I don’t want to write this recap.
The Mariners lost 2-0 to the Marlins on Wednesday. It was a very boring game. George Kirby pitched well, in the way that George Kirby often pitches well, but not in the way that he pitched so well as to be newsworthy. The Mariners lineup hit poorly, in the way that the Mariners lineup often hits poorly, but not in the way that they hit so poorly as to be newsworthy. The Marlins stadium on television is ugly and empty and fills me with an unseasonal depression. I don’t
want to write this recap.
The Mariners offense was bad today. Five hits, two walks, one hit by pitch, no runs. They distributed this modest sum with a base runner in each the first four innings; they didn’t get another base runner until Josh Naylor singled with one out in the ninth. It never felt like they were going to score. I don’t even remember who pitched for the Marlins, because whatever it is about LoanDepot Park renders everything into an ocular Lorem Ipsum. Again, it was very, very boring to watch. The most interesting thing that happened for the Mariners on offense was Naylor swung and missed so hard at an 0-1 pitch in the sixth inning that he fell over and needed a few moments to recover. I chose to believe he simply fell asleep mid swing.
Kirby was good again. He threw six innings and struck out seven with 12 whiffs. He walked nobody and didn’t give up a ton of grounders, so it felt almost like a vintage Kirby outing, rather than the still pretty decent but definitely new version of Kirby we’ve seen much of this year.
The Marlins got the only run they’d need with a solo homer from Kyle Stowers to lead off the second. In the third, Javier Sanoja hit a lead off double. He was later erased after Luke Raley made a nice, not-so-boring diving catch, tossing to second for an easy double play. Unfortunately, the Marlins followed later in the inning with a single and a triple to make it 2-0, increasing their lead over the Mariners by infinity.
In the fourth, Heriberto Hernández got a double. Jakob Marsee hit a rocket grounder to short that nearly hit Hernández. In his attempt to get out of the way, Hernández strayed too far from the bag, and Colt Emerson raced him back to second and tagged him with a dive.
In the fifth, Otto Lopez doubled with two outs. The Marlins nearly scored again on an Xavier Edwards single, but Victor Robles fielded and fired home to Cal Raleigh, who made a great snag and tag for the final out.
Well, those last three things weren’t that boring. The Mariners actually played pretty solid defense on Wednesday, which is closer to a miracle that it is boring. Frankly, if the Mariners had won this game, I would have called it “solid” or “necessary” or maybe even “rugged.” But, well, they didn’t. With two outs in the ninth and Naylor on third, Cole Young watched the final strike three on a pitch that was well outside. It seemed he, too, was so bored that he didn’t bother to challenge. The Mariners lost 2-0.
