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Mariners vs. Padres: Dumper dongs, All-Star Logan, & Gregory Santos struts his stuff

Seattle starts off their west coast road trip with some good momentum, as the Mariners swept the short two-game series against the Padres

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v San Diego Padres
Seattle Mariners v San Diego Padres / Denis Poroy/GettyImages
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Even though the series was just two games, a sweep is a sweep. With three home series losses in a row and the Astros continuously gaining ground, the Mariners need all the wins that they can get. What was different about performing in Petco Park? The team's superstars showed up at the plate, showing off just how good the team could be if it's able to fire on all cylinders.

Best Hitter: Cal Raleigh

9 PA, .375/.444/1.250, 3 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 SB

In this series against the Padres, Raleigh reminded me of the old adage "everything I do, yeah, I do it big." He needed just three hits to accumulate 10 bases and did it all in the first game of the series. He also managed to hit a home run on each side of the plate, batting lefty against Adam Mazur and righty against Yuki Matsui. His four RBI helped the Mariners cruise to an 8-3 win over San Diego to kick things off.

Honorable Mention: Julio Rodríguez

8 PA, 4 H, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 4 K

Julio is finally having a good month, at least so far. He has slashed .333/.360/.667 over 25 plate appearances in July, a huge improvement over his sobering .206/.270/.304 slash line in June. He also had a great first game of the series, going 4-for-4 with three runs, two RBI, and a home run to boot.

July is also when he started to warm up in 2023 before reaching otherworldly levels in August, so maybe he's just trying to remain consistent.

Best Pitcher: Logan Gilbert

7.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Even though he already received his first career all-star selection, Logan Gilbert is still on a tear. He had just nine swings and misses but still managed to accumulate seven strikeouts thanks to his 23 called strikes. 13 of these called strikes were on his four-seam fastball, something that was just too intimidating for the Padres to challenge. It helped open the door for his curveball to induce more whiffs, more than any pitch in this outing.

If not for the very end of the 8th inning, Logan Gilbert would have had one of his best starts of the season, and likely would've been handed the chance to throw the complete game because of his low pitch count. Instead, he ended up with a very strong start to open up the series against the Padres.

Honorable Mention: Bryce Miller

6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Despite keeping things scoreless, Miller was slightly less dominant than Gilbert in his own quality start. He had just six whiffs and 11 swings and misses, getting most of his outs with soft contact. Of the five hits he conceded, none went for extra bases. While he didn't have the flashiest outing and ultimately only struck out the last batter he faced, he allowed Seattle to escape with the win on just two runs.

Best Moment: Gregory Santos makes his Mariners debut

After an arduous recovery period that started in spring training, Santos finally took the mound for the first time in a Mariners jersey. Entering the game in a no-save situation with Seattle already up 8-3, he faced the top of the Padres order. Despite a fielding error that allowed Jake Cronenworth to reach safely, a slider got Manny Machado to hit into a double play, ending the game.

Santos looked great, topping out at 100.7 mph on his sinker and 91.0 mph on his slider. It wasn't a lone pitch above 100 mph either, as he ended up with the six hardest thrown balls of the night, five of which were 100 mph or faster. His sheer stuff was exactly why the front office traded for him and with more than half a season left, fans will finally get to see him live up to the hype. That combo of Santos and Munoz is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

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