Mariners break out early on way to 9-5 win versus the Angels

The Mariners rack up five runs in the first inning, to set the tone and subsequently end their six-game losing streak to the Angels.

One of the biggest issues for the Mariners is how they’ve fared on their travels in 2024, with a 27-38 road record prior to Friday night. As such, with the club desperately fighting to catch the Astros at the top of the AL West, the last thing they needed was a season-high 10-game road trip.

On top of this, the Mariners’ road trip was starting in Anaheim, with three games against the Angels. That would be the same Angels, who had beaten the M’s the last six times they’d played each other.

However, any nervousness about facing the Angels quickly dissipated, as the M’s came out firing in the top of the first inning. The visitors put up five runs on the board and never looked back, eventually going on to win 9-5.

Welcome to the Majors

The Mariners sent 11 players to the plate in total during the first inning, as they made Italian pitcher Samuel Aldegheri’s Major League debut a miserable experience. In fairness to the southpaw though, a lot of it wasn’t his fault.

Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena got the ball rolling, with both scoring as a result of a fielding error by the Angels’ Zach Neto. Next, the embattled Mitch Garver hit a much-needed RBI double to increase the score to 4-0 to the Mariners.

Finally, Victor Robles had the first of a game-high three hits, with his RBI single making it 5-0. And to think all five of the Mariners’ runs came with two outs, magnifying the gravity of Neto’s fielding error.

In fairness to the Angels they didn’t roll over and die, despite their season long being over. They immediately answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, to climb to within 5-2 after one.

J-Rod suddenly looking more like his usual self

A suddenly confident Rodríguez hit a two-run blast in the top of the fourth, to increase the M’s advantage to 7-2. It’s still too soon to say he’s back of course, but a home run in two consecutive games is a start, for a player who also manufactured three walks on Friday night.

Again though the Angels fought back, with two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth, to close to within 7-5. After this however, the Mariners were able to stop the bleeding and did not give up any more runs.

Robles would subsequently claim his second RBI in the top of the seventh, to make it 8-5. Then Justin Turner added another RBI via a sacrifice fly an inning later, to conclude the scoring at 9-5.

As a result of the nine runs, the Mariners have now scored a combined 35 runs in seven games under Dan Wilson as manager. As with Rodríguez, it’s too soon to say, but averaging five runs per game for the remainder of the season, would undoubtedly help with the playoff push.

Kirby completes a tough month

Even more so, on those odd occasions when the Mariners’ top-rated starting rotation is having an off-night. In fact Friday night was one of those occasions, as George Kirby encountered some issues.

Kirby would end up going 5.2 innings, as he allowed five hits, a walk and the aforementioned five runs. He would also only strike out two, but despite all this he was still credited with the win and improved his record to 10-10 on the season.

The righty didn’t try to sugarcoat his outing afterwards when speaking to the media, not that he ever would anyway. He said:

“I wish I came out a little stronger. Didn’t throw my offspeed for strikes so was battling back in counts. (I’m) really glad the hitters stepped up and had my back.”

In truth, for as excellent as Kirby has been this season, he has been struggling of late, with a 6.84 ERA in his five starts during August. Speaking about his challenges, he said:

“It’s very frustrating. It’s a little bit of mechanics and I’m trying to look at video and stuff like that, but it’s so small. I know it’s so small, so I don’t want to look into it too much. That’s the frustrating part. I don’t really know what it is yet, but I know it’s tiny. So, just keep working at it.”

After Kirby left the game, the bullpen came together to give the Mariners just what they needed. Wilson turned to four relievers in total, with them combining to throw 3.1 innings and only allow two hits, with no walks or runs.

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Mariners need to keep it rolling

Still, this game was all about a lineup which finally appears to have found its mojo. Speaking to the media postgame, Wilson said:

“Great way to start the road trip, for sure. Putting pressure on them early on and giving our pitchers a chance to get into the ballgame. (The) offense continues to roll, and it’s a good sign and good to see.”

Now though, it’s a case of the Mariners trying to continue winning on the road, which is easier said than done. However, Wilson has high hopes, as he said:

“These guys understand that we had a good homestand. I think we gained some momentum and some confidence there, and these guys have just brought that same spirit to the ballpark here on the road.”

With the win, the Mariners improve to 69-66, remaining 4.0 games behind the Astros and 4.5 games back of the final AL wild card spot. Next up, Bryan Woo will take the ball on Saturday night, looking to help his club continue winning and building some momentum.

Do you believe this positive start to Wilson’s tenure as Mariners manager will continue through to the end of the season? And if so, do you believe it will be enough to either catch the Astros or claim a wild card spot? Let us know in the comments section below.