Mariners sweep Padres on the road with 2-0 win

Bryce Miller has one of his best starts of the season and the offense does just enough to ensure the Mariners win the series in San Diego.

Tuesday’s game in San Diego was all about the Mariners offense, as Julio Rodríguez led the way with four hits in a convincing 8-3 win. On Wednesday it was more of what fans in Seattle are used to, with strong pitching and not much from the lineup.

Fortunately for everyone concerned though, the Mariners did just enough offensively to help them win 2-0 and secure a two-game sweep over the Padres. This also doubled as the first series win for the Mariners after losing their last six; the previous series win over the Texas Rangers also represented the last time they swept an opponent.

The star of the day was arguably Bryce Miller, who overcame his overall struggles on the road this season with an excellent pitching performance versus the Padres. Although he did require some exceptional assistance from Rodríguez in the bottom of the second.

Miller found himself facing a bases-loaded situation with only one out. However, Rodríguez came up with the inning-ending double play, with a heat seeking missile from centre field that Cal Raleigh fielded at home plate, to tag out a sliding Donovan Solano.

Aside from this one sticky moment, Miller worked his way handily through the Padres’ lineup. He allowed just five hits and no walks or runs, while striking out one on 80 total pitches in 6.0 innings.

The righty spoke about his outing to the media postgame. He said:

“It was kind of a weird game. I was throwing it in there and they were putting it on the ground. Overall, happy with how it went. (I) gave us a chance and I’ll take all the weak contact. It it wasn’t for that long second inning, I probably could have gone a little longer.”

For all of Miller’s issues on the road this season — he entered Wednesday’s game with a 6.28 ERA on his travels — he has done extremely well versus National League teams regardless of where he’s pitching. Following the win versus the Padres, he’s 4-1 on the year in six starts against the National League, with a 1.98 ERA.

Mariners catch a break

That Miller was even in position to record the win, was in part down to a fielding error by the Padres in the top of the second. Cal Raleigh scored from second after Jorge Polanco’s hit went between the legs of Luis Arraez into right field, to make it 1-0 to the Mariners.

When a lineup is struggling as much as the Mariners are, they’ll take any slice of good fortune they can gather. Especially on a day when they could only muster four hits.

In terms of struggling, Polanco has been almost a poster child for the Mariners in this respect. However, as well as his involvement in the first run, his single in the top of the fourth scored another run and made it 2-0 to the visitors.

Once Miller left the mound, Austin Voth came in and pitched a clean seventh innings. However an inning later, the stress-inducing Ryne Stanek ran into some trouble after recording two outs.

Muñoz saves the day once again

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Stanek allowed a walk and a hit, to force Andrés Muñoz into action sooner than anyone would have preferred. The closer did get the necessary last out in the bottom of the eighth, but there was still time for one more scare for Mariners fans during the final inning.

Muñoz issued two walks and subsequently the runners found themselves on second and third base, with just one out. However, the Mariners’ ace reliever got back on track to record the final two outs and clinch his 15th save of the year.

Speaking to the media afterwards, Muñoz acknowledged the reason for his slight lapse in the ninth inning, which should also serve as a warning to the Mariners about relying on him too much. He said:

“I think something weird about today, is that I didn’t have that same energy in my second inning. That is something that never happened to me before. Probably that was why I was a little off in the (ninth) inning. In (my) first inning I had that energy, because I had two men on base and I had to get it done.”

As for Mariners manager Scott Servais, more generally speaking he had a hunch about what was going to be needed on the day. He said:

“Coming into today’s game, I had a feeling it had to be low scoring and we had to outpitch them. The play that Julio made in the second inning really gave us a shot in the arm.”

With the victory, the Mariners remain 2.0 games ahead of the looming Houston Astros at the top of the AL West. They now face a four-game series in Anaheim versus the Angels prior to the All-Star break, beginning on Thursday night

What stood out for you most during the series in San Diego? And looking ahead, how many wins do you predict the Mariners will gain from their four-game set versus the Angels in Anaheim? Let us know in the comments section below.