Mariners vs. Astros: 3 takeaways from first home series of 2022

A breakdown of the Seattle Mariners’ impressive first series of the year against their divisional rivals, the Houston Astros.

There was some trepidation among certain factions of the Seattle Mariners fan base ahead of the first home stand of the 2022 season. This was in part due to first facing a Houston Astros ball club which in the previous five years had won four AL West division titles, three AL pennants and one World Series.

However, this could be countered by the fact that despite struggling for many years against Houston, Seattle actually performed well against them at T-Mobile Park in 2021. The home side had an overall record of 5-4 and won two of the three series.

Fortunately for the ball club and fans alike, last year’s home form versus the Astros continued into the first series of 2022 between the divisional rivals. As much as it’s early days, taking two of the three games can only help a young roster in continuing to develop confidence and a winning mentality.

As a side note, it was slightly disappointing to see the attendance drop to 26,583 for the series finale on Sunday, but if Seattle continues to win consistently, the crowds will be closer to what was witnessed on Friday (sellout) and Saturday (38,504). Here’s a review of the Houston series, with some takeaways, quotes, statistics and other notes:

1) Most complete performance yet:

At the risk of being accused of hyperbole, you couldn’t have scripted a better outcome for Friday’s home opener. (On Jackie Robinson Day no less.) Everything about the performance was essentially ideal, as the home side won 11-1.

To dominate against a ball club which has often had the better of you is certainly a special moment. To provide some context of how dominating the Mariners were, the 10-run win equaled their largest margin of victory in any game during last season.

From an individual perspective, Marco Gonzales bounced back impressively from his previous start in Minnesota, where he only lasted two innings. In fact, his performance on Friday night couldn’t have been more different.

Against the Twins, Gonzales repeatedly fell behind in the count in throwing a ball on the first pitch to 10 of the 14 batters he faced. Conversely, he threw a first pitch strike against 17 of the 25 Astros batters he faced.

Getting ahead in the count proved to be crucial, as the 30-year-old allowed just four hits and one earned run in seven innings. He gave up no walks while striking out six, as he went on to be credited with the win.

The win was particularly sweet, given Gonzales’ previous record against the Astros. Heading into the night, he had a 5.56 ERA in nine career starts against them and the Mariners had lost eight of those games.

Another player who stepped up was Adam Frazier, who was playing his first game at T-Mobile Park as a member of the Mariners. In five at-bats, he had four hits and four RBI.

This was the third time in his Major League career that Frazier had four RBI. He also scored two runs himself and finished just a home run shy of the cycle.

Along with Frazier, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez also saw their first action as Mariners in Seattle. Winker had two hits, one RBI, two walks and a run, while Suarez had a hit, three RBI, a walk and two runs.

The night went so well, that even Jarred Kelenic and Julio Rodriguez did their bit despite struggling for the majority of the season up to this point. Kelenic had one RBI and a walk, while Rodriquez registered a hit, a walk and one run.

Overall, the 11 runs and 13 hits were season highs, but manager Scott Servais remained grounded when discussing the performance afterwards with the media. He said:

“As good as tonight feels, it’s only one game. We’ve got a lot left to play, and we’re going to play these guys a lot. We know they’re very good. They’re very talented [and] they’ve got a ton of experience, but it was a good way to start off.”

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