Mariners win second straight series under Dan Wilson

Rodriguez, Arozarena and Castillo all stand out, as the Mariners take their rubber match versus the Rays and keep themselves in contention.

Wednesday afternoon’s game was a series of firsts for the Seattle Mariners. J.P. Crawford’s first game back from injury, the first time this season Luis Castillo recorded a win pitching less than 6.0 innings, and Julio Rodríguez’s first home run since July 20.

As a result of all these firsts, the Mariners won 6-2 in their rubber match versus the Tampa Bay Rays. This made it two series wins out of two for new manager Dan Wilson, whose record improved to 4-2.

The Mariners now have a record of 68-66, and following the Houston Astros’ win on Thursday night, sit 4.0 games out of first place in the AL West. For what it’s worth, consider that prior to Wilson’s first game in charge, the M’s were 5.5 games behind the Astros.

J-Rod finally delivers

Going back to the firsts, there seems little doubt that Rodríguez’s was the most important. He’s struggled badly since he returned from the Injured List, so his home run was desperately needed, on a day when he finished with two hits, a couple of RBI and a run of his own.

In truth, the two-time MLB All-Star has struggled throughout this season full stop, taking a significant step back with his bat. He will finish the year with a whole host of Major League career lows, highlighted by currently being projected to have a .670 OPS.

At the same time, Rodríguez does have the talent to catch fire and lead the Mariners’ late push for a playoff sport. Heck, he needs to start somewhere to get back on track, so perhaps Wednesday’s game can prove to be a launching pad.

In any event, the 23-year-old was happy to be able to contribute to the 6-2 win versus the Rays, with his two-run bomb in the bottom of the fifth making it 5-1 to the Mariners. Afterwards, he said:

“It feels great just to be able to produce, hit some balls hard and have good at-bats. Once you are working with something and you see it play out in the game, it makes you feel really good, because it shows you that you are kind of on the right track and motivates you to continue to work at it.”

Rodríguez also acknowledged the positive influence of new hitting coach and Baseball Hall of Famer, Edgar Martinez. He said:

“(He’s) really helpful. I feel like he has so much experience as a hitter. Obviously, like one of the best to ever do it — a Hall of Famer and everything. He’s somebody I respect a lot, and he just has a lot of good pointers. … I’m happy that he’s around.”

Wilson was another person who was happy, knowing how important a productive Rodríguez is to the Mariners’ cause. The M’s manager said:

“Offense is very contagious. When he’s up there, when they’re all up there doing what they do, especially offensively, I think it just trickles down.”

Not rock solid but still strong enough

Turning to Castillo, he didn’t exactly have a stellar outing, but he still did enough to record his aforementioned win. He allowed six hits, a couple of walks and two earned runs in his 5.2 innings of action, while also striking out four.

It’s been an interesting season for the three-time MLB All-Star, who is projected to have his worst statistical season during his time in Seattle. At the same time however, he’s still an important part of the rotation.

As has been the case in all but one of Wilson’s six games in charge to date, the Mariners fell behind early. However, after Castillo gave up a solo blast in the top of the second, he shut the Rays down until he allowed a RBI single in the top of the sixth, which closed the gap to 5-2 in favor of the home club.

Castillo relied a lot on his fastball during the game, but it was by design. Speaking afterwards through his interprator, he said:

“We picked that up during the game, basically from the first inning. We realized how effective it was being, and the catcher and I made the game plan that it was being effective, so why not keep throwing it? I think that’s why it was a main reason for the results that we got today.”

Wilson was good with what he saw from Castillo on the day, even though he didn’t have his A-game. He said:

“The Rock was the Rock. He took the ball and really did a nice job and kept them at bay.”

As mentioned, this was also Crawford’s first game back from a broken right hand, which had kept him out of the lineup since July 22. He returned to his lead-off spot and even though he was hit-less in three at-bats, he did manufacture a walk and subsequently scored a run.

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Plenty of Mariners doing their part

We would be remiss if we didn’t give due credit to some other Mariners players, including Randy Arozarena. His three hits versus his former team where his most since he arrived in Seattle, including a solo bomb in the bottom of the eighth which closed out the scoring.

Victor Robles had two hits of his own, with his two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth giving the Mariners their first lead of the game, at 3-1. This was preceded by Luke Raley’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, which tied the game at 1-1.

Let’s also give some praise to the Mariners bullpen, which has been embattled in recent weeks. However, after Castillo left earlier than anticipated, Austin Voth, Collin Snider and Andrés Muñoz combined to pitch 3.1 innings of shutout baseball.

Overall, Wilson couldn’t have been more proud of his players. He said:

“A great ball game today. You know, a lot of incredible positives coming from this one … We’re excited. This is a good one to build on, another good series win.”

Rodríguez was similarly excited about the direction the Mariners are heading in. He said:

“I feel like we’re right where we need to be. I feel like we have a really, really good group, that loves playing for each other.”

After a well-deserved rest day on Thursday, the Mariners return to action on Friday night in Los Angeles, in the first of a three-game set versus the Angels. This is a series they dare not lose, and George Kirby will get the ball for the opener, followed by Bryan Woo on Saturday and Bryce Miller in the finale.

After two series under Wilson, where is your confidence level at with the Mariners? Do you see signs that they are improving, or do you think the same problems are still there? Let us know in the comments section below.