Mariners finish tough road trip with 18-2 pummelling of Braves

The Mariners show what they’re capable of as they score their most runs since 2012, while Luis Castillo excels after four terrible starts.

Such is the unpredictability and up-and-down nature of baseball during a 162-game slog, that it doesn’t take much for the mood and vibe surrounding a team to change quickly for both better and worse. Fortunately for the Mariners it was a case of the former this weekend, in Atlanta versus the Braves.

The Mariners entered their three-game set versus the Braves having started this road trip 1-5 and with an unsightly record of 3-14 in their previous 17 games away from home. And it appeared to be more of the same was on the menu in Atlanta, with them losing Friday’s series opener 4-1 and being locked in a 2-2 tie through six innings on Saturday evening.

However, the Mariners then managed to flip a switch, score seven combined runs in the seventh and eighth innings and go on to win 10-2. And this offensive renaissance continued on Sunday in the rubber match, as the M’s pummelled the Braves with a season-high 20 hits in a resounding 18-2 victory.

As a result of scoring their most runs since 2012, the Mariners managed to win their first road series since a dominating sweep of the Detroit Tigers just before the All-Star break. And thanks to the Houston Astros losing on Sunday to the Texas Rangers, the M’s are now within 2.5 games of the AL West summit.

It’s been another rough season for Mitch Garver in Seattle, but credit where it’s due with him hitting a RBI triple in the top of the second to give the Mariners a 1-0 advantage. However, nothing could prepare anyone for the offensive onslaught which was to come from the visitors just one inning later.

A 30-minutes top of the third by the Mariners

Julio Rodríguez got the party going with a three-RBI double in the top of third, in an inning which produced eight hits, a walk and eight runs for the visitors. Jorge Polanco and Josh Naylor hit back-to-back homers, while Randy Arozarena had a two RBI single to put the M’s up 9-0 and well on the way to victory and a much-needed series win.

In an interesting quirk Eugenio Suárez was the only M’s batter who failed to record a hit in the eight-run blitz during the third inning. However, he more than did his bit with home runs in the sixth and ninth inning, to register his first multi-homer game since he returned to Seattle prior to the trade deadline.

Suárez’s second homer accounted for two of the seven runs the Mariners would add on in the top of the ninth, which included Cal Raleigh hitting his 53rd home run of the season with a three-RBI blast. Luke Raley scored on a wild pitch and Arozarena had his second hit for a RBI single, to complete the M’s scoring on the day.

The other run had come courtesy of a Polanco sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth, making him one of five Mariners with three RBI on the day. In addition, the M’s had five+ home runs in back-to-back games for just the second time in franchise history.

Luis Castillo finally delivers again

As much as the offensive explosion was easily the main headline of the day for the Mariners, the game was just as important for a return to the Luis Castillo we saw earlier this season. After producing a ghastly 10.06 ERA and 2.18 WHIP over his previous four starts, he showed there was still some life left in the pitcher known as “The Rock”.

In arguably his best start since a 3-1 win over the Athletics at the end of July, Castillo went 6.0 innings and allowed only four hits and no walks on 82 pitches, while also recording six strikeouts. He gave up just the one earned run, which came in the bottom of the fourth after the Mariners had already staked a 10-0 lead.

Not that Castillo’s outing was without adventure, as he was hit on his pitching arm by a nasty 100 mph comebacker in the bottom of the fourth. Fortunately for the Mariners though, he was able to remain in the game after being checked out.

The three-time All-Star was asked afterwards how he felt, with him noting it was more on his wrist than his hand. Speaking through an interpreter, he said:

“Yes it hurt, but I feel fine now. … The trainer looked at my hand and said everything looked fine and I had strength and feeling. So I threw two pitches and felt fine, so I just continued on.”

As for his performance, it was noticable Castillo was using more of his slider changeup than his sinker on the day. Asked if this was part of the original gameplan or more about what he was feeling, he said:

“Yes the slider was part of the plan Mitch and I had. But just to go at them and attack them and battle with the pitches we had and were working, and I think we executed that today.”

Once Castillo left the bullpen then did its job, save for Luke Jackson allowing a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth which gave the Braves their second and final run of the day. Emerson Hancock allowed two hits in the eighth, but most importantly he allowed no runs in what was his third outing for the M’s since converting to a reliever role.

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A massive series win for the Mariners

Mariners manager Dan Wilson spoke to the media postgame, about the significance of the 18-2 win. As per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, he said:

“A huge series win for us. We talked about it before the game about being able to take the momentum from last night and bring it into the day, which we were able to do, and continue to bring the offense.”

With the win the Mariners now stand at 75-68 and will be thankful to return for a seven-game homestand at T-Mobile Park , where they have been considerably better overall this season. The M’s will begin a three-game series versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night, with Bryan Woo getting the ball as they look to continue rolling.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

While making the playoffs is the main aim, what are the Mariners’ chances of now chasing down the Astros for the AL West title? Do you expect them to win the division, have to settle for a wild card spot, or have any concern they will miss out altogether? Let us know in the comments section below.