Royal beat down in Seattle; Mariners franchise-record 7 dingers leads to 15-2 win over Kansas City
By Bel Garcia, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - The Seattle Mariners welcomed the Kansas City Royals to T-Mobile Park for game two of their three game series, on a Saturday that was perfect for a baseball game. After their game one win yesterday where the Royals hung around in a tight one, adjustments were made by Seattle to ensure this one didn’t give KC that breathing space. The bats woke up for the Mariners in the bottom of the third, with several crushed balls and the Mariners cruised to a 15-2 win.
Seattle Mariners right hander Logan Gilbert had a strong outing in this game, handling the Kansas City Royals lineup and only surrendering one run (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
On the mound for the Mariners was right hander Logan Gilbert. making his fifth career start against the Royals. Kansas City also elected to start a right-handed pitcher, giving Jordan Lyles the start; his 25th of the season. The last time the Mariners faced Lyles, they faired well tacking seven runs on nine hits. Seattle once again scored seven runs on Lyles pitches, before he was relieved by Jackson Kowar.
The Mariners continue to make the plays on defense that are needed to win games, as Ty France’s sneaky speed to get back on base for the first out on the first batter of the game is the perfect example. Through three innings, the teams did an efficient job at keeping the game scoreless, until Seattle second baseman Josh Rojas stepped up to the plate and launched a solo homer into right field in the bottom of the third to hand the Mariners the 1-0 lead. Previous to Rojas’ solo homer, the Mariners only had one hit through two innings. Rojas brought the hits, and the team followed with runners in scoring position for Teoscar Hernandez for the second time in this game. Teo responded with a Grand Slam, bringing all runners home. Hernandez’s third career Grand Slam gave the Mariners the 5-0 lead early. Kansas City’s Lyles began to feel the pressure at the end of the inning, throwing a wild pitch just before giving up another homer, a two-run blast, to Mike Ford.
The Seattle Mariners tacked on 15 runs against the Kansas City Royals in today’s win, behind a franchise record seven homers (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
Royals right fielder Drew Waters put the Royals on the board and pumped the brakes on the Gilbert shutout with a solo homer to right field in the top of the fifth. It was only Gilberts’ 50th pitch of the game that allowed the run. That pitch count was a sign that Gilbert could claim his place on the mound for longer than we’d normally expect, further allowing a bullpen that was used to almost its entirety in game one, to rest.
Aside from the long ball, Seattle did a great job at finding the empty pockets on the field and targeting their hits away from the KC defense. The home runs definitely stole the show and continued well throughout the game. Julio Rodriguez continued the mayhem with a two-run shot to left field. Rodriguez added to the record books with that homer, becoming the fastest Mariner ever to 50 home runs. Seattle quickly climbed to an 11-1 lead with four innings remaining. Cal Raleigh’s long ball in the bottom of the sixth went over the wall and just out of reach of Royals outfielder Dairon Blanco for yet another Mariners home run. This would also tie the Mariners season-high number of homers in a game with five. In the bottom of the seventh, a Cade Marlowe solo homer to left for the 14-1 lead was the sixth blast of the game. The last time the Mariners hit six home runs in T-Mobile Park was back in 2015. Teoscar Hernandez made it a multi-homer game, as his 21st of the season topped off the home runs tying the franchise record and setting a record for the most home runs hit at home with a total of seven.
Seattle Mariners relievers Luke Weaver and Trent Thornton helped close the win out (Photos by Mathew Bermudez)
The score did not completely deflate the Royals’ efforts on offense, as a Maikel Garcia double scored Samad Taylor in the bottom of the eighth, cutting the lead to twelve, but Seattle climbed back to the final lead of 13 runs after Teo’s second homer of the game.
The Mariners’ offense has been efficient in their last series wins, as they’ve found a rhythm that cannot be stopped. Seattle provided Gilbert with more run support than the Royals could handle, with a total of 13 hits and 15 runs. After today’s dominant win, the Mariners flag was raised to reflect first place of the division here at T-Mobile Park.