Mariners takeaways: Flexen sharp in debut, France and Haniger homer in shutout win over Giants
The Mariners closed out their season-opening three-game series against the Giants with a 4-0 shutout win Saturday night at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle (2-1) has an off day Sunday before resuming its six-game opening homestand with a three-game series against the White Sox on Monday.
Here are five takeaways from the series-ending win over San Francisco:
1. Seattle gets its first look at newcomer Chris Flexen
How did right-hander Chris Flexen look in his Mariners debut?
He completed five scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out six on 94 pitches.
“I thought he was outstanding,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “The first couple innings he was right on top of his game and really set the tone, getting in the strike zone early and getting all of his pitches going. … Really nice opening outing for him.”
Flexen became the first Mariners starter to earn a win this season. Neither Marco Gonzales nor Yusei Kikuchi recorded a decision in Seattle’s first two games.
“Ultimately my mindset was to try to win the series and we came out on top,” Flexen said.
The 26-year-old signed a two-year deal with Seattle in December after spending the 2020 season pitching for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization.
This was his first big league game since Aug. 24, 2019, when he came on in relief for the Mets. It was his first big league win since Aug. 23, 2017 in a start against the Diamondbacks.
“I was definitely nervous being back out, but in a good way,” Flexen said. “I was very excited. Something I’ve done in the past is bottle it too much and I really just tried to embrace everything tonight and trust myself and go out and compete and have fun.”
2. The first Mariners home run of the season goes to …
Ty France.
Which really shouldn’t come as a surprise. France has been one of the Mariners’ most consistent hitters since he arrived in the seven-player trade with the Padres last summer.
In the 23 games he played with Seattle last fall, France hit .302/.362/.453 with five doubles, a triple, two homers, 13 RBI and six walks to 22 strikeouts.
He led the Mariners this spring with five home runs, which tied for ninth across all major league camps. His team-leading .714 slugging percentage ranked seventh.
He’s only continued to produce through Seattle’s first three games, hitting .300/.462/.700 with three runs scored, a double, the homer, two RBI, three walks and four strikeouts in 10 at-bats.
France jumped on a changeup Giants starter Logan Webb left over the plate in the third to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead they never lost. The shot to left center tracked at 403 feet.
3. The second Mariners home run of the season goes to …
Mitch Haniger.
And it was a rocket into the Mariners’ bullpen that pushed the lead to 4-0 in the seventh.
Haniger turned on a high fastball from reliever Reyes Moronta and sent it 387 feet into left center.
“That one felt good,” he said.
It was Haniger’s first home run since June 4, 2019 against the Astros. That was two days before the season-ending injury that ultimately led to three surgeries and Haniger missing more than 150 games — including the entirety of the 2020 season.
“It’s been really fun to feel that adrenaline rush again, and to get back out there and compete,” he said.
Since his return, Haniger is hitting .308/.308/.615 with three runs scored, a double, the homer, a RBI and three strikeouts in 13 at-bats as the Mariners’ leadoff spot. Saturday’s win was his first appearance at designated hitter.
“Heck of a player,” Servais said. “So excited to have him back. We’ve got to keep him healthy, so you will see him get some days off here periodically as we move through the early part of the season.”
4. Taylor Trammell tallies his first major league hit
Mariners rookie outfielder Taylor Trammell — who is considered a top-100 prospect in all of baseball by MLB Pipeline — continues to find ways to contribute.
In his debut as Seattle’s Opening Day center fielder Thursday night, Trammell drew two meaningful walks, scored a run and tallied his first career RBI in an extra-innings, walk-off win over the Giants. He also threw out Evan Longoria trying to stretch a single into a double.
Friday night, he drew another walk and made another impressive play in center when he dove for a line drive to rob Darin Ruf of a hit.
And, in the series finale Saturday, Trammell knocked a double into the gap in right center for his first big league hit, driving in Evan White in the process to give the Mariners a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
“Nice to see Trammell get that first hit out of the way, and hopefully he can relax and get into his game a little bit more,” Servais said. “ … Our guys are gaining confidence by the day. It’s a lot of fun to be around.”
5. Starter-turned-reliever Kendall Graveman strikes out five in first appearance
Here’s a look at the results of the seven batters Mariners reliever Kendall Graveman faced across two scoreless innings in his season debut Saturday:
Donovan Solano — struck out swinging.
Brandon Belt — struck out looking.
Evan Longoria — struck out swinging.
Alex Dickerson — hit by pitch.
Austin Slater — struck out looking.
Brandon Crawford — struck out swinging.
Cut Casali — popped up to first base.
That’s five strikeouts, no runs, no hits, no walks on 35 pitches. That’s exactly the type of outing the Mariners are looking for from the veteran right-hander, who converted from a starter to reliever last season due to a benign bone tumor in his cervical spine.
Graveman was electric in nine relief appearances with the Mariners late last summer, and seems to have carried that intensity over to the spring.
“I felt good,” he said. “I thought the stuff was good. It’s big to get through two innings there and help us win a series. I think that was my goal to everyone (Friday) night was, ‘Hey we’ve still got a chance to win a series,’ and as many series as we can win this year, that’s the ultimate goal. So to win this one to start was really big for us.”
This story was originally published April 3, 2021 at 10:15 PM.
