Mariners drop road series in New York, Baltimore; Rodriguez to compete in Home Run Derby
Seattle’s search for consistency continues following a losing road trip the past week, which included series losses in both New York and Baltimore.
After returning to .500 following a pair of series victories during their last homestand, the Mariners (37-39) picked up just two wins during their six-game trip to the East Coast.
The offensive stalled in two frustrating losses at Yankee Stadium to open the trip.
Then the offense rallied with encouraging double-digit performances in back-to-back victories in the finale in New York and series-opener in Baltimore.
But, the weekend ended with two more narrow losses to the Orioles, sending the Mariners back to Seattle short of a split, wrapping up their road trip at 2-4.
So, the Mariners remain where they have been much of the first half of the season — hovering around that .500 mark.
“We do have a lot of baseball left,” Mariners manager Scott Servais told reporters in Baltimore postgame Sunday, following a 3-2 series-ending loss to the Orioles. “I do think, outside of today, of getting shut down, I do think we’re trending in the right way offensively, and I don’t think you can just throw it in the trash because you have a rough day.
“You have to stay with it. Homestand coming up, we need to continue to swing the bats there like we did here a few days in the middle of this trip, because it’s in there. We’re capable of doing it. It just has to stay consistent.”
Seattle managed just one run on four hits in a 3-1 series-opening loss Tuesday to the Yankees to begin the road trip. The Mariners collected only four hits again Wednesday in New York, driving in two runs in the eighth and ninth after being shut out the first seven in an eventual 4-2 loss.
“We need to be better offensively,” Servais told reporters in New York postgame Wednesday. “We need to be more consistent and it’s not happening right now.”
Seattle finally found a needed offensive spark Thursday, convincingly avoiding a sweep by scoring 10 runs across the first four innings on the way to an eventual 10-2 rout.
Four Mariners posted multi-hit games in a refreshing 11-hit performance for the club, and Kolten Wong, Teoscar Hernandez, Ty France and Cal Raleigh each hit home runs to lift Seattle to a victory.
The momentum carried into Friday’s series-opener in Baltimore, when the Mariners posted season-bests in both runs scored (13) and hits (17) in a second double-digit scoring performance in as many days.
Every Mariners starter collected at least one hit, five had multi-hit games and eight drove in runs in the 13-1 victory.
“Our offense the last two nights — can’t say enough,” Servais said postgame Friday. “The guys have responded. Really good approach. Really aggressive.”
The Mariners collected another eight hits the following afternoon in the second game of the series — including a pair of solo home runs from Mike Ford, and one each from J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez — but dropped a 6-4 loss in extra innings.
Ryan McKenna’s two-run home run with one out in the 10th lifted the Orioles to the walk-off win.
Another chance at the series win slipped away in Sunday’s finale. The Mariners took a 2-0 lead in the second on a towering home run to right from Raleigh, which also scored Eugenio Suarez, who doubled the previous at-bat.
Baltimore tied the game the following inning, though, on Anthony Santander’s two-run homer, and took the decisive lead in the fifth on a fielding error.
The Mariners were shut out across the final seven frames, and didn’t tally another hit until France’s two-out single in the ninth in the eventual 3-2 defeat.
RODRIGUEZ TO COMPETE IN HOME RUN DERBY
For a second consecutive season, Rodriguez is set to compete in the Home Run Derby, which will be hosted on July 10 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Seattle’s second-year outfielder announced Friday on social media he would participate in the contest again this summer.
“Being able to be at home, and put on a show for the Mariners fans I know is going to be really exciting,” he told reporters in Baltimore following his announcement.
Rodriguez, a 2022 All-Star and the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, placed second in the event last season at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, crushing a contest-best 81 home runs in three rounds.
He bested Corey Seager in the opening round, 32-24, then two-time defending champion Pete Alonso, 31-24, in the semifinals to reach the championship round before finishing runner-up to Juan Soto, 19-18.
SHORT HOPS
▪ With his 422-foot home run in the second inning Sunday, Raleigh became the third player in Mariners history to launch a home run to Eutaw Street in Baltimore.
“I got some texts on my phone after saying they marked it and everything, so that’s pretty cool,” Raleigh told reporters postgame.
Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. was the first Mariner to hit a home run to Eutaw Street in 1994, and Sam Haggerty hit the second last season.
▪ The Mariners tallied 12 home runs during their six-game road trip to New York and Baltimore, which was the fourth-most hit by a team in the majors last week.
Ford, Hernandez and Raleigh each had two homers during the trip, while Crawford, France, Dylan Moore, Tom Murphy, Rodriguez and Wong added one each.
▪ The Mariners have won only three road series this season, against Cleveland, Oakland and Detroit, their most recent visiting the Tigers from May 12-14.
Since then, Seattle has lost series on the road to the Red Sox, Braves, Rangers, Angels, Yankees and Orioles, and split a short two-game set with the Padres in San Diego.
Following Sunday’s loss, the club is now 16-22 overall on the road with the three road series wins, nine losses and one split.
ON DECK
The Mariners begin their final homestand of the first half Monday night with a three-game series against Washington, which is currently fifth in the NL East.
AL East-leading Tampa Bay (54-27) visits T-Mobile Park for a three-game set beginning Friday. The Rays enter the week with the best record in baseball.
This story was originally published June 25, 2023 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Mariners drop road series in New York, Baltimore; Rodriguez to compete in Home Run Derby."
