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Mariners: 3 takeaways from important series win versus Astros

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We share some observations from a series win against the Houston Astros, which was important for the development of the Mariners.

There will be those who argue winning a series against a Houston Astros ball club missing five players due to Covid-19 is nothing for Mariners fans to shout about. Indeed, with the likes of José Altuve, Yordan Álvarez and Alex Bregman out, it certainly weakened the Astros’ lineup.

However, you can only beat the players in front of you and the Mariners still had to go out there and win the games. In this respect, the series victory was an important step in the development of a young ball club, especially against an opponent which has often had the upper hand in recent years.

Next up will be a more difficult challenge against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. First of all however, here are three takeaways from the Astros series, together with other noteworthy highlights:

More late innings heroics

One of the main traits of this 2021 edition of the Mariners, has been their propensity to not give up, no matter how hopeless a situation seems. This can be highlighted by their runs scored per inning, heading into the weekend series with the Astros.

Consider that through innings 1-5, the M’s had scored 24 runs through the first 13 games of the season. By comparison, they had scored 33 from the sixth inning onward.

The main examples of this never-quit attitude were on opening day versus the San Francisco Giants, as well as the series finales against the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins respectively. Now you can add Friday’s game at home against the Astros to the list.

The deficit may not have been as big as the games mentioned above, but it was still significant enough to add to the narrative of another thrilling comeback. The Mariners found themselves down 3-0 as they came to bat in the bottom of the sixth.

As has often been the case this season, it was the M’s triple threat of Mitch Haniger, Ty France and Kyle Seager who lit the fuse for the recovery. Haniger and France both reached base with hits, before being brought home by a Seager double, to get to within 3-2.

The resiliency of Seattle was tested, as Houston scored another two runs in the top of the seventh, to increase the lead back to three runs. However, the home side were once more ready to answer the challenge.

With two players on base, Haniger continued what was an outstanding individual night for him with his third hit, to score one run with the 200th RBI of his Major League career. Then France hit a sacrifice fly to bring another man home and pull the Mariners to within one run, at 5-4.

In the bottom of the eighth, it was the turn of an unlikely player to provide the game-tying hit. Evan White has received his fair amount of criticism for a poor showing with the bat this season.

However, White has been improving of late and Friday was the ideal opportunity to illustrate this. And he answered the challenge in style, as he tied the game at 5-5 with his first home run of the 2021 season.

This set the stage for France to be the hero in the ninth, after the Astros had been blanked in the top half of the inning. He came to the plate with two players on base, but two outs.

This did little to unnerve the 26-year-old, who has been fantastic for the M’s ever since spring training started. He promptly found the gap in right-center to bring J.P. Crawford home, with his first ever walk-off hit.

A delighted France talked about the approach of the Mariners with the media after the game. He said:

“We’re a team who’s got to scrap it together. It takes those walks from J.P., those type of innings that get [us] going.

“Late in the game, that’s huge for us. And the energy in the dugout never changed all game, which was fun to be a part of.”

For the season, the Mariners now have five comeback wins. This includes four wins after trailing by three or more runs and two walk-offs.

NEXT: A PROMISING ADDITION TO THE STARTING ROTATION

A promising – if inconsistent – start to season for Flexen

The only common denominators from Chris Flexen‘s first two starts to the 2021 season, were they lasted 5.0 innings and the Mariners won both games. Other than that, they could not have been more different.

In Flexen’s first start, he allowed just four hits and two walks, while striking out six and giving up no runs, to help the M’s clinch a season opening series versus the Giants. He did face a couple of potential tough situations in the third and fourth innings, but was able to work his way out of them with no damage.

The 26-year-old’s second start against a potent Twins lineup was less successful, despite striking out five and only allowing another couple of walks. He gave up eight hits to go with six runs (five earned), leaving Seattle in a 6-0 hole when he was taken out.

Suffice it to say, Flexen has had an interesting up and down beginning to the year. This theme continued on Saturday against the Astros, in his third start of the season.

For example, the right-handed pitcher allowed 10 hits, but just one earned run. In addition, he gave up no walks, but only had three strikeouts.

When it was all said and done, Flexen took his first loss of the season due to the Mariners’ inability to conjure up even one run against the outstanding Zach Greinke. Overall, he was unfortunate to have this outcome on the night, as the Mariners lost 1-0.

Consider that the Newark, California native became the first M’s starting pitcher this season not to allow a single walk. And even though he gave up 10 hits, nine of them were only singles.

