Mariners Sweep Rangers

Having gone 2-8 in their first ten games there was not a better time for the Mariners to sweep the Rangers.

The first two games of the series was great pitching by King Felix and James Paxton. The third game on Sunday was started by Iwakuma however he didn’t pitched so well himself giving up six runs in six innings fortunately the hitting and defense picked the team up.

Sunday’s game was very much different than the twelve games the Mariners had played this season. This game the Mariners had to come back a couple times to win the game in the ninth inning. Rookie right field Mitch Haniger had to be the player of the game by far. He had a home run his fourth of the season early in the game and then later on made an outstanding catch stealing a home run that likely would have given the Rangers the victory. In the ninth inning closer Edwin Diaz gave up a home run with the tie score. Haniger came up to bat with the bases loaded and had the patience to walk again to tie the game again. Two batters later Nelson Cruz hit an infield hit toward the shortstop however was not able to get an out that allowed the winning run.

This week the Mariners will be playing three games at home against the Miami Marlins before going back on the road. It will be interesting to find out Monday night how much Sunday’s game will play a role in this series. The Mariners are now 5-8 on the series and have moved ahead of the Rangers in the standings.  This game could make the whole difference in the season. The Mariners will have Ariel Miranda going Monday for the Mariners followed by Gallardo and finish up with Felix Hernandez on Wednesday afternoon game. We know that Miranda and Gallardo both have struggled at times so far. These two games could turn out similar to Sunday’s game. Other than closer Edwin Diaz who gave up the tying home run in the ninth inning the bullpen pitched a good game. In fact since manager Scott Servais said early in the week that they will go with matchups the bullpen has done a good job. Edwin Diaz will continue as closer for the time being.

In other news Tony Zych made his Mariner debut on Sunday and Steve Cishek is going out on a rehab assignment to the Mariners double-A team in Arkansas. He may be back with the Mariners when they go on the road. Jean Segura could be back at shortstop on Friday. Taylor Motter has done a fine job as his replacement. It will be interesting to see how much playing time he will continue when Segura returns. First baseman Danny Valencia is starting to heat up however Motter could play some time there well as in the outfield. I would not be surprised if Motter may play some left field against left handed pitchers while Heredia is in at center field. This will depend on whether Leonys Martin’s bat heats up or stays cold. One thing we do know Mitch Haniger will stay in the lineup as long as he continues to play the way he has. Go M’s.