I mean, it was the Texas Rangers, and their offense looks pretty abysmal – even by Mariners standards – but a series sweep is a series sweep!
I’ll be the first to admit: I only watched Sunday’s game. But, it sounds like there was a lot of good stuff to be mined from this weekend. Nick Margevicius got the start on Friday and was cruising along through four shutout innings, before giving up four runs in the next 1.1 innings. The bullpen was perfect the rest of the way though (including Taylor Williams’ fifth save) to seal the deal.
The offense was the story of this 7-4 victory. Kyle Lewis got on base three times and scored three runs (including a solo homer), Tim Lopes had a couple hits, and Braden Bishop checked in with a couple RBI. The damage was spread throughout the lineup, with seven Mariners getting hits and all nine Mariners managing to get on base at least once.
The Mariners absolutely exploded on Saturday, winning 10-1. Justus Sheffield had another quality start – going 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 6 hits and 1 walk, with 5 strikeouts. And, obviously, the bullpen worked its magic from there.
The offense was even MORE of the story in this one. Kyle Lewis was on base all five times (including going 3 for 3 at the plate), Austin Nola also checked in with 3 hits and 3 runs, and Evan White had a whale of a game! He had two hits – including a homer – and a whopping 6 RBI! It sounds like this one would’ve been a lot of fun to witness; it’s also games like these where I miss being in the stadium. That would’ve been just a total party from the opening pitch.
Yesterday’s game was actually a pretty thrilling little 4-1 victory! Justin Dunn had the best start of his young career! Of course, his last “best start of his career” was also against the Rangers a couple of weeks earlier. In that one, he went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs; yesterday afternoon, he went 6 innings, giving up 0 runs (while giving up only 1 hit and 1 walk, and striking out 6). He really had command of everything. The ball had phenomenal movement, he was getting ahead of hitters, and he did a great job of mixing up his pitches. I was wondering earlier in the season why he was such a highly-touted prospect, and it’s a game like this that’s really opened my eyes to the possibilities of what Justin Dunn can ultimately become. It’s still not the best fastball I’ve ever seen, but with the movement on all of his pitches, if he can command them, he could be really good!
All the scoring by the Mariners came off of the home run ball. Kyle Lewis and Austin Nola both had solo shots, and newcomer Sam Haggerty had a 2-run bomb. So far, Haggerty has had at least one hit in all five games he’s appeared in since making his Major League debut. He appears to be quite undersized – which makes sense, given his youth – but at the very least he seems to know what he’s doing in the very early going.
The sweep brings our record to 11-19, which is good for the fourth overall draft pick if the season ended today. We’re also now only the SECOND-worst run differential in all of baseball; the Rangers have fallen to the bottom! So, you know, take this sweep with a hefty grain of salt. The Angels appear to be the real deal as far as bad teams are concerned, because they leapfrogged us to the last place spot in the A.L. West.
Everything seems to be coming up Mariners lately, especially with an off-day today. But, be careful with that optimism, because tomorrow we start a 3-game road set against the red-hot Padres down in San Diego! They’re on a 7-game winning streak – having recently swept the state of Texas – and you might remember that brouhaha with Fernando Tatis Jr. last week. So, we’re walking into THAT hornet’s nest!
Look, just enjoy the pleasant weekend while you can, is all I’m saying.