Listen, I’m not saying it was destined, but you go up against a team called the Angels on Easter, and you’re probably gonna lose. A simple coincidence? Probably, but I think the much more likely scenario is that this game took place inside the halo for the Angels at the Big A. It’s no secret the Mariners have never been highly favored by those persnickety baseball gods, and this game was no exception. Every time the Mariners seemed to get an edge or get out in front, the Angels would manage to pull it back.
Coming into the game, the Mariners are coming off a rough shutout from last night that featured Jo Adell having the defensive game of his career. Unable to shake the bad vibes from yesterday, today’s game started and remained equally frustrating.
Zach “Mariner Killer” Neto immediately gets the trouble started with a lead-off double to add to his two extra-base hits from last night. So far this series, Neto’s bat appears to be blessed with a prodigious level of power this series, and today was obviously not going to be an exception; it is their day after all. After advancing to third on a groundball to first from Trout and scored on a single from Jorge Solar, putting the Angels up 1-0 in the first.
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However, the Mariners have been showing some fight early in the year, and do not go away easily. Our M’s roared back in the second against George Klassen, making his MLB debut. Klassen is a highly touted prospect for the Angels, though if his command issues persist as they did today, it’s hard to see the Angels being able to rely on him for innings this season. The young pitcher certainly had some moments, including his first career strikeout against Julio Rodriguez, but also lasted just 2.2 innings, issuing five walks.
Klassen certainly looked the part of the anxious rookie on the hill today. He started the second inning with a walk to Randy Arozarena, and then with one out issued back-to-back walks to Cole Young and Mitch Garver, loading the bases. A nice little Leo Rivas bloop single drove in both Arozarena and Young, and the Mariners took the lead 2-1 going into the third inning.
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Clearly, the Mariners’ hubris was offensive, though, because the Angels almost immediately tied it up again. Trout doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a Nolan Schanuel groundout to first base. Jorge Soler then singled into left field to bring Trout home and take away the Mariners’ first lead of the day.
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Thankfully, before things can get much worse, the inning is brought to an end in part thanks to a nice play by Cole Young. The young second baseman certainly seems to be settling in well to Seattle, as you shall see a little further down.
Mariners’ Cole Young makes early bid for Most Improved Player
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Up to this point, it was a good competitive game; seemingly, it could go either way, and then the fates stepped in. Unwilling to see the Mariners win this game, or at least win easily, they started causing trouble for the Mariners in the 4th inning. First, Luis Castillo, usually very solid, especially early in the year, logged an uncharacteristic HBP on Josh Lowe. Castillo followed that with a walk of Logan O’Hoppe (OH-Hop-e, appropriate for today). A sac bunt from former Mariner Adam Frazier put both runners in scoring position. Of course, this brought Neto to the plate, and he did what Zach Neto does, which is put the ball in play. A hard grounder to third and Leo Rivas couldn’t handle it: the ball ricocheted off his glove into foul territory and allowed both runners to advance, giving the Angels a 3-2 lead.
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To make matters worse, on the next play, J.P. Crawford got a seemingly routine ground ball and overthrew Naylor at first, pulling him off the bag, allowing O’Hoppe to score from third, and putting the Angels up 4-2.
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BUT, faithful reader, this version of the Mariners has something that other teams of the past have lacked: tenacity, stick-to-it-iveness, the ability to never really go away, and today it showed. Mariners’ young lion Cole Young stepped to the plate in the 5th inning with Arozarena on second after a HBP, and JP Crawford on first after drawing a walk. Feeling no fear or pressure, Young coolly stepped into the box, facing Brett Suter, who is roughly twice Young’s age. In a disgusting display of lefty on lefty violence, Young launched his second home run of the year to put the Mariners up 5-4. That Cole Young 25 home run season prediction isn’t looking so outlandish at this point.
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However, playing the Angels on Easter is bound to end with their victory; it’s one of the few perks the team has! Certainly not a working HVAC system. (Note that this is not based on any empirical evidence, more just vibe science.) Jeimer Candelario reminded us he’s still playing in MLB in the bottom of the fifth with a lead-off double, and then Jo Adell immediately punished a mistake pitch from Jose Ferrer (sinker in the lefty loop zone) and followed it up with a single to tie the game again.
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Adam Frazier continued to haunt the Mariners with a single of his own to drive in Adell and put the Angels up 6-5. Someone get that man out of the AL West.
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For many teams, that would be the end, the back of the team being broken by former players and teammates dicing them up, and Jo Adell having a great defensive game and then continuing to assault the Mariners with his skills at the plate. But not these Mariners, embued with the spirit of the Easter Bunny, these Mariners keep bouncing back!
In the 9th, down to their last out, Cal Raleigh stepped to the plate. With the struggles he’s had so far this season, you could be forgiven for thinking game over, and yet it’s not. Raleigh muscled a dying seagull down the left field line and hustled for a double, bringing up the equally struggling Julio Rodríguez, again potentially as the last chance of the game. Not to be outdone, Julio lined a single into left center to bring Cal around to score and tie up the game. We’re going to extras, baby!
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The Mariners stayed hot in the tenth, like a candy-fueled two-year-old after church, surging into the lead with the assistance of the Manfred runner. A single from Randy brought around Julio to score, and the Mariners lead 7-6 going into the bottom of the 10th.
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The Angels, however, have the power of the heavens on their side on today of all days. Bryce Teodosio bunts over Jo Adell on second to third. A sac fly from O’Hoppe O’Hopped him home, and we are all tied up again! But the Mariners didn’t have enough left in the tank, as if experiencing a mighty sugar crash. Though they mustered baserunners in the top of the 11th, it’s not meant to be. With the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the 11th, Cal Raleigh couldn’t play hero again, striking out swinging to end the inning.
The Mariners attempted to stop the inevitable, an intentional walk to Neto to start the bottom of the 11th and set up the double play. Neto has been killing them, so I understand. But a sac bunt by Oswald Peraza put runners on second and third, so all it took was a simple sac fly from Nolan Schanuel and the game is over as Adam Frazier (of course) crosses the plate; Mariners lose 8 – 7.
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A sad end to an otherwise good game, if you ignore all the runners the Mariners left stranded, and because it’s a holiday for many people we are going to. Though it didn’t work out the way I would have liked, both Julio and Cal had some big hits, so the hope is that this game can at least help get the Mariners back on track to start the season.
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