Mariners: 4 takeaway from opening series split with Minnesota Twins

A breakdown of the Seattle Mariners’ first series of the 2022 season, which saw them take two of four games in Minnesota against the Twins.

When it comes to the Mariners and baseball, there are several cliches which are repeatedly referenced during the opening weeks of a new season. Chief among these is that it is a marathon rather than a sprint.

Regardless, those involved will still look for early signs of trends in an attempt to get some indication of what to expect in the coming months. In this case, that means analyzing a Mariners ball club with the longest active playoff drought in the Majors (dating back to 2002).

The 2022 season started off well enough with two tight wins versus the Twins in Minnesota. However, this was quickly followed by 10-4 and 4-0 losses, to split the four-game series at Target Field.

Most fans would have taken a series split beforehand against a potent Twins line-up, but others would argue losing the last two impacts the momentum and optimism. Regardless, here are four takeaways, together with quotes, statistics, and other notes:

1) Robbie Ray provides an immediate return on investment:

There was a lot of anticipation for Mariners fans heading into the 2022 campaign, helped significantly by the acquisition of Robbie Ray. The 2021 AL Cy Young winner did not disappoint in Minnesota.

In what was the first opening day start of his Major League career, Ray showed why the Mariners signed him to a five-year deal worth $115 million. In fact, he went above and beyond what was expected.

Manager Scott Servais had ideally wanted to limit Ray to six innings, in part due to a shorter than usually spring training giving less time to build up stamina. However, the southpaw wanted to continue.

After speaking to pitching coach Pete Woodworth, Servais relented, on the condition Ray would only face a maximum of three batters. So of course the Mariners’ new ace retired all three with the minimum of fuss, to finish on 96 pitches through seven innings.

The 2021 AL strikeout leader started this year with another five on the day, while allowing just three hits and one earned run. The only downside — if you can call it that — was four walks, but ultimately they did not result in any additional damage on the scoreboard.

Aside from surrendering a solo home run blast in the bottom of the fourth, the biggest obstacles for Ray came in the third and fifth innings. He faced duplicate one-out situations with runners on first and second and Byron Buxton along with Carlos Correa coming up, but was able to safely navigate his way through both situations.

For the day, 63 of the 30-year-old’s 96 pitches went for strikes. As per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, his strike rate of 65.6 percent was just below the 66 percent he averaged last season.

Ray was understandably delighted with his outing. Speaking to the media afterwards, he said:

“I felt like my stuff was really sharp today. My misses were right where I wanted them to be. The slider was crisp, I threw a lot of fastballs early and was able to move it around. It felt really good. The one pitch they got me was still a really good curveball, so I’m not even mad about it. It’s one of those ones where you tip your cap and move on.”

As a result of going longer than initially wanted by Servais, Ray became just the fourth pitcher in franchise history to throw at least seven innings and allow one run or less on opening day. (Mike Moore in 1983, Randy Johnson in 1993 and five times by Felix Hernandez.)

Overall, while one start does not a season make, Ray has given Mariners fans early hope. He has also given his teammates confidence that they are always in with an excellent chance of winning, whenever he is on the mound.

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