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Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh speaks to the media following an 8-0 win against the Cincinnati Reds at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. | Teren Kowatsch/Roundtable Sports
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners kept their energy and momentum going in an 8-0 shutout win against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners improved to 51-50 and retook sole possession of first place in the American League West by half a game over the Texas Rangers, who lost to the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
"Great way to start the series tonight," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. "Another late-game offensive surge. ... Some really good at-bats, I thought, today. Offensively, we were able to do a lot of different things."
The majority of the Mariners' offense came in the bottom of the seventh inning, which saw Seattle score six runs and have 11 plate appearances.
The inning started with outfielder Victor Robles, who led off the frame with a single. Outfielder Luke Raley, who pinch-hit for Buddy Kennedy, followed wit ha single of his own that moved Robles to third.
Colt Emerson brought home Robles with an RBI sacrifice fly to bolster Seattle's lead to 2-0. Robles scored earlier in the bottom of the fifth after an RBI single hit by Julio Rodriguez.
Rodriguez ultimately left the game after the impact of running full-speed to first base combined with getting hit on the hamstring with a throw from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Robles finished the game 4-for-4 (all singles) with two runs. It was his first four-hit game with the M's and third of his career.
Following Emerson's sac fly, left fielder Randy Arozarena gave the Mariners two runners on-base with a single of his own.
Right fielder/third baseman Weston Wilson increased Seattle's lead to 3-0 with an RBI double that set the M's up with runners on second and third with one out.
Following Wilson's double, former Mariner left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson intentionally walked designated hitter Dominic Canzone to face catcher Cal Raleigh in a bases-loaded situation.
Raleigh punished Cincinnati manager Terry Francona for that decision immediately and hit a grand slam to left field on the first pitch of his at-bat, which bolstered Seattle's lead to 7-0.
"It means a lot," Raleigh said after the game. "I feel like this group's inspired now. I feel like the last three games, the energy has definitely been up. Just doing the little things."
Raleigh, Wilson and Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby all expressed their surprise in respective postgame interviews about the decision to intentionally walk Canzone to get to the 2025 All-Star.
From Francona's perspective, the decision came down to Canzone's performance this season against left-handers compared to Raleigh's overall struggles.
"It's not a comfortable situation either way," Francona said in a postgame interview. "Saying that, I'd do that every time. We have to try to keep them from scoring more. Second and third, guy with a .990 OPS against lefties, we have to play the infield in. I know what Raleigh's hitting and he still worries me. But I thought that was our best chance to have them not score. We could play the infield double-play depth. And the worst possible outcome happened."
Seattle added one more insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded (again), Raleigh grounded into a force out that brought home Emerson, who celebrated his 21st birthday Monday, for the eventual final of 8-0.
The Mariners scored a run against all four pitchers used by the Reds on Monday.
Seattle's offensive explosion rewarded a sixth-straight quality start for Kirby. He struck out six, walked one and allowed three hits in six innings of work. The 2023 All-Star's current quality start streak is his longest since recording a franchise-best nine in 2024.
"I think (this year's streak) is a combination of a lot of things," Kirby said after the game. "I feel like my 0-0 (counts) have been a little better, getting ahead a little better. I've been getting a little quicker outs recently. Some pop-ups, groundouts, whatever it is. I think my fastballs are playing a little better up in the zone. Getting more swings-and-misses like I want. But I think it all starts with getting ahead."
The Mariners will look to secure their second-straight series win in game two of the set at 6:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
Luis Castillo will start for Seattle and the recently-extended Chase Burns will start for Cincinnati.
Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners kept their energy and momentum going in an 8-0 shutout win against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners improved to 51-50 and retook sole possession of first place in the American League West by half a game over the Texas Rangers, who lost to the Chicago White Sox on Monday.
"Great way to start the series tonight," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. "Another late-game offensive surge. ... Some really good at-bats, I thought, today. Offensively, we were able to do a lot of different things."
The majority of the Mariners' offense came in the bottom of the seventh inning, which saw Seattle score six runs and have 11 plate appearances.
The inning started with outfielder Victor Robles, who led off the frame with a single. Outfielder Luke Raley, who pinch-hit for Buddy Kennedy, followed wit ha single of his own that moved Robles to third.
Colt Emerson brought home Robles with an RBI sacrifice fly to bolster Seattle's lead to 2-0. Robles scored earlier in the bottom of the fifth after an RBI single hit by Julio Rodriguez.
Rodriguez ultimately left the game after the impact of running full-speed to first base combined with getting hit on the hamstring with a throw from Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz.
Robles finished the game 4-for-4 (all singles) with two runs. It was his first four-hit game with the M's and third of his career.
Following Emerson's sac fly, left fielder Randy Arozarena gave the Mariners two runners on-base with a single of his own.
Right fielder/third baseman Weston Wilson increased Seattle's lead to 3-0 with an RBI double that set the M's up with runners on second and third with one out.
Following Wilson's double, former Mariner left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson intentionally walked designated hitter Dominic Canzone to face catcher Cal Raleigh in a bases-loaded situation.
Raleigh punished Cincinnati manager Terry Francona for that decision immediately and hit a grand slam to left field on the first pitch of his at-bat, which bolstered Seattle's lead to 7-0.
"It means a lot," Raleigh said after the game. "I feel like this group's inspired now. I feel like the last three games, the energy has definitely been up. Just doing the little things."
Raleigh, Wilson and Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby all expressed their surprise in respective postgame interviews about the decision to intentionally walk Canzone to get to the 2025 All-Star.
From Francona's perspective, the decision came down to Canzone's performance this season against left-handers compared to Raleigh's overall struggles.
"It's not a comfortable situation either way," Francona said in a postgame interview. "Saying that, I'd do that every time. We have to try to keep them from scoring more. Second and third, guy with a .990 OPS against lefties, we have to play the infield in. I know what Raleigh's hitting and he still worries me. But I thought that was our best chance to have them not score. We could play the infield double-play depth. And the worst possible outcome happened."
Seattle added one more insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded (again), Raleigh grounded into a force out that brought home Emerson, who celebrated his 21st birthday Monday, for the eventual final of 8-0.
The Mariners scored a run against all four pitchers used by the Reds on Monday.
Seattle's offensive explosion rewarded a sixth-straight quality start for Kirby. He struck out six, walked one and allowed three hits in six innings of work. The 2023 All-Star's current quality start streak is his longest since recording a franchise-best nine in 2024.
"I think (this year's streak) is a combination of a lot of things," Kirby said after the game. "I feel like my 0-0 (counts) have been a little better, getting ahead a little better. I've been getting a little quicker outs recently. Some pop-ups, groundouts, whatever it is. I think my fastballs are playing a little better up in the zone. Getting more swings-and-misses like I want. But I think it all starts with getting ahead."
The Mariners will look to secure their second-straight series win in game two of the set at 6:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
Luis Castillo will start for Seattle and the recently-extended Chase Burns will start for Cincinnati.
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Remember to join our MARINERS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Mariners fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
