager’s glove deep in the infield.
Newsome began walking around the infield, seemingly shaking his hand, as his Servais and trainer Rob Nodine rushed out of the dugout. After a quick evaluation, Newsome was lifted from the game.
X-rays came back negative, and Newsome said postgame the wrist wasn’t hurting, and he had full range of motion, but it was clear when the liner collided with his wrist he was unlikely to continue.
“I don’t think it’s worth taking a chance at that point,” Servais said. “You could see the seams on his wrist, and he really didn’t have feeling in his hand at that time. We’ll do what’s right for the player there always, and such a young guy like that, no reason for him to gut it out. And we did have guys available in the bullpen tonight to get through the ballgame.”
The Mariners brought Brady Lail on in relief, who like many others in the bullpen, hadn’t been called on to pitch in more than a week. Brady was making his first appearance in 10 days, and worked cleanly out of the second, but the Giants fired back with two runs in both the third and fourth off Lail to eventually tie the game.
Alex Dickerson homered off Lail in the third, and Brandon Belt later singled in a run. Mauricio Dubon then erased the lead completely in the fourth on a two-run shot to left to make it 5-5.
“With the series we missed against Oakland, and last series (against Texas), a number of those guys did not get in because our starting pitching has been going so deep,” Servais said. “It’s a credit to our entire staff. There’s going to be nights like tonight where you need those guys to step up.
“I thought Brady Lail competed very well. He was one pitch away from maybe getting through the fourth inning. That was going to be his last inning before we went to some of the shorter (relief) guys. He just wasn’t able to quite get through it.”
The score remained locked there until late. Casey Sadler, in his first appearance for the Mariners, worked a clean fifth inning, and Joey Gerber a scoreless sixth.
But, the Giants broke through in the seventh, and pinch hitter Darin Ruf crushed the decisive solo homer off Anthony Misiewicz, who has been one of Seattle’s more reliable bullpen arms this season.
“Mis has been throwing the ball great,” Servais said. “Really been a key, key guy for us. As we started the season way back in March he really wasn’t even on the depth chart. For him to do what he’s done and really grab hold of a significant spot in our bullpen is awesome for him, and it’s been really good for us. He’ll continue to get the ball. He’s a really good competitor. He gives you everything he’s got. They just jumped on the one curveball tonight.”
Seth Frankoff tossed a scoreless eighth in his Mariners debut to keep the deficit at one run, but Seattle couldn’t scratch across the tying run in the ninth.
The Mariners scored early and often again, as they have during much of the recent stretch in which they have won 12 of 17, putting up runs in each of the first three innings to grab a quick lead.
Seager pushed a run across the game’s first run on a grounder in the first before J.P. Crawford cleared the bases with a three-run double to left in the second. Jose Marmolejos knocked in another run on a single in the third to give the Mariners their biggest lead at 5-1.
Kyle Lewis, Ty France, Evan White and Luis Torrens all finished with two hits, but Seattle couldn’t capitalize on later opportunities to tack on, ultimately stranding eight base runners.
“We continue to put pressure on teams and create opportunities, and we have been getting those hits with those big at-bats, guys cashing in on them,” Servais said. “It just didn’t happen tonight. It wasn’t for lack of effort or our guys not locked in. We’ll continue to grind it out and get back at it tomorrow. But, really happy with how we’re playing.”
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 9:54 PM.
