Mariners notes: Seattle wins eighth consecutive game; Rodriguez named All-Star
The Mariners are now the winners of eight consecutive games.
They have also won 16 of their past 19 contests.
Less than a month removed from falling 10 games below .500 to wrap up a troubling homestand midway through June, the Mariners are surging.
“We’re playing really good baseball now,” Seattle first baseman Ty France said postgame Sunday, after the Mariners completed a four-game series sweep of the visiting Blue Jays in front of a packed crowd.
“It’s a lot of fun. This is a good group of guys, good clubhouse, and we’re definitely making the best of it right now. It’s really fun showing up to the field and playing with these guys every day.”
With one week to play before the All-Star break begins, Seattle (45-42) is suddenly tied for the third American League Wild Card spot with Toronto, and poised to enter the second half of the season in position to make a run at ending a two-decade postseason drought.
“We have a lot of baseball left to go, we have a lot of big series ahead, big games,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said postgame Sunday. “ … If our guys continue to have fun, prepare the way they do, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be fun to watch.”
That has proved the case in recent weeks. Back on June 19, the Mariners ended a long weekend series with the visiting Angels by being shut out for the second consecutive game, and fourth time in an 11-game homestand.
They left Seattle with a 29-39 record, having endured three series losses in a row at home.
But, they haven’t lost a series since.
The Mariners regrouped to sweep the A’s in three games in Oakland. They took two of three when they visited the Angels on that trip to California.
They returned home to Seattle late last month to host the Orioles, and won two of three in that series before taking three of four from the A’s to end a much more promising homestand and begin this recent string of wins.
In the past week, the club also swept the Padres in a short two-game series in San Diego before returning home for the four-game sweep of the Blue Jays.
Seattle hasn’t lost a game since July 1.
“We certainly went through our struggles early, but I believe in this team,” Servais said. “I’ve always believed in it. We work and we prepare as well as anybody in the league, and if you keep doing those things and be consistent with your process, eventually it will pay off. And that’s what we’re seeing right now.”
The results have indeed shifted since that stretch in June when the Mariners scuffled in those series losses to Boston, Minnesota and the Angels at home.
“We got going,” France said. “The pitchers are dominating. We’re putting good at-bats together. Putting up runs now. And the bullpen has been phenomenal.
“Just good team baseball.”
That the Mariners have also picked up six consecutive wins in the past week against two clubs currently in Wild Card position in San Diego and Toronto is also convincing.
Seattle’s offense unloaded for 14 runs in a pair of decisive wins over the Padres last week, and put up another eight in the series-opening win against the Blue Jays on Thursday.
The past three games, the Mariners found ways to win in close contests. They won Friday night’s 11-inning contest on Eugenio Suarez’s three-run walk-off home run. Both Saturday night’s and Sunday afternoon’s games were decided by late-inning, go-ahead blasts by recently acquired veteran Carlos Santana, who has now homered three times in the past two games.
“Everything is positive right now,” Santana said postgame Sunday. “So, we have to keep it up.”
Seattle has six more chances to add to its recent run of wins before the midsummer break, and travels to meet Washington and Texas this week.
“We’re relying on everybody and we’re getting it done,” Mariners rookie Julio Rodriguez said postgame Sunday. “That’s the best way to describe it.”
RODRIGUEZ SELECTED TO ALL-STAR GAME
Rodriguez is headed to the 2022 MLB All-Star Game.
The 21-year-old center fielder, who made his big league debut on Opening Day, and in the past four months has become a staple in Seattle’s everyday lineup, was selected to the AL team Sunday afternoon when MLB announced full rosters for the game.
“I got pretty excited when I found out I was going to be a part of the All-Star team,” Rodriguez said pregame Sunday. “It’s like a dream. It’s like a dream that I had as a kid, and being able to achieve that right now, in my first year, I’m definitely really excited about the work that I’ve done.”
Rodriguez made his debut on April 8 as Seattle’s starting center fielder, and has played in 86 games this season, starting in the outfield on a daily basis while also providing a consistent spark for the Mariners on offense.
