Mariners secure series win with 5-1 victory over White Sox

Julio Rodriguez, Jarred Kelenic and Bryce Miller highlight a hard-fought 5-1 win for the Mariners in the rubber match versus the White Sox.

The Mariners’ struggles on offense have been well-documented all season, including striking out way too often. This particular issue was highlighted significantly on Sunday afternoon, during the rubber match with the White Sox.

Chicago pitcher Lance Lynn generated a staggering 33 swinging strikes, as he equaled a franchise record of 16 strikeouts. In total, Seattle struck out 18 times and rank fourth-worst in the Majors as of Monday morning.

Fortunately for the Mariners, they were still facing a pitcher with a 6.51 ERA and 1.51 WHIP on the season. And they did just enough to score the necessary runs, securing a 5-1 win and the series versus the White Sox.

J-Rod does his thing

Despite underachieving up to this point of the season — when considering his talent level — Julio Rodriguez came up clutch on Sunday afternoon. He got things going in the bottom of the third, with a two-run double that gave Seattle a 2-0 lead.

Then, after Chicago pulled to within 2-1 in the top of the sixth, Rodriguez drew a walk and subsequently stole second. However, as has often been the case in 2023, Seattle failed to take advantage.

Despite this, Rodriguez’s contributions in the bottom of the sixth were still of significance. More specifically, he tied Fernando Tatis Jr. as the only players in Major League history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in their first 200 games.

Mariners manager Scott Servais was full of praise for the 22-year-old. He said:

“Julio is a fantastic player and he’s just scratching the surface. He’s got a chance to be just a dynamic superstar in our game.”

Kelenic just continues to hit

On the subject of dynamic talent, the Mariners’ other young star also stepped up on the day. With the game still hanging in the balance in the bottom of the eighth, Jarred Kelenic continued his breakout offensive season.

With Lynn finally out of the game, the Mariners loaded the bases and Kelenic took advantage. He cleared the bases with a three-run triple, to increase the lead to 5-1 and all but put the game out of reach.

The 2018 sixth overall draft pick discussed his at-bat with the media after the game. He said:

“Any time you can put any insurance runs on is huge. We had ducks on the pond, if you call it that, and (were) just trying to get them in.”

Servais appreciates what he has in Rodriguez and Kelenic, especially on a day when Seattle only managed five hits. He said:

“When you’re in games like today, when we’re coming off a tough loss last night, you kind of need your best players to step up and get a big hit. (Julio) got one and Jarred got one. It was good for those young guys.”

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Miller Time

The third young talent who contributed significantly to Sunday’s win, was Bryce Miller. He followed up an outstanding effort in his previous outing, with another excellent start versus Chicago.

Miller allowed just four hits , no walks and only one run, while striking out six batters. He also equaled his career-high of seven innings – especially important after Seattle taxed their bullpen a night earlier in a 11-innings loss.

The 2021 fourth round draft pick discussed his approach to trying to go longer in outings. He said:

“I want to go deep in every game, but mentally, just trying to — my last outing, I had three walks and I was just kind of behind a lot. And this week, I wanted to attack, get ahead early, first-pitch strikes and the more I do that, the better chance I have to get deep into the game.”

What Miller has done since coming into the rotation, has more than made up for the loss of Robbie Ray. In particular, his 0.88 WHIP would lead all Major League starters if he had pitched enough innings to qualify.

Regardless, Servais continues to be impressed by his young pitcher. He said:

“It starts with that guy on the mound. Bryce Miller, wow, what an outing on a day that our bullpen was very thin. That was our best shot to win the game. He had to go out and dominate that game and he did it. For a young player, it’s very, very impressive.”

The biggest concern on the day for Miller, was when he was hit in the back of the leg by a comebacker in the top of the third. After speaking to Servais and trainer Taylor Bennett, he remained in the game.

Fortunately for the Mariners, the ball hit the muscle rather than the bone. Talking about Miller’s attitude regarding the incident, Servais said:

“In typical Bryce Miller fashion, he says, ‘I’m okay I’ve been doing some calf raises’. That’s what he says to me on the mound.”

An impressive series win for Mariners

After Miller left the game, Justin Topa and Ty Adcock pitched an inning each to close out the game and seal the win. Topa had his 13th hold of the year — tied for third-most in the Majors — while Adcock maintained a 0.00 ERA through three appearances to begin his career.

Overall, Servais was happy with a victory which helped the Mariners end their home-stand with a 4-2 record. He said:

“That’s a nice series win. That’s a big bounce back. I mentioned it earlier today, but I think everybody left here very disappointed last night. We should have won the game yesterday. Our players, they come in and know we’ve got to wipe it clean. It’s not easy.”

With the win, the Mariners once again return to .500, this time with a record of 35-35. They are also just 3.0 games back of a wild card spot in the AL.

Next up, Seattle hits the road for an important six-game trip in New York and Baltimore. The two series versus the Yankees and Orioles could go a long way towards helping determine how genuine their playoff chances are.

The Mariners have managed to stay in contention for a wild card spot despite remaining around the .500 mark all year. Where is you confidence level at, given the upcoming six-game road trip versus the Yankees and Orioles? Let us know in the comments section below.