10 opposing hitters that the Mariners dominated in 2023

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Earlier this offseason, I went through and looked at the 10 hitters who owned the Mariners in 2023. Guys who just absolutely raked against the team. Now, it's time to turn the tables and take a look at the opposing hitters that Mariners pitchers absolutely dominated.

This list was way more fun to go through. It's always more enjoyable to take a look at the hitters that your team did well against as opposed to the ones that made you sweat every time they stepped up to the plate. Yeah, I'm talking about you Jonah Heim. Nightmares. I do wanna give a special shoutout to Nathaniel Lowe, who struck out 18 times against the Mariners, the most by any opposing hitter.

Anyway, let's get into it, and start off with the AL East.

Orioles: Ryan O'Hearn: 2-21, 1 2B, 1 R, 5 K, 0 BB .095/.095/.143

Not a big name by any means, and he hadn't even done much in his career up until 2023 when he got to Baltimore. O'Hearn would hit .289/.322/.480 this season with an OPS+ of 122, hitting 14 HR while play a util role for the Orioles. The Mariners had his number though, as he was unable to do much of anything across his 21 plat appearances against them.

Blue Jays: Bo Bichette: 2-28, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 9 K, 0 BB, .071/.071/.179

This is way more surprising. Up until he got hurt in August, Bichette was leading the American League in hits. You would think that he would've been able to do something against the Mariners, but the damage was essentially liimited to a lone homer across 28 PAs. 9 Ks stands out, as does the zero walks. Keeping a team's best hitter of the bases is huge for success against them. Speaking of limiting a team's best hitter...

Orioles: Adley Rutschman: 1-20, 1 RBI, 3 GIDP, 1 BB, 6 K, .050/.095/.050

This is quite impressive. One single, one walk, and three double plays. Rutschman might just be the best catcher in all of baseball, but he was unable to do anything against the Mariners, being responsible for 23 outs in 21 plate appearances. More outs than appearances? Nicely done.

Now, let's take a quick stop in the AL Central.

Twins: Joey Gallo: 2-22, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 14 K, .091/.130/.273

It shouldn't be all that surprising that Gallo would have a line like this against some teams in baseball. We just so happened to be one of the lucky ones. Gallo could easily wreak havoc against a team when he is feeling it (sorry, Phillies), but he can go the opposite just as easy. To give up just one homer, one single, and one walk in 23 appearances against Gallo is a great way to limit the Twins... especially when Julien and Kepler are on base.

White Sox: Luis Robert Jr: 3-25, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K, .120/.154/.160

This is the more surprising one. Robert narrowly lost out on Rookie of the Year back in 2020 to Kyle Lewis, and has easily had the better career since then. A .279/.327/.500 hitter, Robert took a major step forward in 2023 swatting 38 homers and stealing 20 bases while playing strong defense as well. That didn't matter to the Mariners, as he struck out in half his ABs against Seattle, doing nearly no damage at all across 26 PAs. To hold one of the more dangerous hitters in baseball to a line like that, especially on a team that struggled, makes for a nice feeling and a good chance to win a series.

They've even done well against Robert throughout his career, holding him to a .148/.207/.352 slash line, with 3 HR but just 5 RBI across 58 PA. The AL West has been noticeably absent so far, but I wanted to save that for the end since it's the one with the most impact.

Astros: Alex Bregman: 8-48, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R, 6 K, .167/.259/.292

Is there anything better than holding someone down on the Astros. No, I don't mean the way the Astros do it by just trying to hit your team over and over, but by actually getting their batters out. 4 RBI and 4 R on just one homer and one double is a massive success against Bregman. The Mariners have actually done decent against Bregman in his career, and it continued in 2023.

Athletics: Tony Kemp: 3-37, 1 R, 2 RBI, 8 K, .081/.150/.108

A couple of Oakland hitters come next, and it's a good thing with how often Ruiz was putting himself into scoring position. Kemp did have a couple of walks against the Mariners, but just couldn't figure out the Mariners staff as he went 3 for 37 against them, driving in just two runs. He's responsible for the second lowest SLG on this list, and when you pair it with shutting down Oaklands arguable best hitter, it made for a easy stretch for the Mariners.

Athletics: Brent Rooker: 5-39, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 16 K, .128/.209/.231

Rooker was the story of the Athletics in 2023. 30 HR and a 130 OPS+ earned Rooker an All-Star selection, but he was unable to find any success against the Mariners. 16 K almost lead the year for hitters against the Mariners, with just 2 XBH. For a team that went 1 and 12 against the Mariners this year, they needed his offense, but never got it.

Rangers: Robbie Grossman: 4-24, 1 R, 2 RBI, 10 K, 1 BB, .167/.200/.208

After an entire slide that was dedicated to Rangers destroying Mariners pitching, it's nice to have a couple of players to put on the opposite list. Grossman didn't play full time, but was a strikeout machine whenever he came to the plate against Seattle. Just 2 RBI made for one of the lone bright spots for Mariners fans whenever Texas was hitting.

Rangers: Josh Jung: 7-47, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 2B, 3 BB, 15 K, .149/.212/.170

This is a fun one to end on. After seeing Jung dominate what felt like every team in baseball this year (he hit .266/.315/.467 with 23 HR as a rookie), the Mariners were able to shut him down constantly. Just a .149 BA with the one 2B as his only base hit was fantastic. 15 Ks put him up near the top, and made for a welcome respite from the trifecta that hurt the Mariners.

Now, if we could just get Jonah Heim to hit like that, all would be right in the world.

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