Mariners get crucial win in Pirates finale but concerns remain

The Mariners avoid a sweep in Pittsburgh with a 10-3 win, but must now face a tough three-game road series versus the Dodgers.

With speculation swirling about Scott Servais’ future as Mariners manager following a five-game losing streak, this was a ball club in desperate need of a win. As such, their 10-3 win in Sunday’s series finale versus the Pirates was extremely welcome.

Now we won’t go as far as some folks, in claiming the Mariners are back on track; after all, it’s just one game However, it doesn’t make the win in Pittsburgh any less significant, as they now look to build on it and keep themselves in the race for both the AL West and a playoff spot.

Along these lines, as of Monday morning the Mariners are 4.0 games behind the Houston Astros, and 5.5 games out of the third and final wild card spot in the AL. That’s what happens when you somehow get swept by the Tigers in Detroit and lose a series versus the lowly Pirates.

Kirby the big winner

Arguably the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s win, was the outing from George Kirby. If the team was desperately in need of a win as a whole, he equally had to have a strong start after his disaster in Detroit, where he allowed 12 hits and 11 runs (six earned).

What we do know about Kirby though, is his fierce competitiveness and mental resolve. This was clearly on display against the Pirates, as he pitched five shutout innings before giving up a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Overall, the 26-year-old allowed four hits and a rare two walks in 6.0 innings, to go along with the aforementioned two earned runs. He also struck out five on his 97 total pitches, 60 of which went for called strikes.

Kirby explained postgame how he channelled the frustration from his last outing, to help him on Sunday. Speaking to the media, he said:

“I just tried to put last week behind me, take a couple things (and) learn from it. Today, I tried to pitch angry. … Everyone comes every day to hit, to pitch, whatever it is. We’re not trying to feel sorry for ourselves. You just have to be better.”

The righty admitted he started to get off his game a bit towards the end of his outing, but was overall happy with his performance. He said:

“It was hard for me to reel it back in, in the fifth and sixth. (It) got a little wild; Walks, home run. But yeah, I’m just happy. Quality start. Give the team a good chance to win.”

Mariners bats come alive

Helping Kirby out, was a fantastic effort by the lineup, with all nine starters getting at least one hit as the team combined for 13 overall. Cal Raleigh got the Mariners going with a two-run bomb in the top of the first, and they never looked back.

Raleigh continues to be the leader the Mariners need, and he now paces them with 27 home runs, 78 RBI and a 3.3 WAR. Speaking about his homer postgame, he said:

“It’s good to go out and take a quick lead, especially with George on the mound.”

The Mariners doubled their advantage in the top of the second to make it 4-0, after a Victor Robles RBI double. Then the visitors all but finished the game off in the top of the fourth, as three more runs made it 7-0.

Dominic Canzone added a solo blast in the top of the fifth to make it 8-0 and the rout was on. The Mariners also responded to Joey Bart’s two-run homer with another two runs in the top of the seventh, before the Pirates closed out the scoring with one more in the bottom of the eighth.

Looking ahead

Servais was very happy — and probably extremely relieved — with the overall performance on Sunday. Speaking to the media afterwards, he said:

“That’s how these guys are wired. That’s why I love them so much, I really do. They care. They continue to work. And they’re not always getting the results they want, but they handle the hard times, and you’ve got to keep pushing forward.”

Now, Servais is hoping his players can build on Sunday’s win, as we are firmly at the business end of the regular season. He said:

“Kind of just a fresh start. ‘Let’s see what we can do, go after it.’ Having a lot of fun with where we’re at, which is hard to do. It’s really hard, but it’s a kid’s game. You have to try to keep it loose.”

For his part, Raleigh knows Sunday’s win is great, but more of the same is needed moving forward. He said:

“We know there are win streaks, losing streaks, but you have a job to do every day. … We’ve just got to keep it going. We can’t be happy with the one win.”

Of course it’s one thing saying this, but another matter entirely when it comes to actually producing the wins on the field. In this respect they now head to Los Angeles, for the daunting prospect of three games versus a Dodgers ball club tied for the most wins in the Majors at the time of writing.

We know the Mariners are capable of putting it all together and going on a big winning streak, but HOW likely is it to happen? More specifically, how much confidence do you have in this ball club to make the playoffs? Let us know in the comments section below.