North Carolina State defeats New York City, Mariners win 2-0

Before writing this recap, I never had a chance to think “what’s the state song in North Carolina?” Well, for those of you who don’t know, this is the somewhat confusing title song “The Old North State,” written in 1835 by William Gaston, a state Supreme Court justice. (and also an abolitionist and the very first dropout from Georgetown University. Fun facts!). The reason this song matters is that instead of blowing up “New York, New York” after today’s game, we should put on “The Old North State”, because two sons of Tar Heel helped out. to secure today’s victory for the Mariners, avoiding a sweeping streak against the Yankees.

Yusei Kikuchi is not originally from the state of North Carolina but was also instrumental in today’s win, keeping a Yankees lineup without Rizzo but still scary through five innings of work, in taking out six and surrendering just four hits. Kikuchi had to deal with traffic on base each set – some of which was on his own, with three walks – but escaped jam after jam, none bigger than in the third when a single, a goal and one shot per pitch charged the goals. with two outputs. Kikuchi responded by dialing a strikeout from Luke Voit for the second time that day:

Kikuchi also got some help from his defense today. Jarred Kelenic landed a late inning catch in the second in the swirling wind in the concrete toilet bowl at Yankee Stadium, hooking up a nearly double Kyle Higashioka who came out of that bat at 106 MPH with a .900 xBA. Kikuchi also got five strikeouts, most of which were handled by Kyle Seager, making the third base defense effortless as usual.

The pattern for the third run would repeat in the fifth, when Kikuchi found himself in a little hot water again with two outlets when Joey Gallo jumped up and up and Kikuchi walked Stanton, again bringing Voir, and again. Kikuchi once brought him out. a key point (Voit WPA was -.226 for this game, per FanGraphs). However, due to the Yankees’ ability to work long counts and commit a ton of shots, Kikuchi’s pitch count was 97 by the end of this inning, leaving the box tasked with maintaining the shutout for half. back of the match.

Casey Sadler (Oklahoma), Drew Steckenrider (Georgia) and Paul Sewald (Vegas, baby) aren’t Tar Heels either, but all three also deserve a share of credit for today’s win, combining for four innings. two-stroke ball with six strikeouts. Steckenrider pitched two stress-free innings and got the six-out save, but Sewald was the firefighter, working 1.2 inning against the Yankees roster and striking out four hitters: Gardner, LeMahieu, Judge and Gallo. . LeMahieu’s strikeout was particularly epic, ending an inning and forcing the Yankees to block two more runners on base, and Sewald’s reaction was triggered appropriately:

The clutch performance of the pitching staff was key to this game, as again the Mariners’ offense was slow today, although it wasn’t entirely their fault; they got to Yankees starter Luis Gil in the second, when Jarred Kelenic hit a solid hit; Cal Raleigh then hit what should have been a double play, but Rougned Odor failed to cover the sack, prompting Luke Voit to literally make a shrugging guy emoji on the pitch. His lead slipping, Gil then led Fraley to charge the bases with one out, and fell behind Moore 3-0, as the DMo smartly awaited the young starter to grapple with his lead. Moore took two strikes, then should have had the ball four:

But we’ve seen how those calls played out in every playoff, and they weren’t in favor of the Mariners. Jake Bauers was then knocked out to end the round. Sigh.

The Mariners had a few other opportunities to get things done: a Haniger single and a two-man walk for Ty France; a left-handed steal from Cal Raleigh who nearly ran out of being a Yankee Stadium Special by a few inches, a shot from the DMo Bermuda Triangle, but the offense continually flouted against Gil, who played five solid innings, then the game of Russian roulette fireball that is the Yankees bullpen. It took the Yankees to be forced to use Lucas Luetge, the former Mariner, for Seattle to strike out a few runs in the only half-inning that saw a goal in today’s game, led by the proud sons. from North Carolina: Kyle Seager (Charlotte) and Cal Raleigh (Cullowhee).

After Odeur – who has had a tough day on the pitch – played a Toro routine failure poorly, a walk to Haniger put two without a takedown. Kyle Seager – who single-handedly attempted to lead this team to victory in seemingly every game in this series – then went on to pursue what Yankees fans likely consider his audition to play for the team, hitting a rule brace. base that fell a few feet shorter than another Yankee Stadium home run. (It actually could have cost the Mariners a run, as even the slower of Haniger’s foot probably could have come in and scored as the judge should have found the ball in the very corner of Yankee Stadium)

The rally may have ended there. After Ty France, having had a rough day, was taken out on strikes, Kelenic was hit on a pitch high in the zone for the second out and was heated about it. Earlier in the game, Kelenic had been called out on a ball deep in the area that hadn’t been ruled as a strike all day and was upset about it, so now with the area appearing to be getting bigger on him – and the way that zone has been called every playoff against the Mariners — it’s understandable that he expressed some frustration. Unfortunately, it was a bit too much frustration in the eyes of HP referee Lance Barrett, and Kelenic got executed, along with Servais, who came to argue on behalf of his young player.

That would leave the scoring opportunity in the hands of yet another rookie, but more importantly, another beefy Tar Heel Boy, Cal Raleigh:

“The Old North State” describes the sons of North Carolina as “simple and naive” but notes “Whose doors open faster / Stranger strike, or disaster story?” a description embodied to the maximum by both Kyle Seager and Cal Raleigh. Soft, shy and hostile to the spotlight, their playstyle is not as demonstrative or flashy as the others; these are calm, professional, calm and deep waters. Seager’s single outburst of dramatic emotion as the Seattle Mariner is so memorable it’s still the most enchanted image of him seven years later. However, when the team knocks on their door, when disaster is imminent, these sons of Tar Heel answer the call with thuds.

The currency of the state of North Carolina is Being seen: “To be rather than to appear. What Cal Raleigh and Kyle Seager seem to be precious pieces of the past, present and, hopefully, the future of the Seattle Mariners.