Entering the week, he is hitting .274/.334/.477 with 50 runs scored, 17 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs and 44 RBI, while his 21 stolen bases are tied for the AL lead.
Rodriguez also leads the Mariners in stolen bases and runs scored, and is tied for the team lead in total hits (89), doubles, triples and home runs.
Rodriguez was the only Mariners player selected, though rosters could still shift due ahead of the game on July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
France has been one of the most consistent hitters in the AL this season, and enters the week hitting .306/.379/.460 with 32 runs scored, 15 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI through 74 appearances this season.
“Just looking at what Ty’s meant to our team — we would not even be close to being in this position if it wasn’t for Ty France carrying us. Literally carrying us,” Servais said postgame Sunday.
“The most consistent bat not just on our team, but one of the most consistent bats in the American League. So, again, hopefully he catches a break and he can still get in, because he’s very, very deserving.”
Mariners starter Logan Gilbert has also turned in an impressive first half, posting a 10-3 record and 2.80 ERA in 18 starts and striking out 100 while walking 29 across 106 innings.
SHORT HOPS
▪ The Mariners optioned rookie right-hander George Kirby, who has pitched in Seattle’s rotation since making his big league debut on May 8, to Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
The move with one week left in the first half allowed the Mariners some roster space for bullpen additions, and gives the club a chance to give the 24-year-old pitcher some rest heading into the midsummer break.
“He’s still a developing young pitcher,” Servais said pregame Sunday. “Normally a minor leaguer has had a 120-inning season before they get to the big leagues. He’s never had that. He’s already surpassed career highs in innings pitched. So we knew coming into this — and we talked about it when he first got called up — how are we going to manage this?
“So, the combination of needing the extra arms and then being this close the the All-Star break … we needed to do this. We will lean on George heavily in August and September.”
Kirby has already pitched 89 innings this season across 17 games between Double-A and the big leagues, passing his previous career-high for a season, when he pitched 67 2/3 frames across 15 starts in High-A and Double-A last summer.
He has compiled a 2-3 record and 3.78 ERA through 12 starts with the Mariners with 62 strikeouts and nine walks.
He will likely make a shortened start with the Rainiers during their upcoming homestand, Servais noted, before heading into the break.
“Then he gets a normal All-Star break and he starts prepping for his first start coming out of the break,” Servais said. “So, we have an opportunity to give him some down time.”
▪ Rookie right-hander Matt Brash returned to the big league club Thursday after spending the past two months with Tacoma transitioning into a bullpen role.
Brash, 24, the club’s No. 3 prospect and top pitching prospect per MLB Pipeline, made his bullpen debut with the Mariners on Saturday night, tossing one scoreless inning and earning the win over the Blue Jays.
Brash made 22 relief appearances with the Rainiers before he was recalled by the Mariners, compiling a 0-1 record and 3.46 ERA across 26 innings while striking out 41 and walking 14.
▪ Mariners pitching prospect Emerson Hancock is also set to appear in Los Angeles during the All-Star festivities after being named to the All-Star Futures Game last week.
The 23-year-old right-hander was Seattle’s first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft at No. 6 overall, and is now considered the club’s No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Hancock has made 22 starts in two seasons with High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, and has a 5-3 record and 2.52 ERA in his minor league career. This season with Arkansas, he is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA across 10 starts and has struck out 39 batters while walking 12.
The Futures Game will be played July 16 at Dodger Stadium.
▪ The 2022 MLB Draft runs Sunday-Tuesday next week and will include 20 rounds. The first two rounds are Sunday, with Rounds 3-10 following Monday and Rounds 11-20 on Tuesday. Seattle’s first pick is at No. 21 overall.
ON DECK
The Mariners depart for a six-game road trip this week to conclude the first half of the season. They begin a two-game set against the Nationals on Tuesday, then visit the Rangers for a four-game series before heading into the All-Star break.
This story was originally published July 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
