Mariners continue winning under Wilson as they beat Rays 5-1

The Mariners improve to 3-1 under Dan Wilson, with Bryce Miller excelling and Randy Arozarena getting the key hit against his former team.

The good vibes continued on Monday night, as the Seattle Mariners beat the Tampa Bay Rays. As a result, they have now begun the Dan Wilson managerial era with a 3-1 record.

In addition, combined with the Houston Astros losing on Monday night, the Mariners have crept back to within 3.5 games of the top of the AL West. There’s still plenty of work to do of course, but if nothing else, at least Wilson has brought back some much-needed hope and positivity to the fan base following the firing of Scott Servais.

As with Wilson’s first three games in charge, the Mariners fell behind early. This time however, it came in the top of the second rather than the first, courtesy of a solo blast from Josh Lowe to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

It didn’t take long for the Mariners to respond though, as Jorge Polanco hit a solo bomb of his own in the bottom of the second to tie the game at 1-1. Polanco has been on a tear since the All-Star Break, producing eight homers, 19 RBI and a .845 OPS.

Miller Time in full effect

Aside from the Lowe run, Bryce Miller was electric on the mound for the Mariners, with an almost unstoppable fastball. He tied a couple of career-highs on the night, going 7.0 innings and striking out 10 batters.

Miller only allowed two hits on his 91 total pitches, while also giving up no walks. He reached 10 wins for the first time in the Majors and is on course for a whole host of career-bests, currently projected to record a 3.23 ERA, 3.61 FIP and 0.982 WHIP.

Now in his second year in the Majors, Miller believes he has better durability and strength. He said:

“It’s a combination of everything. Also my body, it’s not (going through) it for the first time. I feel really good right now.”

Interestingly, but also a sign of the high standards he sets himself, Miller wasn’t happy with his heater on the night. However, he feels he was able to adapt, as he said afterwards:

“All the secondaries felt really good, so I was able to ,on the counts where I got ahead, put them away.”

As far as Wilson was concerned, he saw no issues with Miller’s overall outing. The Mariners manager said:

“I love the fact he just throws strikes. He gets ahead, he dominates the zone. We talk about that a lot. He seems like he’s always in control of the at-bat.”

Randy does the business versus his former team

All of the scoring came early in this game. The key hit came from Randy Arozarena, who has had his fair share of struggles lately following a strong start to his Mariners tenure.

However, this was all forgotten — at least for now — when Arozarena belted a three-run bomb over the right field wall in the bottom of the third. It gave the Mariners their first lead of the game at 4-1, and they never looked back.

It was somewhat apt that Arozarena got what was ultimately the winning run. It was his first game versus the Rays, since he was traded from Tampa Bay on July 25.

Arozarena admitted it was a special moment against his former team, but stressed he always tries his best no matter what. Speaking to the media afterwards through an interpreter, he said:

“It’s a little bit more motivation against this team, but I always go out there just trying to give as much as I can and being able to contribute with my (new) team to help them win.”

Arozarena knows he has struggled with his bat recently, but never lost faith. He said:

“Something I’m not going to ever do is lose my confidence, but when something like that happens, it just boosts your confidence a little more.”

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Mariners cause minimal stress for once

Leo Rivas added a RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-1, and that would be the final run of the night. After Miller left the game, the Mariners bullpen did its job, with Austin Voth and Trent Thornton pitching a perfect inning each to close out the game and secure the 5-1 win.

Wilson was overall happy with what he saw as a complete team performance, but particularly liked the early scoring barrage giving them something to work with. He said:

“Just a good night offensively, and it gave the pitching some breathing room and they were able to take advantage of that. So great ballgame all around, offensively (and) defensively.”

Along the lines of the scoring, the Mariners improved to 54-11 on the season when scoring four or more runs. They will now look to keep the momentum going on Tuesday night, with Logan Gilbert taking the mound.

What has stood out for you most so far in the four games with Wilson as manager? Do you like the direction the Mariners are headed in, or still weary of what’s to come? Let us know in the comments section below.