Mariners roll early, secure series against Baltimore

The Seahawks defeated the Ravens this Sunday by a score of 13-3. Wait, that was baseball?

Yesterday, the Mariners “turned back the clock” to pay homage to the 1969 Seattle Pilots. Today, they turned back their clocks to early April, pouncing on an Orioles team that now has allowed a major league-worst 156 home runs.

Yusei Kikuchi shrugged off recent struggles and settled in for six strong frames after a rocky start. After allowing a run in each of the first two innings, Kikuchi allowed just two hits to cap off his fourth win of the year.

To complement the strong defensive outing — including an error-free showing from the field — Seattle exploded offensively.  Baltimore starter Gabriel Ynoa lasted only 2.1 innings and allowed seven runs in the process.

The Mariners added over half of their runs in the third inning alone. 13 batters went to bat for Seattle in the frame, plating eight runs.

Shortstop J.P. Crawford led the offensive attack, tying the game in the first inning with a home run. He added three singles and a sacrifice fly to his day and lifted his batting average to .300 on the season.

In fact, Daniel Vogelbach was the only Mariner to not reach base via the hit — though he upped his on-base percentage to a team-leading .388 after walking twice.

After a Sunday morning flurry of bullpen moves that sent reliever Gerson Bautista to Tacoma, the pitching staff built on Kikuchi’s strong start, hurling three scoreless innings that secured the Mariner win.

Notably, two right-fielders traded highlights throughout Sunday’s affair. Baltimore’s Anthony Santander earned web gem consideration after robbing Domingo Santana of a first-inning home run. But Santana would earn revenge, after a stellar running grab in the fourth inning spoiled a sure double from Santander.

Seattle completes the seven-game homestand with a 4-3 record — now 35-47 on the season. After traveling to Milwaukee (and an off-day Monday), Marco Gonzales takes the bump to commence an interleague matchup with the Brewers Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 5:10 p.m.