The Mariners prove their mettle yet again, as they come from behind on Wednesday afternoon and win their first season series over the Yankees since 2002.
The Mariners may or may not finally end the longest active postseason drought in the Majors this year. However, as their 4-3 come-from-behind win versus the Yankees on Wednesday proved, never, ever doubt their mental fortitude.
With the result, the Mariners are now 27-14 this season in one-run games and their 27 wins lead the Majors. The victory also gave them their first season series win over the Yankees since way back in 2002.
Clearly over his recent poor displays in two games versus the Astros, Robbie Ray had a fantastic outing for the second consecutive start. For six innings he was lights out, as he allowed just two hits and no runs.
Talking to the media afterwards about his outing, Ray was mostly satisfied with the performance. He said:
“I felt really good. I felt like everything was coming out good. I came into this game thinking ‘I’m not going to let (Aaron) Judge beat me’. That was the biggest thing, especially having (Anthony) Rizzo behind him. A lefty-on-lefty matchup, I felt a little bit better about that matchup than I did against Judge. I felt like, for the most part, I executed pretty much how I wanted to.”
However, with the Mariners clinging to a 1- 0 lead, the Yankees finally got to him in the top of the seventh inning. Following a walk, Kyle Higashiola homered to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
It was at this point manager Scott Servais decide to remove the 2021 AL Cy Young winner. However, replacement Penn Murfee subsequently allowed a solo blast to Judge and suddenly it was 3-1 New York.
Ray’s final stat line saw him give up only three hits and two earned runs in 6.1 innings, along with seven strikeouts. While he did allow a season-high five walks, overall it looked like his excellent effort would all be for nothing for a second straight time.
As mentioned earlier however, the will and fight in this Mariners ball club is second to none. In fact their response was essentially immediate in coming during the bottom of the seventh, to the delight of the (majority of the) 43,280 in attendance at T-Mobile Park.
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As with Ray, Nestor Cortes had been excellent most of the afternoon versus the frustrated (or should that be frustrating?) Mariners offense. After a Ty France single though, the recently returned Mitch Haniger brought his teammate home with a RBI single and Cortes’ day was over.
The Mariners weren’t finished yet, as Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer against Cortes’ replacement, Albert Abreu. Suddenly the home side was in front again, this time 4-3.
What followed was the bullpen once more proving why they are one of the top units in all of baseball. The just-returned Diego Castillo and Paul Sewald pitched one inning each and combined to not allow a single hit or run, to preserve yet another hard-fought win.
Servais was in great spirits afterwards. Speaking to the media, he said:
“Anybody that’s been following the Mariners for a while certainly should have had fun. This week, great series. I can’t say enough about the effort (from) the players. Everybody on our roster contributing … A good ball game (today) and a great series … The times are changing and it’s great way to end a home stand.”
The series win over the Yankees was a necessary one, given how tight things are in the race for the three wild card place in the AL. The Mariners hold the second slot heading into Thursday’s games, but are one of four teams with 52 or 53 losses. (The Blue Jays have 50.)
The Yankees home series finale also represents the conclusion of a key period in the Mariners’ season. Following the All-Star break, they faced a 20-game slate which included 13 combined versus Houston and New York, the two top teams in the AL.
That Seattle managed to go 10-10 overall (with Julio Rodriguez missing 15 of the 20 games) and remain in a wild card spot, which was extremely important. Moving forward, they have what is considered the easiest remaining schedule out of the teams jockeying for position.
There is never a sure thing when it comes to professional sports in general and baseball in particular, but it really is in the Mariners’ hands now. And if there mental fortitude is anything to go by, something special is starting to happen.
What stood out for you most in this home series versus the Yankees? Where is your confidence level at, in respect of the Mariners finally returning to the postseason this year? Let us know in the comments section below.
