SEAside Thoughts: Mariners lay egg in opening series at home vs Guardians

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SEAside Thoughts: Opening Weekend

“Vaughn into the wind up, and his first offering … juuuust a bit outside."

-Bob Uecker in Major League

We had our first SEAside Thoughts of the 2023 season on Friday after an incredibly fun and quick opening night of baseball that saw the Mariners win 3-0. After that, the Mariners chose to lose the following three games of the series in every way possible.

Here we go!

Mariners vs Guardians: Cleveland played really well

And Seattle did not! This is important to remember for everyone freaking out after four games. Cleveland is a team very similar to the Mariners in that they are young, had some real success in 2022, and are looking for more.

The Guardians are a team built on contact, speed, strong defense, and excellent pitching. Cleveland came into Seattle and executed their game plan like they were still in the ALDS, while Seattle looked like they were still playing in Peoria.

On Friday night's 9-4 loss, the Mariners gave the game away on 8 walks and 3 errors, leading to 5 unearned runs. On Saturday night, the bats went silent in a 3-hit shutout loss. Sunday was the crescendo, as Seattle blew a lead three separate times, failed miserably with runners in scoring position (they did all series), and gave the game away on a 4 pitch walk and an error in the 10th.

It sucked to watch, but this is what happens when you are not ready for a 90+ win division champion to enter your building. I believe that when (not if), the Mariners get rolling, they'll be ready for Cleveland.

Cleveland Guardians v Seattle Mariners / Steph Chambers/GettyImages

Mariners vs Guardians: Stars showed up in the opening series

While the offense sputtered through large chunks of the series, there were still some really good signs from the 2022 offensive core.

Julio: The face of the franchise has had a much better start to the season than last year's nightmare. Julio is 6 for 18 with 2 doubles, a home run, and an SB.

Cal: Arguably the second most important player to Seattle's success in 2023, Big Dumper went 4 for 14, driving in 4 RBIs with 2 doubles. 10th inning error aside, it was a fantastic start for Cal.

Ty: I firmly believe the Mariners would have pushed the Astros to the brink in 2022 if they had a pre all-star break Ty France in the lineup. Injuries drained his ability to be great in the second half last year, but Ty looks primed and ready to build off his all-star caliber first half. France went 6 for 16 with the game winning home run in the opener. He can hit .375 all season and I'd be perfectly fine with that!

Geno: Another guy that battled through injuries at the end of the 2022 season, Suarez has 4 hits in 16 ABs, but they were all smoked, two were doubles that are probably gone in two months, and he missed a game-winning home run in the finale, just pulling one foul in the 10th.

These four men are the reason why Seattle broke the playoff drought offensively, and to see them all looking strong at the start, makes me feel comfortable and confident even after losing the series to Cleveland.

Quick Thoughts

Lack of control doomed Ray

It was a really cold night in Seattle on Friday, but Ray didn't look comfortable from about pitch #3. He labored, struggling to find the strike zone, walking 5 hitters, and seeing his velocity drop almost 5mph. It was a stark contrast from the Robbie Ray we saw looking like a Cy Young candidate in spring training.

Velocity drop, how did staff not notice sooner?

As we stated, Ray's velocity didn't look good, and apparently, he wasn't healthy, now being put on the 15 day IL with a left flexor strain. It sounds like he avoided any major injuries, but very odd to see that much of a drop in velocity, and no checking in (that we saw) from the coaching staff. He did mention that he thought the tightness was just from being cold, so that could've been a quick conversation he had with the staff at some point.

The Mariners championship aspirations rely heavily on Robbie Ray being really good in 2023. Hopefully this is just a blip on the radar of a successful bounce back season.

Walter was showing out

Logan Gilbert was fantastic in his season debut, even in defeat. The big right hander went 6 strong innings, giving up 1 run (a solo blast) on 4 hits, while walking just one hitter to go with 7 K's.

His command was spectacular for a cold night in April, his fastball velocity looked strong, and his new splitter is going to do so much damage. Gilbert was awarded as the best pitcher in the American League in April of last year, and he's off to a good start in 2023.

Supporting cast quiet

Before Teoscar's laser double late in Sunday's loss, he and much of the supporting cast left a lot to be desired from the offense. Hernandez has the ability to be part of this core, but will need to show it first. He along with Crawford, Kelenic, Wong, La Stella, Hummel, and Pollock went a combined 6 for 64 in the 4 game series.

I believe Teoscar will show up and be a key cog in this offense, and I actually liked many of Kelenic's at bats, but you have to be concerned with how he'll handle a potentially rough start.

As for the rest of the group, I was mostly unimpressed. Tommy La Stella continues to look like a guy that should not be on a playoff roster, and the trio of him and Hummel and Pollock makes me very nervous about the DH position going forward. There were plenty of great options, but Jerry Dipoto is steadfast in using that position for versatility. We'll see if that works out for them.

What's Next

After a disappointing start, the Halos come to town after taking two of three from the Athletics. While it is extremely early, it would be concerning to go 2-5 on the opening homestand.

Los Angeles Angels v Oakland Athletics / Ezra Shaw/GettyImages

The Mariners need to focus up in the final two games after losing the opener. Things won't be easy, as they still have to face Ohtani.

Go M's

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Mariners vs Guardians: Cleveland played really well

Mariners vs Guardians: Stars showed up in the opening series

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