Mariners waste strong Emerson Hancock start in 1-0 loss to Angels

Emerson Hancock has a second consecutive excellent performance, but the Mariners are robbed of a win by the athleticism of Jo Adell.

We would venture to bet that nine times out of 10, a performance like the one Emerson Hancock delivered on Saturday night would be rewarded with a win. Unfortunately for the Mariners, this was the 10th time and the result was a frustrating 1-0 loss to the Angels in Anaheim, to tie the three-game series at 1-1.

The Mariners bats were limited to five hits on the night, which in its own right is not worthy of a win, but they suffered a significant portion of bad luck combined with some outstanding athleticism by Jo Adell. Three times the Angels outfielder robbed the visitors of a home run, beating the previous record of two times in a game.

Adell snatched solo home runs away from Cal Raleigh in the top of the first and Josh Naylor in the top of the eighth, but it was the final snag an inning later which was the most spectacular (and important). With a chance to tie the game, J.P. Crawford looked like he was going to do just this as he drove the ball deep to the right-field corner.

However, as Crawford jogged expectantly to first base, there was that man Adell running towards the ball at full speed and diving into the stands to make a dramatic catch. The Mariners asked for a replay review more in hope that expectation, but the call was upheld and that was all she wrote for the visitors.

Everyone knew what a sensational effort Adell had on the night, but getting the seal of approval from nine-time Gold Glover Torii Hunter certainly can’t hurt. Now a special assistant to the Angels, Hunter called it the greatest defensive performance he’s even seen, which speaks volumes.

Emerson Hancock excels again for the Mariners

As for the Mariners, they were left to wonder about what could have been as they wasted a second straight tremendous start by Emerson Hancock. Following on from dominant prime-time outing versus the Guardians, he held the Angels to six hits and a solitary run over 6.2 innings, with no walks and five strikeouts.

The run was the first one allowed by Hancock this season and it came on the fourth pitch of the game, as a solo blast from Zach Neto gave the Angels a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish. This led to some fears that the 2020 sixth overall draft pick might unravel, just based on what has been a disappointing Major League career to date.

Those fears seemed set to be realized when Hancock threw a wild pitch with two outs in the bottom of the first, setting Nolan Schanuel up with the chance to score from third base. However, a quick thinking (and moving) Raleigh hustled to grab the ball and make a pinpoint throw to Hancock while falling, for the inning-ending tag at home plate.

This settled Hancock down and he would have little trouble the rest of the way, before handing the ball over to Eduard Bazardo in the bottom of the seventh with two outs. Bazardo proceeded to allow just one hit over 1.1 innings, with no walks and two strikeouts.

Emerson Hancock discusses his improved mental fortitude

When speaking afterwards, Hancock was asked about what he did to shake off giving up the lead-off home run in the bottom of the first and then find his groove the rest of the way. He said:

“You’ve just got to keep executing, slow the game down a little bit and kind of just survive that first wave. Make sure you limit that damage and you’ve just got to get back to it. Get back into the zone and be aggressive. Get back ahead and grab some quick outs, and I think that’s what helped me get into the seventh (inning).”

Hancock was then asked to expand on this, in terms of how he’s been able to improve his ability to flush out bad plays as his career has progressed. He said:

“Yeah, I’ve gotten a lot better at it this year in particular, just slowing the game down. You can’t get frayed; you’ve got to get back in the strike zone, continue to be aggressive. It’s something I want to keep getting better at and building on.”

Dan Wilson focuses on the positives for the Mariners

Of course it’s still very early in the season, but if the righty can continue to pitch like this it’s going to create a nice little problem for the Mariners when Bryce Miller is ready to return to the rotation. Speaking about Hancock’s performance, Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“Obviously Emerson, another incredible outing from him. Six and two thirds just filling up the zone and attacking the zone, getting a lot of weak contact. Just making really good pitches all night long. Again, he and Cal working really well together.”

Wilson made a point of praising Adell’s defensive performance on the night, while also attempting to look for the positive from a Mariners perspective. He said:

“I don’t know what I’ve ever seen three in a ball game before and three great catches, no question. It’s frustrating when you feel like you put a good swing on a ball like that and drive it like our guys did, and don’t end up with anything to show for it. But it shows that the bats are beginning to come around.”

Luis Castillo will take the ball on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim as the Mariners look to take the rubber match, while the Angels will counter with Ryan Johnson. Castillo was tremendous in his first start of the season versus the Yankees, as he allowed just three hits and two walks while also striking out seven over 6.0 shutout innings, to help the M’s win 2-1.

Update on Brendan Donovan injury

Brendan Donovan did not play on Saturday night, after leaving Friday evening’s game in the seventh inning due to landing awkwardly on first base while attempting to leg out an infield single. Fortunately for the Mariners the imaging came back clean and seems like it is just a day-to-day issue.

Further encouragement came with Donovan taking part in some light drills prior to Saturday’s game, with him saying he feels good. However, as per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, the Mariners are taking a cautious approach due to the 2025 All-Star undergoing surgery for a sports hernia at the end of last season.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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