The Mariners’ Hot Bats Defeated the Diamondbacks in the Desert

The Mariners won their series against the Diamondbacks! They stand at 54-51 prior to their games with the Red Sox. France (6 hits), Crawford and Rodríguez (5 hits each), Hernández (4 hits) Raleigh, Suárez, and Murphy (3 hits each) were the most active at the bat.

Game 1. Friday, July 28: SEA 5, AZ 2

If you were getting snacks ready at the top of the 1st inning, you missed a key part of the game when the Mariners scored 80 percent of their runs. J.P. Crawford doubled, Julio Rodríguez singled and stole second base. Pitcher Tommy Henry walked Teóscar Hernández. When Cal Raleigh doubled, Crawford and Rodríguez scored, and Hernández moved to third. SEA 2, AZ 0. Tom Murphy doubled and sent Hernández and Raleigh home. SEA 4, AZ 0.

Neither team scored between the second and the sixth inning. José Caballero walked in the top of the 7th and then stole second base. Pitcher Austin Adams hit Rodríguez, so he went to first base. Suárez singled so Caballero scored. SEA 5, AZ 0. In the bottom of the seventh, the Diamondbacks’ José Herrera singled. Geraldo Perdomo doubled. Matt Brash threw a wild pitch and Raleigh missed a throw, allowing Herrera and Perdomo to score: SEA 5, AZ 2. The Mariners had chances to score in the eighth and ninth innings but did not.

Starting Pitcher Logan Gilbert threw for 6.1 innings. Matt Brash relieved Gilbert and allowed two runs. Andrés Muñoz and Paul Sewald allowed no additional runs. Seattle improved its win-loss record to 53-50.

Game 2. Saturday, July 29: SEA 3, AZ 4

The Mariners scored first in the top of the second when Raleigh and Hernández singled and Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to send Raleigh home: SEA 1, AZ 0. In the top of the third, Kolten Wong and Crawford singled so that Wong was on third and Crawford on first. Suárez hit a sacrifice fly to send Wong home: SEA 2, AZ 0. In the top of the fourth, Murphy hit a homerun: SEA 3, AZ 0.

Unlike the game on Friday, Seattle’s early scoring was not enough to hold them the rest of the game. In the fourth, Arizona scored after a walk and a double from Christian Walker allowed Ketel Marte to score. SEA 3, AZ 1. In the next play, Dominic Canzone singled and Walker scored. SEA 3, AZ 2. In the fifth, Alek Thomas hit a triple and then scored when Carson Kelly singled. SEA 3, AZ 3.

In the bottom of the eighth, Arizona’s Corbin Carroll made the Mariners pay for walking him. He made it to second on a balk and then he stole third base.  Canzone’s single sent Carroll home. SEA 3, AZ 4.

Cade Marlowe made an impressive effort in the ninth inning by hitting a triple and running like the wind to third base. Crawford walked. Unfortunately, with one out, the next two Seattle batters were unable to send Marlowe home and tie the game.

Game 3. Sunday, July 30: SEA 4, AZ 0

The Mariners began scoring in the first inning. Crawford walked, Rodríguez singled and Hernández singled, loading the bases. The pitcher, Merrill Kelly then walked Mike Ford, forcing Crawford home: SEA 1, AZ 0. Ty France then singled, and Rodríguez scored: SEA 2, AZ 0. Cade Marlowe worked hard to earn additional runs but was unable to do so.

In the second inning, Crawford hit a home run: SEA 3, AZ 0. For the next several innings, the batters from both teams struck out, grounded out, or popped out. In the top of the ninth, the Mariners scored again. Crawford doubled and Suárez singled, allowing Crawford to score: SEA 4, AZ 0.

Luis Castillo was brilliant on the mound, pitching six innings, striking seven batters out, and allowing only two hits. Justin Topa, Matt Brash, and Saucedo each struck out at least one Arizona batter and allowed only one hit between the three of them.

Shutting out the Diamondbacks and winning the series was just what the Mariners needed. Their win-loss record is now 54-51. The Mariners had 10 hits in each of the three games. In the first game, this translated to five runs; in the second, it translated to three runs, and in the final game, the hits translated into four runs. The good news is that the Mariners are hitting the baseball and getting on base. The bad news is that they are stranding players. If they can convert more hits into runs, their odds of winning games increase.

What can they do when the Red Sox come to town?