Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels for the Seattle Mariners was the last of a four-game series that ended up in a 9-1 victory. Before facing the Angels, the Mariners took two out of three games against the red-hot Atlanta Braves and a 50/50 split in a two-game series against the San Diego Padres. Although, the Mariners would end up losing three games in a row to the Angels until they took a must-needed win on Monday, September. Monday’s game for the Mariners was a display of some great baseball and it was exciting to watch.
They were two MVPs in this game: designated hitter/first baseman Carlos Santana and right-handed pitcher Logan Gilbert.
Carlos “Slamtana” homers… again
Santana has been red hot lately smacking seven home runs in the last nine games. It was his fourth multi-homer game this season. He hit his fifth career grand slam in the top of the 5th inning building their lead to 5-0. He then hit another home run in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 9-1. Santana has hit 15 out of 19 Homeruns this year since acquiring him from the Kansas City Royals in late June.
According to Santana, those home runs were for his mom. Santana noted after the game that “My wife told me, ‘Like, I think if you don’t get a home run you don’t love your mom.’ I said, ‘OK, I love my mom.’” Seems like Mariners fans can thank Santana’s mom and wife for the home runs.
The Mariners’ runs also came from first baseman Ty France when he hit a double down the left-field line to drive in shortstop J.P. Crawford to put the Mariners up 1-0 in the first. France also hit a three-run homer off Zack Weiss to make it 8-1 in the seventh. The big power hitting is a positive sign to see from the Mariners who were struggling to hit the ball.
Gilbert and Company Bring Lights out Pitching
Though the hitting was strong for the Mariners in Monday’s game, the pitching was arguably even stronger. Gilbert had a dominant performance pitching six innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters, and allowing one run and four hits in six innings. With the help of the Mariners’ bullpen including Matthew Boyd, Diego Castillo, and Penn Murfee, they successfully did not give up any more runs. By taking home the win, the Mariners avoided a four-game series sweep which would have been the first time in 10 years at Angels Stadium.
The Seattle Mariners’ next stop is the Bay Area where they take on the Oakland Athletics in a three-game series. A team that is the worst in the American League West division giving the Mariners an easy matchup.
