Mariners comeback attempt falls short in matinee loss to Angels
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA – In the final game of their series with the Angels and of their Opening homestand, the Seattle Mariners started off slow on the offensive end once again and could not complete the comeback attempt. Mariners starter Chris Flexen had a solid outing, with the only blemish coming on a two-run homer by Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe in the top of the second. Seattle scored a run off of Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the first, but the international megastar made sure that the Mariners didn’t build momentum as he kept them scoreless for the rest of his six-run outing. With the loss, the Mariners fell to a record of 2-5 and will now head out on their first road trip of the season.
Seattle Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez is tagged out trying to stretch a single into a double, ending the scoring in the 7th (Photo by Liz Wolter)
Flexen serviceable in start
Mariners starting pitcher Chris Flexen, holding Robbie Ray’s spot in the rotation until his injured list stint ends, simply “did his job” in today’s outing. Seattle didn’t expect Flexen to come and strikeout every batter, or no-hit the Angels. The organization simply believes that Flexen can help them win games, as he did when he was a regular part of this rotation, and he put them in a good position today. Like pitching counterpart Shohei Ohtani today, Flexen saw some walks in the first inning present some danger to begin his outing. The former Doosan Bear (Korean Baseball Organization) locked in after allowing a two-run homer to Los Angeles catcher Logan O’Hoppe, as he retired the final ten batters that he faced. A solid outing like that is exactly what you hope for from Flexen.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Chris Flexen’s day through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Tortoise-paced offense makes its return
Seattle’s offensive attack continues to search for its groove, even after plating eleven runs last night in a victory over this Los Angeles team. It was key to note that you shouldn’t have thought that this team was going to just start clicking after that performance, and that came to be true. Initially, it appeared as though the Mariners were going to continue generating offensive production, as Eugenio Suarez knocked in Julio Rodriguez in the bottom of the first inning. Like several of their games this homestand, the buck stopped at that first run, and that was all Seattle got for most of the game. The Mariners couldn’t get back on the board until the seventh, when it seemed too late.
Over the course of the homestand, we’ve talked several times about Seattle’s hitting problems, and something that runs right in hand with that is the Mariners issue with driving in runners in scoring position. Seattle has blown multiple opportunities to cash in more often, dating back to Opening Day, and it’s hurting them badly. Take today for example, as the Mariners stranded eight runners on base. They ended up losing by just one run. These struggles, both failing to rack up hits and failing to knock in the base runners that they have, continue to hold this Mariners team back. Whether it be a coaching issue, somehow a personnel issue, or something greater, it must be fixed going forward.
Seattle’s offense through pictures (Photos by Liz Wolter)
The Ohtani show
Angels megastar Shohei Ohtani always draws an audience in whatever he does and wherever he does it, and the city of Seattle is no exception to that. Fans of the Angels and Ohtani flocked to T-Mobile Park, especially in today’s matinee game as Shohei was on the mound for Los Angeles. The 2023 World Baseball Classic MVP and Champion saw some bumpy innings to begin his outing, including walking the first two batters he faced and hitting two batters, but didn’t let it dismay him. Following the third inning, when he hit two batters, Ohtani faced the minimum in the next three innings to protect the miniscule lead that the Angels had built on the O’Hoppe homer. While Shohei didn’t necessarily wow at the plate, reaching base three times but two being walks, seeing him display his greatness and just being himself is always a treat.
Los Angeles Angels megastar Shohei Ohtani’s day through photos (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Takeaways from the Angels series
The bats are going to be the obvious story for many after this series and homestand, but there are issues to clean up all around for Seattle. The Mariners bullpen struggled at times, displayed in this game when relievers Diego Castillo and Andres Munoz failed to hold the deficit to just a run in the top of the seventh. Starting pitching has taken its own share of blame, as Robbie Ray and George Kirby didn’t get their 2023’s off to positive beginnings, while the prior is now on the 15-Day injured list with a left flexor strain. Seattle isn’t perfect in any facet of their game, and they shouldn’t be, it’s early April. There will be plenty of overreaction, and there already has been, but it’s nonsensical to make conclusions or create narratives already.
Fortunes can be flipped with the crack of a bat, and this team could find themselves on the right side of the standings within a road trip or homestand. With the quality of starting pitching on this roster, Seattle will be a good ballclub. The relievers will get dicey, as a bullpen is one of the more volatile aspects of a baseball team and you can’t expect them to three-peat (2021 and 2022 were great years for the Seattle bullpen) the success they’ve had over the course of a year. The hitting situation has been present for years, and the Mariners didn’t add an established enough bat in addition to the moves that they did make, so they’ll really need their batters to step up in their current roles. Again, there’s a long way to go, but noticeable changes must be made to improve upon present issues.
Ty France scores from second base on Eugenio Suarez’s single (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Quick notes
Julio Rodríguez drew a lead-off walk in the 1st inning…he has now reached base safely in the 1st inning in 6 straight games and 6-of-7 on the season going 4-for-5 with 2 walks.
Julio is batting .446 (41x92) in the 1st inning of games in his career with 32 runs, 8 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 14 RBI, 6 stolen bases, and 11 walks.
The Mariners opened the scoring in the 1st inning with an RBI single from Eugenio Suárez driving in Julio Rodríguez on the play.
With his single in the 1st inning Suárez has now hit safely in 4 straight games and 6-of-7 games this season…during his 4-game hitting streak Suárez is batting .471 (8x17) with 2 doubles and 5 RBI.
With his second hit in the 7th inning Suárez tied his career high of 4 straight multi-hit games.
With his 1st inning walk Ty France has now reached base safely in 4 straight games and 6-of-7 games on the season.
France reached base safely three times in today’s game after getting hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning and doubling in the 7th.
France now has a 4-game hitting streak during which he is batter .353 (6x17) with 2 doubles and 2 RBI.
The Mariners added another run in the 7th inning after France doubled scoring Sam Haggerty on the play.
The double marked his 5th extra-base hit of the season, tied for the team lead (also: Rodríguez)
Mariners pitcher Chris Flexen made his first start of the 2023 season pitching 5.0 innings and allowing 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 1 home run while striking out 4 on 91 pitches, 57 strikes.
Haggerty entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the 7th inning and recorded a lead-off single…Haggerty remained in the game at left field.
The single marked the first time a Mariners pinch hitter has reached base safely this season.
Angels starter Ohtani pitched 6.0 innings and allowed 3 hits, 1 run, 2 hit batters, and 4 walks while striking out 8 on 111 pitches, 64 strikes.
Ohtani’s 111 pitches in today’s game are the most thrown by any starting pitcher in the league this season.
Ohtani was the first player in MLB history to record both a hitting and pitching clock violation.
Today’s game marked the 40th anniversary of Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs’ first game…he called his first MLB game on April 5, 1983.
What’s next?
Seattle will get out of town following today’s loss, take the day off tomorrow in Cleveland, and then begin a six-game in eight days road trip that sees three against the Guardians and three against the Cubs at Wrigley. The Mariners will aim for revenge when they battle the Guardians in Cleveland, as Seattle dropped three of four to them during the Opening Series of the season. First pitch of the first game of that series on Friday, April 7th, is at 1:10PM PST when the Mariners will have Logan Gilbert on the mound to face off against Aaron Civale of the Guardians.