Mariners strike first in critical series with the Guardians

Marco Gonzales and the bullpen pick up the slack for an inconsistent offense, as the Seattle Mariners win 3-1 on Thursday night versus the Cleveland Guardians.

Never let it be said this Mariners team is easy to figure out, after only going a combined 2-3 against the two worst teams in the Majors. So of course they followed this up on Thursday night by beating one of the top teams in the AL.

Yes, there’s still three more games remaining in this series against the Guardians. Regardless, the M’s 3-1 win on Thursday was as important as it was impressive.

After a brief surge of scoring from the offense, it has returned to its usual inconsistent (and frustrating) level of production. As such, it was down to Marco Gonzales and the bullpen to pick up the slack.

Strongest start in a while

For Gonzales specifically, his outing on Thursday represented a second consecutive quality start. Coming after a period where he allowed at least five earned runs in four of six games, it is a welcome return to form.

Thursday’s start was also significant, in that the 30-year-old excelled against a strong and talented Cleveland team. Also, in allowing just four hits and one earned run in six innings, it was his best outing since the All-Star break.

Gonzales’ only major challenge ended up happening in the opening inning. A single and a bunt which took a funky bounce, placed runners on first and third base, with no outs.

The Guardians then scored on a failed double play, to take a 1-0 lead. That would be their only run of the evening.

Although not entirely satisfied as a person who sets high personal standards, Gonzales still acknowledged he pitched well. He said:

“I feel like we had a good game plan going in. (There were) a couple of misses in the first. The ball down the line that’s just like sitting on the chalk, what are you gonna do? After that, we just had a steady mix and just followed our game plan. We just went back to doing what we do, which is execute pitches.”

Mister consistent

As with the Guardians, all of the Mariners’ scoring came in the first inning. And on a night the M’s only managed four hits, Mitch Haniger was the offensive star.

Since returning from injury, Haniger has been the most consistent bat for Seattle. He has hits in all but two games and has seen his batting average shoot up from .200 to .275.

The 2018 All-Star had two hits on Thursday night, with the key one coming in the bottom of the first. His home run with two men on base gave the Mariners a 3-1 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Triston McKenzie entered the evening with a 3.11 ERA and has a 0.95 WHIP on the season, so Haniger had to be ready to seize on any opportunity. He said:

“He threw me three straight sliders and by the third one I recognized it well. (It) caught a little too much plate and was thigh-high, (so) I put a good swing on it. But yeah, he’s a good pitcher and he’s got good stuff. He’s got a good rising fastball (and) he’ll throw some really good sliders. As a hitter, you just want him to miss a little bit with it and then try to put a good swing on it.”

Mariners bullpen delivers again

As already mentioned, the bullpen also played a key role in the win. Erik Swanson pitched a clean inning, but then Matt Brash had some trouble, as he got two outs but also allowed two hits.

At this point, manager Scott Servais handed the reins over to Andres Munoz. To add to the pressure, he had to face three-time Silver Slugger Jose Ramirez.

Munoz won the key matchup, which Daniel Kramer of mlb.com describes here in excellent detail. The reliever then returned for the ninth to pitch a 1-2-3 inning and secure the 3-1 win.

Servais was asked afterwards about how much faith he has in Munoz these days. He said:

“I have a lot of faith. Everybody should. He is one of the best breaking pitchers in the game no question. He backs that up by throwing 102 (mph) and he’s able to locate it as much as anything. The first couple of sliders he threw Ramirez when he came out of the pen, were not the typical Munoz slides. (However), as he got into the count, he threw him a good one on 2-0 and he got back into it … The last one he threw was just electric, and then getting the last three outs on the night was huge.”

Combined with other results, the Mariners remain in the third wild card spot in the AL. They will send Logan Gilbert to the mound on Friday night, as they aim to make it two wins out of two in this series.

Where is your confidence level at right now with the Mariners? Further, how many games do you predict they will win overall in this series with the Guardians. Let us know in the comments section below.