45,337 boisterous fans filled T-Mobile Park on March 28 for the Mariners’ Opening Day against the Red Sox. I was one of them, and we were all let down as our M’s lost 6-4.
They took back the series lead with star center fielder Julio Rodríguez’s first MLB walk-off, a moment that had me jumping with joy watching on my couch.
Starting pitcher Bryan Woo was placed on the 15-day injured list before the start of the season, which meant the Mariners had to call up Emerson Hancock from their Triple-A affiliate, the Tacoma Rainiers.
They took game one of the next series against the Cleveland Guardians, but ended up losing the series. That left the Ms’ record at 3-4.
The Mariners followed that up by getting, quite literally, walked off by the Brewers. This exposed their lack of high-leverage bullpen pitchers, as they couldn’t get some critical outs late without the help of Matt Brash and Gregory Santos, both of whom were injured. They also lost that series and the following one against the Blue Jays. They hopped on a plane and returned to Seattle with a record of 5-8.
They donned the City Connect uniforms and took down the Cubs 4-2 in the series opener. However, Seattle failed to carry the momentum and left many fans disappointed, myself included, with a 6-10 record after the series. I would even go as far as to say that I wondered whether or not we would ever get back to a .500 winning percentage or show even an inkling of winning baseball.
But, with the Houston Astros playing like little leaguers and the Texas Rangers sticking around a .500 winning percentage, a march to the top seemed possible. Plus, to that point, the pitching had been as good as expected, and five of Seattle’s six wins had come when their pitchers had quality starts (defined as at least six innings pitched while allowing three runs or less).
They turned around after those games against the Cubs and promptly swept the Reds, outsourcing them by a total of 17-4. Game one of that series was highlighted by the debut of a top prospect, left fielder Jonatan Clase, who was replacing the injured Dominic Canzone.
He recorded his first MLB hit and RBI (run batted in), and the Mariners won 9-3. The next game was headlined by a phenomenal throw by Rodríguez, catching Reds star shortstop Elly De La Cruz at third base. On top of this, veteran right fielder Mitch Haniger, who played with Seattle from 2017-2022 and returned this year, made his presence felt with a pair of hits, resulting in a home run and three RBIs.
After the series opener against the Colorado Rockies was postponed due to poor April weather in Denver, 33 degrees and snowing. Eventually, Rockies fans suited up in all manner of ski gear and warm clothes just to see their team get demolished 7-0 behind a superb game from starting pitcher Luis Castillo, who allowed just two hits and one walk and struck out nine.
This win improved their record to 10-10 on the year.
After a frustrating extra-innings loss the next day, the M’s rebounded with a 10-2 win to seal their second straight series win.
They then entered a critical series against the defending World Series champion Rangers, with a spot in first place in the American League West on the line. Rodríguez finally hit his first home run of the season in game number one, and Seattle went on to shut out Texas and temporarily claim first place.
They could only enjoy it for about 18 hours, though, as they were slaughtered 5-1 the next day.
However, they held on late in the series finale and took back first place behind home runs from first baseman Ty France and third baseman Luis Urias, the latter of whom had some question marks surrounding his acquisition. This catapulted the Mariners back into first place with a record of 13-12.
The win came at a cost, as shortstop J.P. Crawford injured his oblique during pregame batting practice. He is expected back on May 17, and utility (multi-position) player Dylan Moore will fill in for the time being.
Seattle carried that momentum into their next game, the series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks. They won 6-1 behind a strong pitching performance and a grand slam by fan favorite Mitch Haniger that had me exploding with excitement.
The next day, they claimed their fifth series win in a row with a 3-1 victory, which brought their overall record to 15-12 and increased their lead in the division to a game and a half.
To this point, left fielder Luke Raley had two bunt base hits. What was the Mariner’s total as a team from last year? Three. He also gave the Mariners the lead in the 5th inning by knocking in a clutch single. At this point in the year, that trade looks like a steal.
They dropped the final game, but they were still on top thanks to the previous day’s win.
They walked onto the diamond on Monday, April 29, against the Atlanta Braves, having won four series in a row and having won eight of their last eleven games. At first, the momentum didn’t seem to carry over, as the Braves had a no-hitter going after seven innings (the Mariners had theirs broken up in the seventh). Luckily, Seattle’s pitching staff held Atlanta to just one run. After breaking up the no-hitter with a single by third baseman Josh Rojas, the Mariners left the bases loaded in the 8th.
Reliever Austin Voth pitched a shutout inning in the top of the 9th. After a leadoff single by second baseman Jorge Polanco, designated hitter Mitch Garver sent a ball into the seats for a walk-off home run with one gorgeous swing of the bat. The M’s won the game 2-1, increased their lead in the AL West to a full game, and improved their record to 16-13.
Garver’s home run was the Ms’ second walk-off of the year. It capped off one of the Mariners’ most exhilarating and exhausting wins of the season, and you’d have a hard time co
Reliever Austin Voth pitched a shutout inning in the top of the 9th, and after a leadoff single by second baseman Jorge Polanco, designated hitter Mitch Garver sent a ball into the seats for a walk-off home run with one gorgeous swing of the bat. The M’s won the game 2-1, increased their lead in the AL west to a full game, and improved their record to 16-13.
Garver’s home run was the M’s second walk-off of the year, and it capped off one of the Mariners most exhilarating and exhausting wins of the season, and you’d have a hard time convincing me that this hasn’t been the game of the year so far.
They locked up their fifth series win in a row with a 3-2 win the next day, backed by a 2-run home run by Polanco, who absolutely owned the AL West division throughout his career. Reliever Andres Muñoz got out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the 8th, helped by a phenomenal throw by shortstop Dylan Moore to end the inning.
They dropped the final game of the series but still took two out of three games from the top team in the National League. That’s pretty impressive, and certainly more games than I thought we would win that series.
As of May 1, the M’s have a record of 17-14 and are in first place in the American League West, one game up on the Rangers, who are the defending World Series champions.
In my eyes, Seattle has been performing fantastically. The starting pitchers have all lived up to the hype, the bullpen is on fire, and the offense has been performing well, with particular highlights being Haniger, Rodríguez, and Polanco as well as some of the Mariners top prospects they’ve called up, such as left fielder Jonatan Clase.
Garver has also been providing everyday stability at the designated hitter position (and hitting with a lot of power in the process, with three home runs so far), something the Mariners haven’t had since fan favorite Nelson Cruz left in 2018.
Relievers Ryne Stanek and the aforementioned Muñoz have been doing a great job holding down the fort in the bullpen. Once fellow relievers Brash and Santos return from injuries, the M’s will have a four-headed monster in the bullpen.
Brash is expected to return on June 1 and Santos on May 26. Also, starting pitcher Bryan Woo will take back Hancock’s spot in the rotation soon, as he is projected to return on May 7. With Crawford and Canzone both expected back around mid-May, the Mariners will soon be at full strength.
This means things will only improve, and they’re going pretty well right now.
Seattle is several games above a .500 winning percentage and currently occupies the top spot in its division. And that’s without two of its best relievers, one regular starting pitcher, and two players, Crawford and Canzone, who are in the lineup almost every day. Once the M’s get these guys back, I wouldn’t be surprised if they turned the baseball world upside down.
