Seattle Mariners take it to the tribe and win series 3-1

Coming into the series against the Cleveland Indians, there were two main things to watch for the Seattle Mariners. The debuts of Logan Gilbert and Jarred Kelenic, and the final pitcher for the Tribe in Shane Bieber.

If any of the Cleveland pitchers were to take a no-hitter bid late, you would expect it to be Bieber. Instead, it was actually Zac Plesac in the opener, taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning. It was quickly spoiled, as the Mariners found a couple of hits as well as two runs that inning, before stalling out and losing 4-2.

The opener for the Mariners turned out to be a bit of a disappointment for the prospects. Kelenic dropped an 0-fer, while Gilbert made a couple of early mistakes. It’s never a good idea to leave a ball up to a pure power hitter, which was a mistake that he made against Franmil Reyes, and he made him pay by launching it to centerfield on a no-doubter home run.

He would settle down later on, showing some great breaking stuff and good command on his pitches. When it was said and down, his line for his debut held at 4 innings, 4 earned runs, 0 walks, and 5 strikeouts. It could’ve been worse given how it started, but he finished strong to leave a solid impression.

For Kelenic, his debut was a bit lackluster, although he did hit the ball hard while getting some questionable strike calls. After getting the nod at lead-off and going 0-4, the highlights would come during game 2. After striking out in his first at-bat, Kelenic would do the following in his next three at-bats.

Home run. Double. Double.

Yeah, if you think the kid isn’t special, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Mariners fans should all be excited for Kelenic.

Also, don’t get upset. I’m calling him the kid as a generic term for someone who is young. If I would have called him The Kid… that would be a different story and I should be slapped.

The Mariners would go on to win game two and game three by a score of 7-3. The finale was Sunday and heading into it, most Mariners fans would have been happy being up 2-1 in the series, and expecting to lose the finale to one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the reigning Cy Young award winner in Shane Bieber.

Instead, the Mariners would jump on Bieber early. After a Haniger double, Kyle Lewis would drive him in with an RBI single.

Then, in the third, after Walton and Kelenic got out to start the inning, both Haniger and Seager would walk, before Lewis singled to load the bases. Up stepped one of the surprises on the season in JP Crawford, and he came through once again with a two-RBI single to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead.

It was a lead that the team would carry through to the end of the game and a 3-2 win. It was a game that surprised nearly everyone, as the Mariners were able to get to Bieber and stop his streak of double-digit strikeouts, only fanning seven times through 4-2/3 innings.

It was a great series for the Mariners, getting them back above .500 after some not-so-stellar play over the last week and a half. It’s a great time to be a Mariners fan, and we get to see Gilbert without the jitters in the finale of the next series, this time against the Tigers and Tarik Skubal. #SeaUsRise. Go Mariners.