Mariners lasso victory on “Cal-Boy” hat night; Win 8-3 Over Tampa Bay
By Bel Garcia, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Mariners looked to redeem themselves in their second game against the Rays, after they were blown out in game one. After an unfortunate set of events in yesterday’s game from a blister, to an 11-run beating by the Rays, the Mariners regathered themselves for the 8-3 win on “Cal-boy” hat night. A cowboy hat decorated in honor of the American flag just ahead of Independence Day, with Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh’s face on a ribbon wrapped around the hat.
The first 10,000 fans into the ballpark received a “Cal-boy” hat (Photo by Mathew Bermudez)
Seattle’s offense has had their issues as of late, as last night they had the bases loaded and once again came up with nothing in a crucial ending to a game. However, they did go in a bit of a dry spell after an okay start that gave them an early lead. Today’s game was similar in that way, as the Mariners were first to strike with a couple of hits from Jarred Kelenic and Mike Ford. Kelenic doubled to center field, and when Ford stepped to the plate, after 2 strikes he lined a hit in centerfield to drive home Kelenic, putting the Mariners up one.
After two runs early, the Seattle Mariners offense was really able to get going with a surge late (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
JP Crawford solo homered in the third off a Tyler Glasnow four-Seam fast ball. The ball traveled 385 feet, all the while Crawford made his way around the bases. Glasnow has had the most success out of his four-seamer with a 44.9% succession rate, but JP was able to get one in on him and put the Mariners up 2-0. The Rays were not going down without a fight, in the bottom of the sixth Luke Raley answered with a two-run homer of his own, scoring Yandy Diaz and tying the game at two a piece. Instead of giving them the momentum shift, the Mariners answered back quickly. Kelenic singled in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Teoscar Hernandez.
Seattle Mariners shortstop JP Crawford rounds the bases and celebrates with the home run trident after his solo homer (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Too close for comfort with a one run lead, Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby retired the next three batters for the Rays and relied on his offense to add to the lead. They did, Seattle had a much-needed inning in the seventh, especially with their offensive struggles with bases loaded. Crawford walked, Julio Rodriguez singled, and Ty France singled to load the bases up for Hernandez. With a third consecutive hit for the Mariners, Teoscar hit a ground rule double; scoring Crawford and Rodriguez, while advancing France to third. France didn’t park in third base for very long, as Eugenio Suarez flew out on the sacrifice fly that drove home Ty France.
Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby recorded his fourth ultra quality start of the season (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
As we learned in game one of the series, the Rays were not going out without a fight. They’re offensive effort carried into the top of the eighth with a hit by Franco, he was reached on an infield single to JP, but it was enough for Christian Bethancourt to slim down the lead with a scoring run. This would be the last time that the Tampa Bay Rays reached home plate, but not the Seattle Mariners. With a chance to increase their lead, the Mariners continued their offensive streak. Dylan Moore scored on a Crawford RBI single that also advanced Jose Caballero to third. Caballero was a pinch hitter late in the game in an instance where the bases were loaded, while it didn’t immediately translate into scoring, Cabby would eventually score in the next at bat off a Julio Rodriguez single.
The Mariners looked confident on offense and defense, with several leaping catches to close this one in. They provided George Kirby the run support that he needed, with another great pitching effort by Kirby. This was his first start of the season against the Tampa Bay Rays and he seemed to have straightened the ship for them. Through seven innings pitched, Kirby allowed 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts, and 1 home run. Some more walks than we’re used to seeing from Kirby who had not given up more than 1 wak in any of his 15 starts this season, but still a great showing against a talented Tampa Bay team.
The win sets up the Sunday rubber match for the possible series win. Seattle will head back on the road against San Francisco and Houston before returning for the much anticipated All-Star Game.