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Mariners vs. White Sox: Polanco pops, a Quality Kirby, Seattle plates 8 in an inning

The Mariners earned their first three-game sweep since June 16th after reinventing their lineup as they took it to the White Sox all weekend

By Jason Wang |
Seattle Mariners v Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners v Chicago White Sox / Nuccio DiNuzzo/GettyImages
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Heading into Chicago, it would seem that morale was at a season-low. Almost the entire core of Seattle's 2022 playoff lineup was missing: Ty France had been designated for assignment, Julio Rodríguez hit the IL with a high ankle sprain, and J.P. Crawford joined him on the IL with a right-hand fracture. After calling up Cade Marlowe, Tyler Locklear, Leo Rivas, and Jason Vosler to fill in the gaps, the team proceeded to post some of the best offensive numbers of any series all season.

Best Hitter: Jorge Polanco

14 PA, .385/.429/1.077, 5 H, 3 HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 SB

Polanco went on an absolute tear in Chicago, accumulating 14 total bases in just three games. He was so prolific at the plate in this series that his season OPS went from .597 to .631, a meaningful boost. The numbers still aren't great, but this stretch showed off what Polanco is capable of when he's at his best and could be a sign of things to come. The Mariners haven't yet traded for a second baseman and have instead chosen to bolster the outfield and bullpen, but they might need to if Polanco manages to keep up this momentum.

Honorable Mention: Cal Raleigh

15 PA, .357/.400/.857, 5 H, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K

Cal Raleigh continues to be the best qualified hitter on the team thus far, posting a cumulative .736 OPS and 113 OPS+. He's led the way in many matchups this season and with 22 home runs, it makes sense as to why. He's still slugging for power and not a ton of average but it works out well when his teammates, like Mitch Garver, Randy Arozarena, Victor Robles, and Josh Rojas have on-base percentages >.450 in a series. He also leads the team in RBI with 66, 28 more than the closest guy.

Best Pitcher: George Kirby

88 pitches, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

George Kirby has officially hit peak form. His 3.03 ERA and 0.98 WHIP are impressive by themselves, but he's been even more dominant than his season stats would suggest. He had a 1.74 ERA in June over 31 innings pitched and with his final start in July, he posted a 2.01 ERA for this past month. He is the first Mariners pitcher to record 9+ consecutive quality starts since James Paxton in 2017.

In the first game of the series, he had just eight swings and misses but 13 called strikes, seven of which were on his sinker. His slider and splitter were both effective as well, neither resulting in a hit across 36 combined pitches.

Honorable Mention: Bryan Woo

70 pitches, 4.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K

Woo had his first scoreless outing since his start against the Athletics on June 6th. He earned nine whiffs, five of which were on his four-seam fastball, and 16 called strikes, 12 of which were on fastballs. Although it was a shorter outing of just four innings, he was effective nonetheless and the combined efforts of the Mariners bullpen held it down to secure the win.

Best Moment: Mariners jumpstart series with eight-run first inning

All season, fans have been complaining about the team's offense, and rightfully so. I wrote about just how bad the lineup was in the first half but long story short, Seattle had a hard time scoring runs. In the prior series against the playoff-hopeless Los Angeles Angels, the Mariners were outscored 10-3 in three games.

However, shortly after Seattle was responsible for the first blockbuster trade of this year's deadline, the team followed up by scoring eight runs before the White Sox even got a chance to step up to the plate.

After a Victor Robles groundout, Seattle quickly loaded the bases after a Cal Raleigh double and back-to-back walks by Jorge Polanco and Mitch Haniger. Luke Raley subsequently struck out and with just one left to go, it seemed like it would be yet another wasted opportunity with runners in scoring position. Unfortunately for the South Side, a Jason Vosler single, Mitch Garver double, then three consecutive home runs quickly led to starter Drew Thorpe getting pulled and the Mariners pulling to an 8-0 lead.

Seattle outscored the White Sox 22-6, finally hitting like a postseason-worthy team. On one hand, the White Sox are one of the least competitive teams in the past 20 years. On the other hand, buying at the deadline could genuinely breathe life in to this squad and help give them the push they need over the Houston Astros to seize the lead in the AL West.

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