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Mariners vs. Angels: Julio's hot, Logan locks in, and Seattle puts up 11

Despite an 11-0 blowout victory to start things off, Seattle dropped three of four to their division rivals as the Mariners lost to the Angels

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v Los Angeles Angels
Seattle Mariners v Los Angeles Angels / Jayne Kamin-Oncea/GettyImages
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It was a dismal ending to the road trip but things weren't as bad as the 1-3 series record sound. The Mariners actually outscored the Angels 19-11 and the final three games were all one-run games. While the team lacked timely hitting, Seattle's superstars had great performances at the plate overall. Unfortunately, without the added padding of a few more wins, the next home series against Houston Astros could decide the divisional momentum for the rest of the season.

Best Hitter: Julio Rodríguez

17 PA, .643/.706/.929, 9 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HBP

Julio's slash line for this series was absolutely ridiculous. Getting on base a whopping 12 times, he seems to be settling into a groove. In fact, his performance in these four games pushed his OPS+ above 100 for the first time this season. He's still struggling to rediscover the power he had in the past two years but getting his bat-to-ball skills back seems like a huge step on the road to recovery

Julio has been on fire in the month of July, posting a 1.263 OPS over 42 plate appearances. Here's hoping he can keep things up and knock in a few more homers to lift his numbers.

Honorable Mention: Cal Raleigh

18 PA, .353/.389/.882, 6 H, 3 HR, 4 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 7 K

Big Dumper continues to be the main power threat for the Mariners, knocking in an additional three home runs to bring his season total to 20. He has also become the best qualified hitter on the team with an OPS+ of 111, overtaking Dylan Moore and Luke Raley who have slumped in recent weeks.

Raleigh has never hit well for average and has typically added value through the long ball. He's probably most beneficial to the team when hitting that way so if they want to increase their overall batting average, they'll likely have to look outside the existing squad.

Best Pitcher: Logan Gilbert

7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

Despite pulling out of the all-star game in order to maintain his scheduled start in the rotation without disrupting his rest, Gilbert still put on an all-star performance in the final game of the series. He had 14 swinging strikes, eight of which were on his slider, and 20 called strikes, 10 of which were on his four-seam fastball. By Baseball-Reference game score, it was the second-best outing of the season trailing just his eight-inning masterclass against the Rangers on June 16.

Honorable Mention: Luis Castillo

6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Castillo pitched a scoreless quality start in the first game of the series, although he likely didn't have to work that hard with 11 runs of support behind him. He still managed to pick up 12 swings and misses, nine of which were on his four-seam fastball. After rough starts towards the end of June, he's managed to give up just one run in his first two starts of July.

Best Moment: 11 runs of offense in the first game

Fans have witnessed lackluster hitting all year but for the third time this season, the Mariners managed to put up double-digit runs. Everyone chipped in but two players led the charge. J.P. Crawford put up three runs and three RBI while Cal Raleigh also had three runs and four RBI. The other four runs were batted in by Josh Rojas, Ty France, and Jorge Polanco.

While it may have been better to spread out this offensive surge over the four games of the entire series, it was a picture of what can happen when the talent on the roster meets its potential. In order to stay atop the AL West and in the postseason picture, the Mariners will need to keep swinging and keep hitting, just like they did on July 11. Maybe we will see a move for a new second baseman or an outfielder during the All-Star break.

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