WHAT?!
The Mariners scored 18 runs today, but the first was by far the weirdest. With two outs in the second, Josh Naylor hit a single and then stole second base. That’s not the weird part. I mean, I guess it’s weird that it’s not weird that Josh Naylor stole a base, but here we are. The weird part is that Mitch Garver followed that up by hitting a wall ball that the typically stellar center fielder Michael Harris II couldn’t handle, and Mitch Garver, with his 25.8 ft/sec sprint speed, ended up with a triple.
YEAH!
While they had taken the early lead on that RBI triple, things really came together in the third inning. Víctor Robles led off by flicking a breaking ball the other way, and a walk and single from Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh loaded the bases behind him with nobody out. Now, every fanbase, every season throws a hissy fit about their team’s hitting with the bases loaded. It’s like that weather meme that everyone thinks perfectly describes their city. Well, it’s my displeasure to inform you that you are the rare fanbase that has a legitimate grievance here. The 2025 Mariners have hit .167 with the bases loaded, which is not just worst, but outlier worst, with the second-worst team, the Rays, at .207. So it was cause for some serious celebration when Julio Rodríguez sent a hot shot to the hot corner that ate up Nacho Alvarez, Jr., and trickled off his glove into left field, to not just get a hit with the bases loaded but to clear the bases entirely and make the score 4-0. The celebration continued with Julio’s swiping third base for his 25th stolen base of the year. That marks his third 25-25 season. He’s just the third player in MLB history to do that before their age-25 season (Darryl Strawberry, Mike Trout).
OK!
Jorge Polanco followed that up with a home run on what was little more than a check swing. His 69.0-mph bat speed on that swing is in the fifth percentile among home runs this year. OK! Whatever works!
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, EVERYBODY!
Suddenly everybody was hitting shots.
WHAT?!
The Mariners kept it going with Garver’s second hit of the day and then J.P. Crawford hitting a ball that Ozzie Albies booted. The official scorer called it a double for some reason, and then Randy Arozarena drove them both in to complete the eight-run explosion in the top of the third.
YEAH!
But it wasn’t just the top of the third that put the Mariners in business. Luis Castillo had been efficient in his first two innings, facing the minimum and getting multiple whiffs on each of his four-seamer, slider, and changeup. But he stunted on the Braves in the bottom of the third, with a pair of strikeouts and six whiffs on 11 pitches.
YEAH!
While a 9-0 score will put you in the driver’s seat, the Mariners have had a recent habit of limiting their scoring to just a couple sequences per game instead of really stepping on their opponents’ throats. But today, they played add-on in the fourth, with Julio leading off with his second double of the game. Eugenio Suárez got him over. Jorge Polanco got him in.
OK!
The bottom of the fourth was a little scary, and it wasn’t really on account of Jurickson Profar’s solo shot, because with a ten-run lead, who could really care. The scary moment came when Matt Olson hit a ball at 100.2 mph that came right back to Luis Castillo’s forearm on his pitching arm. The trainers came out and he looked like he was in pain. But he’s nicknamed La Piedra for a reason. He was OK! He stayed in the game to pitch another three innings to complete one of his best outings of the year: 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K and 18 whiffs, his second most of the season.
YEAH!
Heading into the sixth inning, Geno was the only member of the starting lineup without a hit, but he never wants to be left out of a party and hit his 44th home run of the year.
OK!
With the game well in hand, Dan Wilson started sending in the subs in the seventh to get them some reps and to get his stars some rest. Because enough was enough with this offense. OK already! Harry Ford made the most of it, getting his first chance to catch, reaching base for the first time (on an HBP), and scoring his first run. Congratulations, Harry!
POP THAT ASS TO THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT, AYY!
Harry scored on an Arozarena single that brought up Cal Raleigh for his final at-bat of the day. Cal reached back for his 53rd home run on the year. And he’s now one shy of Mickey Mantle for the most home runs in a season by a switch-hitter. The Big Dumper is popping off from both the left side and the right.
FIRE UP YOUR LOUD, ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOTS!
At that point, Brian Snitker called uncle and brought in a position player to pitch, who surrendered two more on a single to Dominic Canzone and a home run from Eugenio Suárez. Geno gets today’s Sun Hat Award as a consolation prize for ending up in the game chart post as having the lowest WPA on a day when he hit multiple rounds of shots. That can’t be the first time in MLB history that such a thing has happened, but it’s got to be awfully rare.
YEAH!
Peace up, A-town down.
