Mariners Game Recap: Blue Jays Sink M’s in Series Finale

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The Toronto Blue Jays (20-26) took out their frustration on the Seattle Mariners (20-23) Sunday afternoon. The Blue Jays dominated the M’s today en route to winning 8-2 in the series finale. Seattle won the first 2 games this weekend, but were unable to complete the sweep this afternoon.

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Fans were treated to a matchup of premier pitching prospects today. Aaron Sanchez (4-4, 3.98 ERA) out duelled Taijuan Walker (1-5, 7.33 ERA) to earn his 4th win of the season. The loss dropped Walker’s record to 1-5 on the season.

With the loss, the M’s are now tied with the Texas Rangers for 3rd place in the American League West. Both clubs trail the division leading Houston Astros by 8.0 games.

Taijuan Walker’s horrendous season is showing no signs of slowing down. The former top prospect allowed 4 runs on 6 hits across 5.2 innings today. He struck out just 3 Blue Jays and issued 4 free passes. The 22-year-old right-hander was touched up for a pair of home runs this afternoon. Walker continues to struggle to throw strikes, and just 58 of his 97 pitches found the strike zone against the Blue Jays. It is becoming clear that Walker belongs in the minor leagues, but with Hisashi Iwakuma on the disabled list, the M’s may be stuck with Tai for at least a couple more weeks.

Danny Farquhar is another pitcher struggling to find his groove for the Mariners. Farquhar was electric last season, but this year he looks like a shadow of his former self. Farquhar surrendered 3 runs on 3 hits across 0.2 innings in the series finale with the Blue Jays. The poor outing ballooned his already porous ERA to 6.46. Much like Walker, The 28-year-old should be calling Tacoma home very shortly. However, Lloyd McClendon‘s unwavering loyalty to Farquhar may buy him a little more time.

Aaron Sanchez managed to contain the Mariners offense nicely on Sunday, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits across 6.2 innings Sunday afternoon. The 22-year-old right-hander struck out 4 and walked 2 while surrendering a solo home run. Sanchez was not on his A game today, but did enough to earn the win.

May 24, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager (15) hits a home run in the second inning against Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Seager led the M’s offensively, going 2 for 4 with a home run, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Seags’ solo home run in the 2nd inning was his 7th of the season, and marked the 2nd consecutive game he went deep in Toronto. Welington Castillo plated the other M’s run on a sacrifice fly in the 7th inning. Chris Taylor and Seager were the only 2 Mariners to record multiple hits this afternoon.

The Toronto Blue Jays lead the league in runs scored, and they exploded for 8 runs today. Ryan Goins and Edwin Encarnacion had big games for the home side. Goins is widely regarded as a defensive specialist, but he clubbed a 2-run blast in the 5th inning to give the Jays the lead. The Blue Jays’ shortstop finished the game going 1 for 2 with 3 RBI’s and 2 walks. Encarnacion has been a Mariners killer during his career, and he buried Seattle again on Sunday. He finished 2 for 4 with a home run, 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored in the series finale.

The Mariners continue to squander opportunities with runners on base. All told, Seattle stranded 13 men on base today. Robinson Cano has been a major let down in 2015, and he left 5 runners on base Sunday against Toronto. Cano finished 0-4 on the day, and dropped his batting average to a meager .247. Nelson Cruz and Brad Miller both failed to capitalize this afternoon, stranding a pair of runners each. This has been the achilles heel for the Mariners over the past month, and they will continue to play sub .500 baseball if they cannot cash in.

The Seattle Mariners (20-23) are now headed south to Florida to battle the first place Tampa Bay Rays (24-21) in the opener of a 3-game series on Monday night. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PT from the eye sore known as Tropicana Field. Roenis Elias (1-1, 2.76 ERA) has been brilliant for Seattle since his call-up last month, and he will hope to keep it going in Tampa. Jake Odorizzi (3-4, 2.43 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rays tomorrow night. Odorizzi has been equally as dominant as Elias in 2015, and it should make for an intriguing pitching matchup in the series opener. Root Sports Northwest will carry the game live, and MLB.tv subscribers can watch on connected devices.

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