Mariners: Offense has another late surge to beat Angels 8-2

The Mariners’ bats get hot in the ninth inning for the second consecutive night, but unlike Monday, no luck is needed as they clinch the series in Los Angeles with a 8-2 win.

For a while on Tuesday night, the inconsistent Mariners offense was on course for one of their poorer showings of the season. In fact it was a potentially historically poor showing, as the Angels’ Jose Suarez retired the first 16 batters he faced.

However, trailing 2-0 and with one out in the sixth, the Mariners’ bats finally woke up. Three straight singles loaded the bases, with Ty France coming to the plate.

Despite being arguably the best bat on the team, if there was one player who needed a hit, it was France. Since returning from a left wrist injury, he had a lowly .130 batting average entering Tuesday’s game.

Fortunately for the Mariners, the 2022 All-Star reverted to form by producing a key hit. His two-RBI single tied the game at 2-2 and chased Suarez from the mound, to be replaced by Jimmy Herget.

France was asked about his approach in relation to his recent struggles and for Tuesday’s game in particular. He said:

“To be honest, every time I get in the box it’s specific to that at-bat. I hadn’t really been thinking about it much. It’s one of those things where you reflect on it after the game, but during the game you take it one bat at a time. You never know when a situation like that is going to (come), so you have to be ready.”

The Mariners weren’t done yet in the sixth though. Jesse Winker hit a sacrifice fly to right field, to give Seattle their first lead of the night at 3-2.

Deja vu (sort of) in the ninth

The game remained tight until the top of the ninth, before the Mariners repeated — and indeed exceeded –their scoring blitz of a night earlier. This time though, they needed no luck.

The five-run inning started with Adam Frazier, who had already made his mark by ending Suarez’s bid for a perfect game. Facing the pressure of two outs, Frazier hit a two-run triple which increased Seattle’s lead to 5-2.

Next it was the turn of Sam Haggerty, who produced the play of the game the night before. His RBI single made it 6-2.

Finally, prohibitive AL Rookie of the Year favorite Julio Rodriguez came to the plate, already with two hits in the game. He went on to blast a two-run homer to make it 8-2, and it was game over.

Afterwards, Frazier discussed the talent and depth in the lineup, while also touching on the inconsistency of the offense. He said:

“We’ve got a deep lineup; not just the starters, but the bench too. Anybody can come through at any moment. It’s the sign of a good team. It’s a long season, so we don’t expect those guys to hit every day (even though) fans become accustomed to it. They’re really good hitters, really good players, so we pick each other up. That’s all we can do, that’s what good teams do one through nine.”

Another good outing

Aside from the bats, Robbie Ray had his third consecutive quality start. However, it wasn’t entirely stress-free for fans.

Ray allowed a solo home run blast to Luis Rengifo in the bottom of the first, to give the Angeles an early 1-0 lead. Now fast forward to the third inning, where he faced his biggest challenge of his outing.

The Angels took a 2-0 lead with another run, then loaded the bases with just one out. After a meeting with pitching coach Pete Woodworth however, an inspired Ray produced a double play to end the inning.

In the end, Ray pitched six innings and kept his team in the game when needed most. He allowed six hits, a couple of walks and just two earned runs, while striking out 10.

Afterwards, Ray was asked about the key moment he faced in the bottom of the third inning. He said:

“I felt like I was one pitch away. I made some pretty good pitches up until then. I just tried to buckle down. I knew that they were probably going to be pretty aggressive and I made a good pitch, to turn the double play. It was huge to stop the momentum they had going.”

Once Ray departed, the bullpen stepped up as per usual. Andres Munoz, Matt Festa and Eric Swanson combined to allow just one hit, a walk and no earned runs in three innings.

Manager Scott Servais was full of praise for the offense afterwards, particularly Frazier. He said:

“Adam Frazier has been huge for us. The last six or seven weeks, he’s been awesome. I don’t think people give enough credit for turning his season around the way he has. He’s a tough out. He just puts the bat on the ball, finds holes, gets on base and creates a lot of havoc out there.”

More generally speaking, Servais was happy with clinching the series, but wants more. He said:

“It’s a nice win and it’s good to win the series. That’s what we came here to do. Now let’s get a little bit more tomorrow, get greedy and see if we can sweep it.”

With the win, the Mariners improved to 64-54 and maintained their slender hold on the first wild card spot in the AL. Every victory is crucial and with this in mind, they will send George Kirby to the mound on Wednesday afternoon against their divisional rivals.

What was the most important aspect for you, in Tuesday night’s win? Do you now expect the Mariners to sweep the Angels in Wednesday’s series finale? Let us know in the comments section below.