It’s good to have a laugher. It’s great to have a laugher that got off to such a terrible start.
Bryan Woo got into an old-fashioned jam in the first, a combination of mediocre pitching and bad luck with the defense behind him. But then he threw two strikeouts with the bases loaded and the rest, as they say, was history. Like so many starters that the Mariners have shaken but not stirred in the first who then settle in to 6 strong and scoreless, Woo was unstoppable for the next 6 innings, finishing with a 7 Ks, 1 BB, and 6 hits (but only 0 BB and 3 hits after the first) over 7 strong. By the time he lifted for Eduard Bazardo, the M’s had accumulated 9 runs on 10 hits, including 3 doubles, a triple, and a home run by Cal Raleigh (back to back nights).
Going into the bottom of the 3rd, it looked like another short-ender for a great Mariner starter. While Woo had recovered, the Mariners were getting stymied by a Kumar Rocker who might as well have changed his name to Rocked over his first two starts. Was this going to be another frustrating night?
Nope. After Rivas grounded out to open the frame, JP Crawford (don’t look now, but he’s got a 3-game hitting streak in which he’s hitting .375 with 3 walks) singled sharply, was tripled in by Julio (2nd triple on the year already after 0 last year!), then Polanco sac-flied him in for the lead. Cal doubled, Randy walked, and a 2-base passed ball made it 3-1. Finally, Luke Raley doubled (without his glasses, who needs to see spin?) and Randy walked home.
Just as a 4-1 deficit feels like an unsurmountable mountain for the Mariners, a 4-1 lead feels invincible. So no wonder our bats just opened up and released the rest of this game. A lead like that made everyone loose and the opponent made everyone extra motivated to make a statement. While Bochy shrewdly minimized the impact on his bullpen by hanging Caleb Boushley out to dry (5 ER in 3 2/3), the momentum shift of the near-last Mariners jumping on division leading Texas for 2 straight is hard to understate. We all still remember that 2023 came down to the penultimate game against these Rangers, that if that game and a couple more like it had gone the other way, they might have been sitting at home watching us win our first World Series.
It’s early, but if we can consistently win series against our division opponents, we’re going to have a good year. We have yet to notch a sweep, but with two dueling Cy Young contenders (Gilbert, T-1st in WHIP [0.62] vs. Eovaldi, 3rd in WHIP [0.66]) on the hill tomorrow, hope springs eternal.
Mariners Stats:
Comeback Wins: 5
Wire-to-Wire Wins: 2
Comeback Losses: 3
Wire-to-Wire Losses: 5
Multi-Homer Games: 2-3
Single-Homer Games: 5-1
No-Homer Games: 0-4
One-Run Games: 4-3
Extra-Innings Games: 0-2
Record When Scoring >5 Runs: 2-2
Record When Scoring 2-5 Runs: 5-2
Record When Scoring <2 Runs: 0-4
Personal Stats:
Watched on TV: 1-5
Listened on Radio: 3-0
Mixed TV/Radio: 3-3
