Mariners Monday: A Look Back At The Last Week

What a fantastic week of baseball for the Seattle Mariners. A 4-2 record as the club gets series wins at home from both the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians.

Here now, we take a look back at the previous week and the stories that made news.

Mariners Win Series Over Boston

The Mariners jumped all over Boston in the first two games of their three-game series at Safeco, 12-3 and 8-2 before dropping the finale 5-4.

The surprise in the first game was that of Logan Morrison who had four hits including two homers in the game. Morrison has done a tremendous job of late filling in at 1st base for the injured and ineffective Justin Smoak.

Morrison’s play not only allows the club some extra time in getting Smoak ready, but also makes people wonder whether Smoak’s time is finally over in Seattle.

In the finale, the Red Sox – mostly David Ortiz – jumped on Hisashi Iwakuma early and then held off a late comeback attempt to avoid the sweep.

Mariners Win Series Over Cleveland

The Mariners then welcomed the Indians to town and took the first game 3-2 thanks to the first homer in over a year by Endy Chavez. The M’s were held to just one hit in the 2nd game but returned the favor behind Felix Hernandez in the finale to take the series.

The story of this series, and really, the homestand, was that of Kyle Seager. Seager batted .583 (14-for-24) in the six games including three 3-hit games. Charlie Spencer-Davis wrote a piece suggesting that the Mariners need to lock up Seager to an extension now. And it’s hard to disagree.

Player Moves and other news

– Jesus Montero was sent down to Tacoma to make room for Michael Saunders to come off the disabled list.

– Brandon Maurer was brought up from Tacoma and put in the bullpen, where he has been fantastic so far. Erasmo Ramirez was sent down in his place.

– Taijuan Walker was recalled from Tacoma and will make his first start with the Mariners of the 2014 season today in Houston. Stefen Romero was optioned down in his place.

– Trade speculation season is upon us with the Mariners likely being buyers. We will be all over the rumors and news over this next month. Whether the Mariners trade for a bat, or another arm, we will have the latest for you.

– Finally, two Mariners prospects were suspended 50 games for violation of the minor league drug policy. Both Jabari Blash and Jamal Austin began their suspensions over the weekend.

Here’s hoping to a great end to a great month. Let’s hope the Mariners get this week started off on the right foot as well.