Mariners dominate Mets 12-1 to complete impressive series sweep

Luis Castillo does his thing with a quality start and Cal Raleigh leads the Mariners lineup under the bright lights of Sunday night baseball.

Things had gone really well in the first two games of this series versus the New York Mets – in fact arguably better than expected. With consecutive shutout wins of 6-0 and 4-0, the Seattle Mariners were humming along.

Surely things couldn’t get any better … could they? With the series finale taking place under the watchful eye of a rare Sunday night baseball audience, the Mariners delivered big time.

The Mariners dominated the Mets, as they put up their most runs of the 2024 season in a 12-1 win. They also equalled their largest run differential of the year, having previously beaten the Los Angeles Angels 11-0 back in mid-July.

Early on it looked like a good old-fashioned pitching duel, between Luis Castillo and Mets starter Luis Severino. It was 1-0 to the Mariners through four innings, with the only score coming via a solo blast from Jorge Polanco in the bottom of the second.

The bats finally break out

However, all hell then broke loose over the following three innings as the Mariners lineup played up to their full potential, and then some. Randy Arozarena got things going in the bottom of the fifth, reaching base on an infield single which allowed Dominic Canzone to score and make it 2-0.

Then it was the turn of the Mariners’ most productive bat to turn the screw a bit more, as Cal Raleigh belted a two-run homer to make it 4-0 after five. However, even this couldn’t prepare anyone for what came an inning later.

The Mets actually closed the gap slightly first of all, thanks to Jeff McNeil’s solo bomb in the top of the sixth to make it 4-1. Unfortunately for the Mets, this would prove to be their only run of the three-game series in Seattle.

A Leo Rivas RBI single made it 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth, soon followed by another RBI single from Victor Robles. However, the second hit was compounded by a throwing error from McNeil, which allowed Luke Raley to make it 7-1 Mariners.

Raleigh is the man

Before the Mets could get out of the inning, there was still time for Raleigh to hit his second homer, this time for three runs to make it 10-1 after six. The catcher’s five RBI were a season-high and he leads the Mariners with 26 home runs and 76 RBI, with the latter setting a new personal best in the Majors.

Mariners manager Scott Servais appreciates how valuable Raleigh is, in a lineup which struggled for a large portion of this season. Speaking postgame about his catcher, he said:

“Cal, he’s up there and he’s hunting pitches. He’s got all kinds of power and if you make a mistake and leave it in his happy zone, we’re going to be happy because good things happen.”

Just to rub more salt into the wounds, the Mariners scored two more in the bottom of the seventh after loading the bases. A Robles walk and Arozarena being hit by a pitch, mercifully ended the scoring at 12-1.

When it was all said and done, the Mariners lineup had totalled 12 hits and seven walks. Ironically the only player not to reach base was Julio Rodríguez, who went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in his return from injury.

Don’t forget about Castillo

Given the exploits of the offense, it almost put Castillo in the shade. Almost. He was excellent on the night, as he allowed just four hits, a walk and one run in 6.0 innings of action.

The three-time All-Star was extremely pleased with his performance, on a night where everything seemed to go right. Speaking through his translator, he said:

“To me, I would say it was one of those perfect days, you know? The defense was working. Me and the catcher were working. So everything was clicking.”

Castillo also tied a season-high, with nine strikeouts on his 96 pitches helping him surpass 1,300 for his Major League career. Speaking about this accomplishment postgame, he said:

“To me, it’s kind of a big testament. It’s a lot. I’ve been in this league for seven years, and 1,300 strikeouts, that’s a lot.”

The outing also represented Castillo’s sixth consecutive quality start. It was his 17th overall on the year, which is second-best among all Mariners pitchers.

We have to give the bullpen some credit too, just because of how they’ve collectively recovered from some recent challenges. On Sunday night specifically, Collin Snider, Austin Voth and Troy Taylor threw one shutout inning each.

Taylor deserves special mention, as he was making his Major League debut after being called from Double-A Arkansas. Alluding to why he surpassed Triple-A altogether, he allowed no hits and just one walk, while also striking out two in his one inning of action.

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Mariners on a roll

Overall, Servais is well aware of the change within the team, with a more positive vibe among the players. He said:

“Since we made the acquisitions there before the trade deadline, there’s just a different vibe in our clubhouse. There’s a much more confident feel amongst our group, even on the nights where we don’t ultimately get it done and get the win. There’s just a different feel with where we’re at right now.”

With the win, the Mariners improve to 63-56 and remain in a virtual tie with the Houston Astros at the top of the AL West. They will have a valuable day off on Monday before playing the first of three games in Detroit, on Tuesday night versus the Tigers.

After a couple of false dawns with the Mariners lineup already of late, have they finally found a new level that will be around on a more consistent basis moving forward? Or is it still a case of needing to see more/remaining unconvinced the latest offensive productivity is here to stay? Let us know in the comments section below.