Mariners: Suarez leads the way in 10-2 rout of Athletics

The Seattle Mariners continue to roll on offense, as Eugenio Suarez hits a career-high-tying five RBIs in a 10-2 win versus the Oakland Athletics.

While questions remain about the Mariners offense continuing to produce more consistently, they are in full swing at the moment. (Apologies, it was hard to resist writing that.) The Athletics were the latest victims of the M’s recent potent form with the bats, losing 10-2 on Friday night.

To give some context of how hot Seattle’s hitting has been of late, they have now scored 35 runs in their past four games combined. Their previous four-game high this year was 30, during the first month of the season.

As for Friday night specifically, all 11 batters who made an appearance for the Mariners had at least one hit. Of the 11, Ty France showed he is over his recent (minor) struggles, with a couple of hits and two RBIs.

Suarez equals a career high

However, it was Eugenio Suarez who quite rightly took most of the credit. Like France he had two hits, while also tying his career-high of five RBIs.

The Athletics actually had a slim 2-1 lead heading into the fourth inning, before Suarez made his mark. His two-run homer put the Mariners in front 3-2 and they never looked back.

The 2018 All-Star delivered an encore in his next at-bat, during the top of the sixth. His second bomb scored another three runs, as Seattle increased their advantage to 6-2.

The Athletics’ starting pitcher Cole Irvin had entered the evening with a strong 3.13 ERA. For this night though he couldn’t handle Suarez, leaving the game after six innings having allowed six hits and six runs, including five earned.

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No letup from the Mariners offense

In fairness to Irvin, his replacement Norge Ruiz struggled even more. Ruiz only lasted 1.2 innings, as he gave up six hits and four runs, including two earned.

By the end of the game, the Mariners had accumulated their 10 runs on 13 hits. Aside from Suarez and France, both Jesse Winker and Jake Lamb had an RBI.

Given Suarez had been in a slump of late, Friday night was particularly sweet for him. You can never keep a good hitter down for long though, and it’s worth noting his 151 home runs since the start of the 2018 season are the most in the Majors.

As much as the game was a personal success for the 31-year-old, he was excited about how the lineup performed as a whole. He said:

“It’s unbelievable, the way we’ve been doing it (and) the way we’ve been playing the game. We’ve been doing a lot of good things and have got good results coming, when you keep that energy. I think more important, starting in the clubhouse when you get here, everybody has got the same goals. You go outside and play hard and win the games, that’s when everybody does something. You see today guys coming from the bench and hit doubles, RBI singles and all that stuff. It’s just because you have people seeing what we are doing and they want to do something too. That’s why we’re playing really good right now.”

Playing good can be considered an understatement at the moment. The last time the Mariners had 11 players record at least one hit was back on May 13, in 2011.

Following on from Wednesday afternoon’s 11-7 win in Anaheim, this is the first time Seattle has scored 10+ runs in back-to-back games since 2019. Combining this level of offense with the excellent pitching staff, makes the Mariners a scary proposition for other teams.

A better showing from Gonzales

On the subject of pitching, Marco Gonzales entered Friday night as a man under pressure. Having giving up at least five earned runs in four of his previous six starts, he desperately needed a good outing.

In this respect, facing the Athletics in Oakland was just what the Doctor ordered. Prior to Friday night, the Mariners had a nine-game winning streak at the Oakland Coliseum.

Even allowing for the offense, Gonzales did fine in allowing six hits and just two runs, including one earned. He still has room to improve however, as he lasted 5.1 innings and walked two batters, while only striking out one.

The 30-year-old’s evening came to an end, as a result of giving up two singles and one of his walks in the top of the sixth. While he would have preferred to finish the inning, it was a smart move to take him out of the game at this point.

More of the same from the bullpen

In fairness, when you have a bullpen like Seattle’s to rely on, it helps make the decision easier. And so it would be, as Matt Brash, Diego Castillo, Penn Murfee and Chris Flexen combined to not even allow a hit in 3.2 innings.

To highlight how reliable the bullpen is, they are tied for the league lead with a .209 batting average following Friday’s action. They are also second with a 1.08 WHIP and ninth with an ERA of 3.40.

Back to Gonzales, he retains confidence in himself. This is an important trait to have, especially in tough times.

The southpaw discussed his recent form with the media after the game. He said:

“I think my body and my arm feel way better than the results that I’m getting. At times it’s been frustrating, battling through that, trying to stay on track and keep my mind right. I just want to give my team a chance to win every time out. I’ve been frustrated and I’ve just got to continue to work.”

When speaking to the media, manager Scott Servais was asked about the offense’s recent improvement. He said:

“We do have some more experienced guys (back) and there’s an understanding of what they’re about and what it’s going to take to win that particular night, the focus obviously being (the opponent’s) starting pitcher. (We have) quality at-bats up and down the lineup. We do it a little differently, (so) it’s been great to see the power come. Home runs are awesome and you have to hit them in this league to win. So to see some of the guys swinging the bat so well, it’s been really nice.”

Thanks to the win, the Mariners improved to 66-54 and are now a season-high 12 games above .500. They retain the first wild card spot in the AL, but the fight for playoff positions remains tight.

As such, at the risk of sounding greedy, Seattle ideally needs to sweep the Athletics this weekend. With Logan Gilbert and Luis Castillo starting in the final two games of the series, they have every chance of doing just this, even more so if the offense continues to fire on all cylinders.

How confident are you in the Mariners offense producing more consistently for the remainder of this season? On an individual level, are you concerned at all about Julio Rodriguez’s .206 batting average since returning from his wrist injury? Let us know in the comments section below.