Mariners clobber Rangers: Tuffy makes his mark

Ben Gamel trotted across the plate in the seventh, representing the go ahead run. It may have only come from a Heredia HBP, but it gave the Mariners a 2-1 lead. Plus, they aren’t in a place to be choosy about how they get their runs.

It didn’t end with Gamel, though, but how the Rangers wish it had. Tuffy Gosewisch was the next to score. His run coming from a Cano sacrifice fly. Then it was Segura and Heredia scoring on a Valencia single. Next was Motter, who doubled and scored Cruz. Following, was Ben Gamel, coming up for the second time in the inning. He proceeded to  knock in Motter and Valencia making the Mariners lead 8-1.

Then everything was set right in the Mariners’ world.

At least for one at bat.

In that moment, it didn’t matter if Mariners were dropping like flies.

It didn’t matter if the team was sitting 4 games under .500.

In that moment, the only thing that mattered were the Mariners’ fans coming together to rally behind a player making his first start with the team.

Gosewisch came to the plate. Safeco erupted into raucous chants of “Tuffy,” and even though they probably just got caught up in the moment and even though he harmlessly grounded out to the third baseman, it was a moment that showed the resolve of the Mariners and their fans.

That half inning spoke volumes of a team that has lost their top three pitchers to the DL (and maybe their fourth).

That half inning showed the fight that the Mariners didn’t muster last night when they lost in a miserable 13-inning affair.

In 25 minutes, the Mariners showed that this team really is serious about baseball, and they are going to do everything in their power to end the 15-year playoff drought.

Hitting was contagious Saturday for Seattle. Gosewisch was the only player to not record a hit. Thanks to a throwing error, however, he scored in that seventh inning.

Segura finished 3-for-5, raising his average to .357, Heredia continued his tear with a 2-for-4 night, and Ben Gamel, making the move from the 2-spot to the number-eight slot, transitioned seamlessly, hitting 2-for-4 on the night.

Next: Mariners send James Paxton to 10-day DL

The solid streak on offense extended to the pitching as well. Chase De Jong, who has struggled massively this year, went six innings, giving up one run on four hits. Altavilla may have given up the homer to Napoli in the ninth, but the game was over by that point. The Mariners would not blow the lead this night.

Now who knows if the Mariners can keep this up. Who knows if the team will be able to work through the injuries to Paxton, Evan Marshall, and Jean Machi. Who knows if they’ll even be in contention a month from now, but the Mariners are showing signs of life right now, and I for one am excited to see how this turns out.