Mariners continue run of good form with dominating 8-2 win over Padres

The Seattle Mariners took the first game of this year’s Vedder Cup, with an impressive 8-2 victory versus the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

When the Mariners lost 4-0 to the Los Angeles Angels on June 19, they fell to a disappointing 29-39 on the season. Since then however, they have won 11 of 14 games and now find themselves at 40-42, just four back of a wild card spot entering Tuesday’s action.

There’s still plenty of work to do of course, but the turnaround in form has provided hope for the long suffering Mariners fan base. Their most recent win came on Monday afternoon, as Seattle dominated the Padres 8-2 in San Diego.

Leading the way was Chris Flexen, who had his best effort of the season when needed most, against a strong Padres ball club. On the day, he pitched 6.2 innings and recorded season bests of four hits, eight strikeouts (which matched his career high) and — most important of all — no runs.

This performance was in stark contrast to the previous time Flexen pitched at Petco Park, last season. On that day, he set Major League career worsts, with 1.2 innings, 10 hits and eight runs.

The 28-year-old was arguably the Mariners’ best pitcher last season. He led the rotation in starts, quality starts, innings pitched, wins, WAR and ERA.

This season has been more of a struggle for Flexen, but it should be noted he has improved of late. In his last eight starts, he has allowed no more than three earned runs or three walks in any outing and seen his ERA gradually decrease, from 4.98 to 4.00.

Flexen was modest in describing his performance versus the Padres. Speaking to members of the media he said:

“I just tried to come and out and win this ballgame today … It comes down to execution. I was able to execute quite often today and I was on the attack.”

Another standout performance came from J.P. Crawford, in his first appearance since being suspended four games for his part in the recent Los Angeles brawl.* On the day, he led Mariners batters with three of their eight total hits.

There was also a notable highlight courtesy of Julio Rodriguez, who was fresh off winning a second consecutive AL rookie of the month award. He only had one hit on the day, but it was a beauty in the fourth inning, as he blasted a two-run homer into the upper deck.

The home run doubled the Mariners’ lead to 4-0 and they never looked back, as they took the first game of this year’s Vedder Cup. For Rodriguez specifically though, he continues to impress, looking more and more like the superstar he was projected to be.

In this respect, the 21-year-old now has 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases through 81 Major League games. This is the quickest anyone has ever reached these totals, ahead of Ellis Burks and Barry Bonds, at 82 and 90 games respectively.

From Rodriguez’s perspective, he’s taking everything in his stride. Speaking to the media after the game, he said:

“I’m honestly not setting any limit on it. I’m just playing ball everyday and whatever results come out at the end of the season, that’s what I’m going to take. But I’m just going to keep going.”

Mariners manager Scott Servais was delighted with the overall team effort. Speaking to the media, he said:

“A great way to spend the Fourth of July, with a complete game. We really had it all going on today. We haven’t had that complete of a game since the beginning of our last homestand.”

The Mariners will complete their two-game series versus the Padres on Tuesday afternoon, with Logan Gilbert taking the mound. They will then return to Seattle, for an important four-game series against the talented but faltering Toronto Blue Jays.

* Jesse Winker has now started his suspension, which was reduced from seven to six games. Rodriguez is still waiting to find out the result of his appeal for the two-game ban he received.

With this recent run of form, how confident are you that the Mariners will get back into the wild card chase? Do you consider them legitimate contenders, or is a case of having left themselves too much to do? Let us know in the comments section below.