Rookie Cade Marlowe continues his excellent start in the Majors, hitting the winning homer in the top of the ninth to lead the Mariners to victory.
Don’t look now, but the Mariners are a season-high five games above .500 at 57-52 and just 2.5 back of a wild card spot. All thanks to a late rally on Thursday night, when Cade Marlowe won the game in dramatic fashion.
Marlowe only got his chance, due to Jarred Kelenic’s recent injury. However, he’s grabbed the opportunity with both hands and is off to a fantastic start in his Major League career.
The 2019 20th round draft pick has injected a new lease of life into the lineup and everyone’s benefiting. Through 12 games, he’s batting .333 with a 1.095 OPS.
This includes Thursday night, when Marlowe won the game in Anaheim in the top of the ninth. The Mariners had entered the final inning down 3-1 and with all hope seemingly lost.
Overcoming perfection
This mood wasn’t helped by the Angels bringing in Carlos Estevez, who was 23-for-23 in save opportunities this season. However, the closer was off from the very start, walking the first two batters he faced.
Then, Estevez allowed a single, to load the bases with no outs. He followed this by finally getting the first out, setting the stage for Marlow’s heroics.
The 26-year-old fell behind 0-2, but then smartly called a timeout to calm himself down. He proceeded to produce the hit of the Mariners’ season — so far — with his first career grand slam.
Marlowe provided his take on the moment postgame to the media. He said:
“I was just thinking about getting on top of something, hitting a hard line drive. Swung through the first two at the top, and finally got on top of one, the last one.”
Humble but confident
Despite his low-key, humble description of what was a clutch moment, don’t doubt that Marlowe has a lot of faith in his abilities. He said:
“I always believed I’d get here. Every step of the way, I just learned as much as I could, and now I’m here. I’m grateful to be here and I thank God every day that I am. It’s just awesome.”
Marlowe’s last comment was right out of the Scott Servais phrasebook. Talking about the youngster, the Mariners manager said:
“What he’s done for us since he’s come here, he’s really given us a shot in the arm. He’s an awesome competitor and he’s not overthinking it. He’s just playing baseball and he’s enjoying it. He’s having a lot of success and good for him – and us. We needed it.”
Servais also spoke specifically about Marlowe’s winning hit. He said:
“That was some kind of swing. It’s 100 miles an hour at the top of the zone. As a young player, you’re just trying to get the bat there.”
Ohtani watch
Marlowe’s moment in the sun took the limelight away from Shohei Ohtani, which is not easy to do. The favorite for AL MVP had quite an evening himself regardless, as he held the Mariners to three hits and no runs through four innings.
However, Ohtani was then forced to leave the game as a pitcher, due to recurring cramp in his right hand and fingers. He still stayed in the game as a batter though, hitting his 40th home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth for a 3-1 advantage.
The Mariners had actually taken the lead in the top of the sixth, courtesy of Eugenio Suarez’s solo blast. The hit was Suarez’s team-leading 70th RBI of the season; he also tied a club record of nine consecutive games with a RBI.
Tremendous start from Woo
With the visitors struggling to generate runs prior to Marlowe’s late grand slam, Bryan Woo deserves credit for keeping his team in the game. In fact he was lights out for the majority of his outing.
Woo allowed just two hits and one walk through five innings, and everything looked good in the sixth as he got the first two necessary outs. However, it then started to unravel.
Servais issued an intentional walk of Ohtani, which was perfectly understandable. However, the three-time All-Star then stole second base and proceeded to come home on a single, to tie the game at 1-1.
Another single gave the Angles their first lead of the game at 2-1, and Woo’s day subsequently ended after six innings. Overall though he threw well, recording six strikeouts and only needing 83 pitches to get through his outing.
Servais spoke glowingly about the 23-year-old postgame. He said:
“One of the best outings he’s had all year. Really efficient, he was in the strike-zone early. He got his secondary pitches working. He ran into a little trouble there in the sixth inning with two outs … but he got through the inning.”
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Mariners seal the deal
Even after Marlowe had given the Mariners the late lead, there was still the question of if they could seal the deal. Especially with their main closer Paul Sewald being traded away a few days earlier.
However, Andres Munoz came in and pitched a clean inning, striking out all three batters he faced. This alluded to a different approach to Sewald, who prefers to put the ball in play to get his outs – in any event, it represented Munoz’s fourth save of the season.
Overall, Servais continues to be impressed by the fortitude of his players. He said:
“We continue to grind and grind and grind, and find ways to win ballgames. It wasn’t easy tonight. Ohtani was on top of his game on the mound and I’m not sure why he had to come out. But a good way to start the series and keep rolling. It’s a different guy every night, but that’s what it takes this time of year.”
Next up, the Mariners will send staff ace Luis Castillo to the mound on Friday night. The Angels will counter with Reid Detmers, who is unbeaten in his career against Seattle.
What was your main takeaway from Thursday’s game in Anaheim? How many wins do you predict the Mariners will have in this series versus the Angels? Let us know in the comments section below.
