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Mariners Game One Mistakes: Lighting up Verlander
This game, more than any other game over the entire season, makes me mad. I’m not mad at Robbie Ray. He was asked not just to pitch out of the pen (which he had done once in 2020, and three times as a rookie in 2014), but to come in and face one of the most dangerous hitters in all of baseball who destroys LHP.
I’m not mad at Andres Munoz, who for some reason was asked to pitch IN EVERY SINGLE GAME THIS POSTSEASON! I can’t get over the stupidity of that choice. Munoz pitched in back-to-back games 13 times this season. He never threw three straight games ALL YEAR! Yet, Servais elected to throw him in both WC games and then every subsequent ALDS game. I understand that there were days off, but that was asinine.
I also don’t blame Paul Sewald. He got hit hard in the WC game and likely should’ve been given a game off to mentally recover. Nope, in he comes. He didn’t even do bad. Groundout, HBP on Ball 4, Strikeout, and then a bloop single up the middle. He was pitching well, and honestly, he should’ve just stayed in. Nope, here comes Robbie Ray.
I can’t get over how bad this choice was. Yordan Alvarez had a slash line of .321/.412/.586 against LHP, with 10 HR in just 162 AB. The fault lies solely with Scott Servais on this. Erik Swanson, the guy with a 1.68 ERA, 1.85 FIP, a 0.913 WHIP, who had given up just 3 HR all season and just one to LHB in 105 AB, who had a .517 OPS against him vs LHB… HADN’T PITCHED YET, AND STILL WASN’T PUT IN!!! If only someone had suggested throwing him in game one cause he would be good to use to get through the top of their lineup…
Oh, and don’t forget that we got to their Ace and the likely Cy Young winner from this season. During the regular season, Justin Verlander sported a 1.75 ERA. He led the league in Wins, Win %, ERA, ERA+, WHIP, and H/9. Oh, and he still had a 9.5 K/9 rate. Yet, the Mariners lit him up. You CANNOT let an opportunity like that go, yet Servais still did.
Not gonna lie, this one is gonna needle me all off-season.