Strong night for offense, Bryan Woo as Mariners end losing streak
SEATTLE – They finally started playing August baseball in September.
It wasn’t long ago when that version of the Mariners – the team that got quality starts, hits with runners in scoring position and competent relief work – was stacking up victories, a team-record 21 in August, and series wins to force its way into division title consideration.
But all that went away when the calendar changed. Starters struggled, strikeouts started to come at the worst time and the bullpen faltered in leverage situations.
Earth, Wind and Fire definitely wasn’t singing about Seattle’s September.
But on a cool, comfortable Tuesday night at T-Mobile Park, they returned to being that team that ratcheted up the excitement in the city and with the fan base for what was expected to be a memorable final month of the regular season.
With a strong start from rookie Bryan Woo, competent hitting with runners in scoring position, highlighted by J.P. Crawford’s bases-loaded double, the Mariners delivered their most complete performance of the month in a decisive 8-0 drubbing of the Los Angeles Angels.
It was the 15th time this season that Seattle held a team scoreless.
With the win, the Mariners (80-65) pulled even with the Blue Jays, who lost to the Rangers, for the third wild-card spot in the American League.
The Rangers (80-64) sit a half-game ahead of Seattle in the wild card and American League standings, holding second in both.
Meanwhile, the AL West race got unexpectedly tighter with the Astros losing to the Athletics for the second straight night. Houston (82-64) holds a one-game lead over the Rangers and a 1.5-game lead over the Mariners.
While the scoreboard watching and standings jockeying are enjoyable for fans to dissect, the Mariners’ focus was on playing better. They’d been woefully inconsistent in their execution and production over the previous 11 games, losing eight of them.
But Monday’s 8-5 loss in extra innings against what’s left of the Angels might have been the worst loss in that stretch. And one thing the Mariners have proved in the past few seasons is that they seem to bounce back from the bottoming-out moments.
Working on extra rest that was scheduled and needed, Woo, who hadn’t pitched since Sept. 4, looked refreshed and sharp on the mound. He tossed 5⅔ scoreless innings, giving up four hits with no walks and eight strikeouts to improve to 3-4 on the season. He generated a season-high 20 swings and misses in the outing, including 13 on his four-seam fastball.
The Mariners provided him with plenty of run support. Woo and relievers Eduard Bazardo and Dominic Leone also combined to strike out 11 and not issue a walk.
Seattle scored three runs in the first inning off Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, capitalizing on Mike Moustakas’ misplay of Julio Rodriguez’s hard ground ball to third base.
Eugenio Suarez and Ty France produced RBI singles with runners in scoring position for a quick 2-0 lead. Dylan Moore scored Suarez from third with a double into the left-field corner, but France was thrown out at home trying to score from first base.
The Mariners broke the game open in the fourth. They loaded the bases with one out on three straight singles from France, Moore and Sam Haggerty. After Jose Caballero struck out, Crawford came up clutch again. He ripped a deep fly ball into right-center that was just out of the reach of Angels center fielder Brett Phillips. Crawford’s 31st double of the season cleared the bases to give Seattle a 6-0 lead. But they weren’t done in the inning. Rodriguez laced a line drive to left to score Crawford to make it 7-0.