Mariners put in a full day’s work, win 9-5 over Nationals

In the immortal words of Tom DeLonge, work sucks. I know. Especially when you’re nearly smack in the middle of a stretch of seventeen straight days without a break, as these Seattle Mariners currently are. It wasn’t a perfect three-city East Coast trip – far from it, in fact – but today the M’s put their heads down, got back to the grind, and capped off the gauntlet with a triumph over the Nationals, avoiding being swept for the first time all year in the process.

Nothing came across for either team in the first, with Patrick Corbin striking out J.P. Crawford before getting Dylan Moore and Julio Rodríguez on flyouts to left. Nothing across, although Julio’s inning-ending flyout was surprisingly encouraging: clearly jammed on an 0-1 cutter in the inside edge, he still sent it 370 to the wall, and that knock would have been out in four parks. A harbinger of things to come? Possibly!

Bryan Woo responded with an expertly economical frame, needing just eight pitches to coax a pair of weak groundouts and a flyout, and the Mariners took the lead in the top of the second in a truly hilarious fashion. Mitch Garver led off with a walk before alertly taking third on a one-out hot shot to third by Mitch Haniger that simply went straight through the wickets of Ildemaro Vargas Buckner-style, and Jorge Polanco was robbed of a base hit by a sparkling play by CJ Abrams. But hey! Scoreboard!

No more runs would come across, and for a brief, shining moment, the possibility of being no-hit while winning was in play. Dylan Moore dashed those ~hopes an inning later with a two-out knock, but was caught stealing by a strong throw from Riley Adams to snuff out a potential rally with Julio up to bat. Not that Woo needed more, as he continued to cruise, a two-out base hit to Nick Senzel in the second the lone blemish. That, however, was never going to stop Julio from wasting zero time doubling the lead once the fourth inning got underway.

Back-to-back days with a homer for Julio! Turns out Patrick Corbin was what the doctor ordered after all. And because we love exponential growth, Mitch Garver walked for the second time in as many plate appearances, and Ty guy said to us all, “Je dois dinger”.

You know how even when you’re mired in a rough few weeks at your job, you’ll more often than not scrape together a decent, maybe even good day at the office? With the M’s bats jumping on Patrick Corbin like we were all hoping, and Bryan Woo coaxing a bevy of weak contact out of the Nationals’ bats, it sure seemed like we were heading that way. Even the mbats scraping no more runs across over the next two innings and a solo shot from Joey Gallo in the bottom of the fifth did little to deflate spirits – especially because in the sixth, with Woo in a minor jam for the first time all game, a secret agent in the Nats Park crowd’s code phrase was activated.

The kid in the City Connect jersey paid for their crime with an ejection as is standard protocol, but their valiant sacrifice will be remembered. After a scoreless top of the seventh from Jacob Barnes, Woo was surprisingly back in to press on. Unfortunately, Vargas laid down a perfect bunt base hit, with Senzel following with his second knock to right field to end Woo’s day.

In came Ryne Stanek, and up strode Joey Gallo. I wouldn’t blame you for clenching hard here. Thankfully, the other True Gallo Outcome showed up, with Stanek dumpstering him on three pitches. Keibert Ruiz, though, had some more pesky business to get up to, flipping a single into center that may have scored Vargas had it not been for a fabulous throw from center by Julio. The clenching only intensified with former Mariner Jesse Winker coming in to pinch hit, and the narrative was practically writing itself. Stanek threw a first-pitch fastball at the top of the zone, Winker drove it high to right, and our hearts collectively bottomed out…

Phew. Just a sac fly. Almost out of it. CJ Abrams had other nefarious plans, though, getting a 1-1 slider in the lefty loop zone and bashing it off the foul pole.

Call it a sudden data breach. Call it machinery failure. Call it a twenty-top walking in with no reservation. No matter how you slice it, the Mariners were officially in the weeds, as their seventh inning woes throughout the season continued today. Stanek did get the final out by way of striking out Eddie Rosario, but the bats would need to lock in, and fast, to put out this fire quickly.

No better man for the job than Captain Crawford, who led off the top of the eighth with a ringing double into the right-center field gap off of Dylan Floro, who was rocking a scoreless streak of nearly 20 innings coming into today. DMo couldn’t get the job done, but a wild pitch with Julio up to bat moved J.P. to third, and the J-Rod Show continued.

Scoreless streak? Gone. Game? Tied almost immediately after that soul crushing seventh. Julio easily nabbed second base on his eleventh steal of the year, Garver hit a can of corn for out number two, and it was up to Ty France to drag the rest of the team fully out of the weeds. A foul tip on a slider in the heart of the plate wasn’t the most inspiring start, but Floro followed with a sinker that didn’t quite sink, and Ty punched it through the right side of the infield to bring home Julio and snatch back that lead, knocking out Floro in the process.

A Haniger lineout stopped the bleeding for the Nationals, and it was Austin Voth’s turn came in to protect the slim one-run lead. Slamming the door with ease, he sandwiched a flyout from Luis García Jr. between easy strikeouts of Joey Meneses and Vargas, barely breaking a sweat on eleven pitches. Still, while the worst of the rush was over, there was still time left for shenangians. Some insurance in the ninth would be nice, and Josh Rojas – who entered the game after Polanco came out with hamstring tightness – was happy to oblige, notching the Mariners’ second leadoff double in as many innings. Luke Raley, who pinch-hit for Jonatan Clase in the seventh and took over in left, laid down his umpteenth bunt base hit to put runners on the corners with no outs, and it was Cal Raleigh’s turn to come off the bench and try to play hero.

Alas, it didn’t come to pass, with Calboy striking out for his fifth consecutive at-bat, but J.P. was due up, and he admirably worked a walk to load up the bases. Dylan Moore had a chance at a Jack Cust Special, working a 2-2 count, but instead was gifted a fastball that nailed him right on the shoulder to force in Seattle’s seventh run. And who else to keep the scoring going but Julio Rodríguez?

Despite a strong four-run lead, Andrés Muñoz got the ninth – understandably so given that he was up and throwing and hadn’t gotten work in four days. A harmless two-out knock from Ruiz was the only thing keeping him from a 1-2-3 frame, and after a funky lineout from Winker that nearly took the glove off of Muñoz’s hand, the M’s notched the win and the final tilt of their first long road trip of the year.

It could have gone smoother, yes. Even a box score that shows a comfortable final outcome had its share of heart rate-spiking moments. Sometimes that’s just how a day’s work turns out, and any time you can make it through the other side intact and getting the job done is worth celebrating. The Mariners come back to town tomorrow with the Astros looming; certainly a tall order. But for now? Put your feet up, crack open a cold one, and kick back. You’ve earned it.