Seattle Mariners Takeaways from Odd 7-6 Win vs Kansas City

The game had loss written all over it. The Mariners offense looked loss through 5 innings. Mike Leake was struggling with command. The two best arms in the bullpen weren’t available. It was a game all too many fans were familiar with.

But the 2019 Seattle Mariners are not like other teams. Instead of folding up shop, taking their 5-2 road trip back home to prepare for their showdown with the Astros, this team got off the mat and battled back.

But the story does not come from the final score. Instead, it comes from what we saw on a windy day in Kansas City. With that in mind, here are just a few things we took away from this game.

The Mariners Aren’t Out of Any Game

Overcoming a 4-0 lead halfway through the game isn’t a huge deal. Teams do it all the time. But watching this team through the first 5 innings, it felt all but over. But Seattle battled back. Dee Gordon started the scoring with a solo home run in the 6th, and Mitch Haniger got another by driving in Mallex Smith, who tripled, with a sac fly.

The team would tack on 1 in the 7th to trail 4-3. But the BABIP luck was on the Royals side (for one inning) and they nickeled and dimed 2 runs off of Erik Swanson. But Seattle got one back in the 8th and with 2 on, 2 out, and 2 strikes, Mitch Haniger hit a flyball deep to centerfield.

It looked like all world speedster Billy Hamilton was going to catch it. It had been that type of series. But the ball kept going and knicked just off the end of Hamilton’s glove. By the time the dust had settled, Haniger was standing at third, and the ball game was all knotted up.

It didn’t take long for Seattle to gain its first lead of the game, as Daniel Vogelbach hit a 113 mph screamer over the fence to give Seattle a 7-6 lead.

The team showed resilience today, a trait not always shown on teams of the past.

Dee Gordon Looks Great

Dee Gordon was one of the biggest question marks entering the 2019 season. Acquired last winter, Gordon was off to a fantastic start before a toe injury more or less derailed the rest of the season. But early in 2019, Gordon may be better than ever.

He entered the game with a .333 batting average and added 3 more hits today, raising his average to .365. He hasn’t been caught on the basepaths. His defense has been excellent. Dee looks like his former All-Star self… only better.

The Bullpen Was Good

The final line may not look great. But the bullpen covered 5 innings and gave up just 2 runs which were set up by weak contact, lucky hits. Cory Gearrin bounced back and threw a scoreless 6th with 2 K’s. Swanson struck out 4 in his 2 innings of work. Brandon Brennan struck out the side, and Connor Sadzeck got his first career save by striking out Whit Merrifield.

Overall, the bullpen got 10 strikeouts in their 5 innings of work. The pen, while scary, hasn’t been awful thus far. Roles are still up in the air, but manager Scott Servais started to find arms he can trust.

The bullpen won’t be good this year, but the may not be terrible. If that is the case, this Mariners team may do some damage.

Daniel Vogelbach is awesome.

That’s pretty much it. He is really good. His game-winning home run was awesome. 113 MPH off the bat with a 17-degree launch angle. It is simply incredible.

The Mariners finished their road trip 6-1 and capped off their road trip with a rare 4 game sweep. Seattle will come back home for a 3 game series against the Houston Astros beginning tomorrow. Wade LeBlanc will face Wade Miley. First pitch is at 7:07 PM.