It is also worth noting that Flexen officially went 6.0 innings – he pitched to one batter in the seventh – to tie his career high in the Majors. The last time he went 6.0 innings was when he started for the Mets against the Diamondbacks on Aug. 23, 2017.

Overall, being able to go toe to toe with someone that has Greinke’s resume was a huge boost for Flexen. He spoke to the media afterwards about what the outing meant to him:

“It’s definitely a sign of confidence. My game plan was to attack and get ahead, induce contact and try to go as deep in the ball game as I could, with as few runs [as possible]. Unfortunately, tonight we came up just short.”

Manger Scott Servais said Saturday night represented the best blend of Flexen’s stuff since he joined the Mariners. The right-handed pitcher was asked if he agreed with this assessment:

“Tonight was pretty solid. I definitely had a solid command of all four [pitches].

“I was able to mix all four any time, any count; that’s something I’ve been continuing to try to build on and have confidence. If you fall behind, be able to trust your secondary stuff when needed.”

NEXT: KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO EARLY-SEASON SUCCESS

Mariners’ bullpen continues to shine

As much as the offense often gets the glory for dramatic comeback wins, pitching also deserves a fair share of credit. If you can’t stop the other team scoring, it doesn’t matter how well the lineup hits late on in games.

In this respect, the M’s had allowed 46 runs through innings 1-5 during the first 13 games of the season. This was in stark contrast to the 19 runs giving up from the sixth inning onward.

Further, a bullpen which was much maligned last season, has been exceptional for Seattle to this point in 2021. Heading into the Astros series, this was highlighted by being the only team in the Majors so far this season to have three players with multiple saves.

The players in question were Kendall Graveman, Keynan Middelton and Rafael Montero, with two saves each. As such, the Mariners joined the 1985 Toronto Blue Jays as the only teams in MLB history to have three players with multiple saves after 13 games.

Obviously it’s a team effort when it comes to the bullpen, with plenty of standout moments and players. For example, Graveman had made nine consecutive appearances without allowing a run prior to the Houston series, dating back to Sept. 9, 2020 and spanning 11.1 innings.

During this stretch, the 30-year-old only allowed three hits (all singles) and four hits, while striking out eight hitters. He held opponents to a 0.88 batting average, .205 on-base percentage and 0.88 slugging percentage (.293 OPS).

Meanwhile, Anthony Misiewicz entered the weekend series with a hard-hit rate of just 7.7 percent. He was one of just six relievers in the Majors this season to have thrown at least 3.0 innings and post a hard-hit rate below 10 percent.

The bullpen continued its team effort and impressive form during the Houston series. As you’d expect, they played a key role in the comeback win on Friday night.

Yusei Kikuchi went 7.0 innings before being replaced by Drew Steckenrider for the eighth. Steckenrider allowed just one hit and kept the Mariners within striking distance at 5-4.

After Seattle tied the score at 5-5, Misiewicz – who returned on Friday after a spell on the injured list for undisclosed reasons – came in for the top of the ninth. He mowed through three straight batters, including two strikeouts, to set the stage for France’s walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth.

The following night was not quite as successful for the team, as per the aforementioned frustrating 1-0 loss. Again though, the bullpen did its job to keep the Mariners within striking distance to the end.

Casey Sadler, Will Vest and Middleton all pitched 1.0 inning each and were virtually flawless. The only blip was one walk by Vest, as they combined to allow no hits or runs, along with four strikeouts. (Two each for Vest and Middleton.)

The Mariners’ bullpen saved their best performance of the series — and season — for Sunday, after Nick Margevicius was pulled from the game in the fourth inning. (Servais later confirmed Margevicius was taken out due to arm fatigue rather than an injury.)

What followed was an inspired effort from five pitchers. Combined, they did not give up a single hit or run, while allowing just one walk in 5.0 innings.

Ljay Newsome got the majority of the praise, after coming in for Margevicius on short notice and pitching 2.0 innings, to notch his first Major League win. However, Sadler, Misiewicz, Montero and Steckenrider all received their due credit as well.

As we mentioned, the bullpen was a sore point for the Mariners last year. The contrast could not be more stark so far this season, especially following Sunday’s slate of games.

Among all Major League bullpens, Seattle is ranked fifth in ERA (2.93) and third in WHIP (1.06). Even more impressively, the bullpen leads the Majors with a .184 batting averaging, while also recording a league-best seven wins. 

NEXT: OTHER NOTABLE HIGHLIGHTS

Other notes:

Following the Astros series, what is your position on the Mariners’ season to date? Do you see them continuing to win with the same consistency moving forward, or expect them to drop off? Let us know in the comments section below.

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