Seattle Mariners: 3 takeaways from series versus Chicago White Sox

1) Another display of resilience by the Mariners

When the Mariners opened the 2021 season with a dramatic late comeback win from deficits of 5-0 and 6-1, it was the ideal way to illustrate their never-say-die attitude. A similar situation arose on Wednesday afternoon, with them trailing 4-1 in the top of the sixth.

(In theory the situation could have been worse, as Justin Dunn walked eight batters during his 4.1 innings on the mound. In fairness to Dunn though, he battled through and managed to escape with a no-decision.)

Combined with losing the first two games in the series versus Chicago, this was the perfect opportunity for Seattle to once again display their mental fortitude. What followed was nothing short of sensational, especially for a ball club which had struck out 15 times in both of the first two games of the series.

Jose Marmolejos, who was only playing because of White’s injury, got the ball rolling with a walk. Dylan Moore then got on base with a hit, albeit as a result of an error by the White Sox.

Next up was Murphy, who singled to load the bases. He was followed by Taylor Trammell, who hit an RBI single to right field to get Seattle within 4-2. (Trammell had sat out the first game of the series.)

Further one-run RBIs by J.P. Crawford and Haniger sandwiched a strikeout by Sam Haggerty, to tie the ball game at 4-4. This set the stage for Ty France in — and please excuse the hyperbole — the most important (and stressful) at-bat so far in this young season

France quickly fell behind 0-2, but then showed the battling spirit which seems to be permeating through this young roster. With tremendous poise, he won an 11-pitch stare-down versus Matt Foster, to force the walk and reload the bases.

Kyle Seagar then took advantage of the situation, by clearing the bases with a double into left field and a 7-4 lead for the Mariners. Marmolejos got a second at-bat in the inning and completed the scoring with an RBI single, to make it 8-4.

We can appreciate there is a long way to go yet for this ball club, with more consistency being one of the main requirements. However, the resiliency of the players is extremely encouraging.

As you would expect, Servais was delighted with the way his ball club responded after losing the first two games against Chicago. Speaking to the media afterwards, he said:

“I’m proud of our guys; they play hard all the time. We may not play pretty all the time, and today was a little bit ugly — certainly on the mound — but we play hard and it’s a tribute to our guys.

“They’re young guys who have a lot to prove and a lot to learn. As long as we keep doing that you will scratch out some wins like we did today.”

NEXT: OTHER NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS