Pitching led the Mariners in their series win over the 2023 NL Champion Diamondbacks!

Seattle’s pitchers dominated and the Mariners lineup did just enough to get it done, earning Seattle the series win! With four straight series wins, the Mariners have increased their W-L record to 15-13.

Mariners vs Diamondbacks: Pitching, pitching, and more pitching

Game 1: Seattle 6, Diamondbacks 1

Neither the Mariners nor the Diamondbacks did much hitting in this series and part of the reason is that they had such strong pitchers on the mound. The Mariners had their best offensive game of the series to kick it off, with Mitch Haniger providing a GRAND SLAM in the 6th to give them the massive lead. Emerson Hancock increased his win-loss record to 3-2. He struck four players out and walked only two. The one run he allowed was a home run by Kevin Newman.

Zac Gallen started the first game and pitched five innings. He struck out three batters and allowed three hits, two of which were home runs. Viewers were concerned that Gallen might have been injured since he left the game early.

Game 2: Seattle 3, Diamondbacks 1

George Kirby was hot! In the first inning, he struck out the first three Arizona batters! He pitched seven scoreless innings and struck a personal record 12 players out. The Diamondbacks' Merrill Kelly was injured, so Slade Cecconi pitched for him. He was impressive, throwing six innings, striking eight batters out, and allowing only one run.

Game 3: Seattle 2, Diamondbacks 3

Logan Gilbert was terrific on the mound as well. He pitched six innings, struck out nine batters, and allowed only two runs. Brandon Pfaadt pitched six innings and struck 11 Mariners out.

The Bullpen made significant contributions to the series’ success. Trent Thornton, Cody Bolton, Ryne Stanek, Andres Munoz, Gabe Speier, and Tayler Saucedo successfully threw the games' final innings.

Mariners' vs Diamondbacks' Batting: Rojas, Haniger, Garver, Raley, France

The batting award is a tie in game 1 between Josh Rojas and Mitch Haniger. Rojas batted first and he hit the first pitch out of the park. Mitch Haniger came to bat in the sixth inning when the bases were loaded and he delivered: hitting a grand slam to give the Mariners a massive lead.

In the second game, Mitch Garver doubled on a line drive. Then Luke Raley singled, sending Garver home. In the seventh inning, Jorge Polanco walked. Ty France hit a home run for two RBIs. Luke Raley bunted successfully, a play I rarely see, and then stole second base.

Josh Rojas hit another home run against his former team! Jonatan Clase singled and then stole a base. In his first MLB game, Leo Rivas hit a triple. When Rodriguez singled, Clase headed home.

The Mariners had some timely defensive plays. In the first game, double plays ended three innings. Jorge Polanco made two amazing catches as well. The interaction between Dylan Moore at shortstop, Jorge Polanco on 2nd, and Ty France on first was very smooth in this series. These guys are really clicking!

Strange Play

In Sunday’s game, Logan Gilbert threw a pitch to Christian Walker and appeared to hit him. Logan Gilbert picked up the ball that bounced away. Then we heard that the ball might have hit the knob of the bat rather than Walker himself. New York ruled this way. if Gilbert had thrown the ball to Ty before Walker made it to first, Walker would have been out. Given that the situation was confusing, however, the event was ruled a foul and Gilbert had to continue pitching to Walker.

Young Guys and Eugenio Suarez

Leo Rivas made a splash in his first MLB game. He and Jonatan Clase are skilled and exciting!! It was great to see Eugenio Suárez. Servais said that Suárez was one of his favorite players to coach. The crowd showed their appreciation for Geno's time in Seattle. Geno, it was great to see you but sad that we no longer see you regularly!