Mariners beat Giants more convincingly than 4-3 score suggests

Dan Wilson has never lost a series

When the calendar flipped to August, Bryan Woo had yet to ever record an out in the seventh inning. Now he’s done it in each of his last five starts. He did it today the way he’s been doing it this whole time: pounding the zone like a raw brisket. With 69 of his 94 pitches for strikes, he was able to sail through the game efficiently, never giving up a single free pass. His seven strikeouts tied his season high, and his one earned run over seven innings mean that despite coming into the game with a 2.12 ERA, that number somehow went down today.

Unfortunately, that earned run game stapled to an unearned run as an uncharacteristic-for-Rojas E5 let the leadoff runner score and then Heliot Ramos sent a tank deep into the right-field seats. But that was just about the only blemish on Woo today. As I mentioned in the preview, I was hoping to see more changeups today since the Giants are so bad against the pitch. Still, of the seven he threw, he picked up a whiff, a called strike, and two easy outs, showing continued improvement on commanding the weapon. And if he can pitch this well without it, then who am I to judge?

Given how things have gone for the Mariners lately though, those two first-inning runs felt basically insurmountable. But facing down old friend Robbie Ray, the Mariners bats tamped down those feelings by showing some life right away. The key player was Dylan Moore, who wasn’t even supposed to play today but fell into the lineup after Luke Raley was a late scratch. As Ray set up shop on the inside, Dylan Moore laid off some good pitches to work a leadoff walk and then steal second. He then took third on a wild pitch and scored on Cal Raleigh’s single.

What’s more, it was one of three times DMo reached today and one of three stolen bases. That’s a career high for Moore. Even as a minor leaguer, he only stole three bases in a game once. The three steals take him to 99 for his career, passing Rich Amaral for eighth in club history. They also moved him into a tie for 12th in MLB since his debut. In bad news, the other player at 99 stole a base later in the day to retake sole possession of 12th place on the leaderboard. In good news, that player is Randy Arozarena. Coming in as a last-minute sub, working good plate appearances, sparking the offense with his legs? That’s classic Dylan Moore, and it cements his fourth career Sun Hat Award.

DMo’s walks were two of the three Robbie Ray would give up. Only giving up three walks sounds like a good outing for Ray, but it came in just three innings, as he left the game in the fourth with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. I know people have mixed feelings about the Robbie Ray Experience, but based on how the other pitchers talked about him, he seemed like a great guy to have in the clubhouse, and I wish him the best. At the least, his time in Seattle included teaching George Kirby his sinker and Logan Gilbert his slider, which, whatever you might say about one single pitch in the ALDS, is a pretty good legacy.

After Ray left, the Hjelle-cile Choice to replace him gave up an additional trio of runs, which, despite an uncharacteristically shaky outing from Collin Snider, would be all the Mariners needed. In beating the Giants today, they won their first series in two weeks and the team seems right-footed for the first time in a while. It may not last, and it may be too little too late, but at least the games are bearable to watch again.