Seattle Mariners: Prospects shine in 4-2 win over Rockies

The Mariners and Rockies faced off for their only matchup of the Spring on a sunny Sunday afternoon near Scottsdale.

After enduring their first loss of the Spring yesterday, the Mariners bounced back with Wade LeBlanc taking the hill. Things didn’t start off so great, however, as perennial All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado took LeBlanc deep for a solo shot to center in the first inning to give the Rockies an early lead.

The M’s would quickly match that with a run of their own in the second, on a single pushed through the hole by Jake Fraley to score Ichiro. But the Rockies would regain the lead in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI single from Yonathan Daza.

That would wrap up LeBlanc’s a day; a two inning effort that saw him allow two runs on three hits and strikeout a pair.

In his place, Justus Sheffield made his Mariners debut and looked impressive. The 22-year-old top prospect struggled with his command in his first inning of work and had to work his way around a leadoff walk and a catcher’s interference call on José Lobatón that put runners on the corners with one away. Sheffield dug in and escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts of Ian Desmond and former Mariner Chris Iannetta.

The fourth inning was a lot smoother for Sheffield, who retired the side in order and added another pair of strikeouts to his day. He finished his debut with a line of no hits, no runs, four strikeouts, and one walk.

Sheffield wouldn’t be the only prospect acquired in December’s James Paxton trade to make an impact this afternoon, however. Erik Swanson, our #12 ranked Mariners prospect, also made his Seattle debut and worked a scoreless inning despite having some command issues of his own.

Dom Thompson-Williams, the third and final player acquired in the Paxton deal, also got in on the action with a RBI single to give the M’s their last run of the day.

Along the way, Shed Long continued his hot start to the Spring with a RBI single of his own to score Tim Lopes, and Dylan Moore crossed the plate on a wild pitch after he doubled down the line.

Matt Tenuta closed out the game, escaping a jam with two on to secure the Mariners their second victory in Cactus League play.

The Mariners are back at it tomorrow as they square off with the Reds and their new manager: former Mariner David Bell. It’s an especially important game as it marks the MLB/Mariners debut of Japanese import Yusei Kikuchi, who will likely work two innings in his first exposure to live action in professional American baseball.

The game will start at 12:10 PM PT and will be broadcasted on ROOT Sports.