Mariners break out early and beat Phillies 10-2

Justin Turner leads the way on offense and Bryon Woo has a stellar outing, as the Mariners surprisingly dominate the Phillies.

It’s still early days, but the addition of Randy Arozarena and then Justin Turner have so far been like a breath of fresh air to the Seattle Mariners lineup. Friday’s unexpected 10-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies saw both continue to exert their offensive influence, on a ball club which is still without both Julio Rodríguez and J.P. Crawford.

Turner was particularly effective, with his game-high and season-equalling four RBI leading the way, all coming on one hit for the fourth grand slam of his career. In three games since joining the Mariners, he has five hits, a homer, six RBI and a run in 14 at-bats.

The 39-year-old poked fun at himself postgame, when speaking to the media about his success. He said:

“I’ve had a lot of at-bats. No, I just think that when you get in those situations, I’ve learned that you don’t try to do too much and take what they give you and have small goals — and sometimes big things happen.”

Meanwhile, Arozarena got on base with every at-bat on Friday night, as he contributed one hit, a couple of walks and two runs. In six games since arriving in Seattle, he has seven hits, five walks, one homer, two RBI and seven runs in 22 at-bats.

While not quite as new to the Mariners, it was another recent addition who got the team going, in the form of Víctor Robles. He hit a solo blast with the very first pitch of the bottom of the first to give the home side a 1-0 lead, and they never looked back.

Robles has been a revelation for the Mariners, since arriving in a trade from the Washington Nationals on June 4. While no one expects it to continue indefinitely, he has a .367/.425/.557 slash line and .982 OPS so far during his time in Seattle.

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A 7-run blitz in the second for the Mariners

The game broke open in the bottom of the second, as Luke Raley hit a three-run homer to make it 4-0. Then came Turner’s grand slam and even after two innings the game was all but over, with the Mariners holding a 8-0 advantage.

Raley’s hit was particularly important, given how poorly he performed at the plate during July. After the game, he said:

“I think what I’ve been fighting is my timing more than anything and to get one like that to right field, you know you’re back on time. Just got to keep building off it.”

Josh Rojas added a fielder’s choice RBI in the bottom of the fourth and Mitch Haniger completed the scoring for the home side, with a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to make it 10-0. The Phillies scored a couple of consolation runs in the top of the ninth, both off Mariners reliever Jhonathan Diaz.

Woo continues to improve

The other standout performance on the night came from Bryan Woo, who had one of his best starts of an injury-impacted season. Certainly it was his longest outing, as he pitched a season-high 7.0 innings.

In total, Woo allowed just five hits and no walks, as he struck out six on 92 pitches. If he can remain healthy, then the Mariners’ rotation will be even more difficult for opposing lineups to deal with.

The 24-year-old talked about his challenges this season and where he’s trying to get to. He said:

“It’s been a tough year watching the rest of the staff do what they’ve been doing and staying healthy and just being horses. That’s all I’m really trying to do is just contribute and be that for the team.”

As much as Mariners manager Scott Servais is used to stellar pitching, a productive lineup is still a bit of a novelty. Speaking about the recent improvement in offensive productivity postgame, he said:

“Fun game. That’s the way they’re supposed to all be. Wouldn’t that be great? … There is spice to this team, this lineup. It comes from all different directions, but certainly the new guys that we brought in add something and they’re all different.”

With the win the Mariners improve to 58-53 and remain in a virtual tie with the Houston Astros at the top of the AL West. Next up Bryce Miller will take the ball on Saturday night, as they look to increase the Phillies’ losing streak to five games.

Is Friday’s game further evidence that the Mariners lineup has finally solved the issue of their season-long struggles? Or do you still need to see more, or even just remain unconvinced in how good the offense can be? Let us know in the comments section below.