Sailors ignore bad vibes and triumph 6-2

I’ll be true with all of you: the 48 hours or so before the first pitch tonight was the lowest I’ve been on the Mariners all season. Faceplanting to the Diamondbacks was bad enough, but Wednesday’s fate of missing a one-foot clearance and then getting stomped on at Manfredball to seal a second series loss to a direct Wild Card contender? With a day off to simmer on it? Absolutely damn vibrations. Whether it was a lot of playoff prospects, a Midwestern time zone game that baffles people, or a combination of the two, the energy surrounding tonight’s game was lukewarm at best. and a flat top of the offensive first against Jon Heasley – in his Major League debut – combined with Whit Merrifield and Nicky Lopez grinding sixteen throws from Chris Flexen before Salvador Pérez made not one, but two strikeouts did. didn’t inspire confidence at first.

Fortunately, Ty France put all the worries of being without a hit to bed with a clean single to lead the second, and after Abraham Toro beat a double play, Jarred Kelenic scored 3-1, got a change. suspended, and lit it louder than I had seen it light one all season:

The outlet speed scratched 111 miles per hour, and just like that, so many bad feelings from the family were washed away. Luis Torrens lined up hard in the center, and Jake Fraley threw a ball for the first time in what seems like a long stretch for a two-way brace. Cal Raleigh stopped to not score that frame again, but seeing the bottom half of the roster consistently field a solid poundless pitcher prospect on him was good enough for me. Flexen once again held the Royals off the board despite a two-strikeout single from Michael A. Taylor after yet another pesky at bat, and tightened things up even further in the third inning, needing only thirteen shots for bypass a simple Hanser Alberto. An ugly double play from Kyle Seager and JP Crawford smothered any offensive hope for the Mariners this frame, but to kick off the fourth, the same streak from the second happened again: France chose, Toro wiped it out on the choice of a defensive player and Kelenic scored 3-1. Surely that couldn’t happen again, could it? Baseball gods are not this heavy hand, isn’t it?

Well, they were at least self-aware enough to let Kelenic foul on a few pitches before Heasley dropped a belt of bullets that shattered.

After the ball went through the fence of the center pitch, it didn’t matter what else happened: for me tonight was a win. This is Kelenic’s first career multi-homer game, he added to his 100 wRC + September, and he looked perfectly at home in Kauffman’s spacious center pitch – all of these developments more than welcome. Add in Flexen who only needs eighteen shots to go through the fourth and fifth innings, and we were on our way to a stress-free victory.

If you started laughing after that last sentence, I can’t fault you – I laughed a little while writing it. Of course, things got a little tense at the end of the sixth grade. After coaxing an easy flyout from Alberto, Flex ceded a single to Whit Merrifield, who was quickly replaced by Lopez on a 4-3 outfielder pick, and who other than Salvador Pérez was expected. Flexen worked a 2-1 count, threw a fastball over the outside edge and Salvy blew it up to the shallow right. Sadly, in what hasn’t been an uncommon theme lately, none of Mitch Haniger, Crawford or Toro were able to catch it, and the ball slipped harmlessly, a foot foul. I was glad at the time that no one got hurt and it was a foul ball rather than a particularly embarrassing brace, but after Kelenic and Jake Bauers collided a few weeks ago, you’d think you’d be. would see a lot less kind of miscommunication, not more.

Of course, the Royals jumped at this opportunity; Pérez walked, Andrew Benintendi dropped a perfectly placed single to put KC on the board, and Carlos Santana worked an easy walk to charge the goals with two outs, forcing Scott Servais to the box. What should have been an easy third in a row with a good shot to finish the seventh ended up being a frame’s nightmare for Flexen, and although Joe Smith against Taylor felt like a good game on paper, watching him Missing his first two badly throws made me chatter. Still the crafty veteran, however, Smith snapped a perfect shot in the low, outside corner to freeze Taylor, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t shout Cal Raleigh for a really nice picture on it.

JP led Torrens with a defensive player pick in the seventh which ended up being great for my stomach and blood pressure as Drew Steckenrider was shaking yet again. Giving up a first shot at Hunter Dozier was rubbish, but immediately allowing Kyle Isbel a shot and barely brushing against the nine-hole hitter stung me pretty badly, even though the rational part of me knows that Steck arguably has been Seattle’s top reliever all season. He pushed Merrifield and Lopez to retirement on the flyouts, and with Salvador Pérez looming again in a high leverage situation, Servais smashed his emergency button.

Tee Miller

I think we all knew this game was predetermined. Of Classes Pérez would find himself in a highly leveraged situation this series – probably more than once! Of Classes Paul Sewald would be ordered to put out the fire, as he has done so many times this year. While we all knew this game was destined to happen, how sure were we of the outcome? A draw explosion and a fierce strikeout seemed just as likely, and whatever happened I was ready to accept it.

I didn’t have an “easy flyout” on my bingo card, and after the Royals were turned down on the seventh, we were back on cruise control. The M’s had their sixth and final run in eighth thanks to a Seager single that tore up the shift, a walk from Ty France and Luis ended a great night with a hard hit single on the right side. Each of his batsmen tonight came against a right-handed pitcher, what if he took a step forward against them while demolishing left-handed people? Baby, we could have a 130wRC + bat on our hands.

Sewald had a scoreless eighth and Diego Castillo bypassed a two-run jam in the ninth to seal the victory. The scorecard watching may have waned over the past week (Toronto lost, Yankees, Red Sox, and A’s all won, in case you were wondering), and expectations and the excitement for the home stretch may have subsided, but this team doesn’t care what we think. Previous Seattle teams may have folded before, but these guys haven’t. After the most overwhelming homestand of the year, they regrouped, landed in a new town to kick off a new series, and banished any bad vibes that might have lingered after Wednesday’s loss. The strong performances from Kelenic, Flexen and Torrens gave even more hope for 2022 and beyond – man, how much better would we feel if Jarred ended the year on a tear? Yusei Kikuchi leaves tomorrow, hoping to end a hectic year on a high note before plunging into an uncertain future. No matter how slim the playoff prospects get over the next couple of weeks, they’re all worth watching until the final launch, and for me that’s gorgeous.