Mariners sweep away Mets in front of national audience on ‘Sunday Night Baseball’

SEATTLE – The panoramic views of the city, the perfect early Sunday evening weather, the players and their, well, unique personalities and nicknames and, of course, the performance, a 12-1 rout to complete a three-game sweep of the Mets, which was one of their best of the season, should all be enough for ESPN to want to make a return trip to Seattle for “Sunday Night Baseball” in the weeks ahead.

After waiting 20 years, 2 months and 5 days to have the weekly prime time game return to Seattle, the last time being June 6, 2004, vs. the White Sox, the Mariners offered the national TV audience a glimpse of all they can be as a team and all that local fans have been waiting for throughout frustrating stretches earlier in the season and this homestand.

“It should be here more often and it shouldn’t be 20-some years since they’ve been back,” manager Scott Servais said pregame. “But you’ve got to earn it.”

So did they earn a return trip from ESPN?

“Yeah, I’d like to see them come back deep in the playoffs,” he said. “How’s that? Yeah, that would be great.”

In a matchup between two teams with legitimate postseason aspirations, the Mariners dominated the Mets, outscoring them 22-1 in the series. It’s only the third time in franchise history where they’ve held an opponent to one run in a three-game series.

Over the three games, Seattle pitchers allowed 17 hits, struck out 28 batters and issued seven walks. Meanwhile the offense racked up 24 hits, including 10 extra-base hits, worked 18 walks and struck out 37 times.

Yes, this is the same team that looked so bad losing two of three to the Tigers in the series prior.

“Fun day for our guys,” Servais said. “Our guys were enjoying it, having a good time, and they should. We’re playing good baseball. And with the off day, we head over to Detroit, and that series with them didn’t go well last time, so we need to pick it up there. But I’m excited about where we’re at.”

Luis Castillo tossed six solid innings Sunday at T-Mobile Park, allowing one run on four hits with two walks and nine strikeouts to improve to 10-11 on the season.

It was Castillo’s 17th quality start of the season and the Mariners’ MLB-leading 73rd quality start of the season.

“The Rock was awesome,” Servais said. “When the shadows starts creeping across the middle of that field here later in the season, it’s really tough. It’s tough to see when you got the kind of movement that Luis Castillo has with his pitches, it can be really devastating.”

Led by Cal Raleigh’s monster night, which included a two-run homer and a three-run homer, the Mariners offense exploded for 12 runs on 12 hits.

With a 4:10 p.m. start and the morning clouds burning off a few hours before first pitch, the game started with sunshine and shadows making it difficult for hitters to pick up the spin on pitches.

Castillo and Mets starter Luis Severino, who both had a little extra velocity and movement on their pitches, racked up swings and misses early in the game.

Jorge Polanco gave Seattle a 1-0 lead to start the second inning, sending a 3-2 sinker into The Pen for his 11th home of the season.

The Mariners pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning.

Dominic Canzone led off with a double and later scored when Francisco Lindor lost the ball on an attempted throw for an error on Randy Arozarena’s ground ball.

Raleigh, who leads the team in hits, homers and RBI, added to that total, smashing a first-pitch changeup off the facing of the second deck in right field for a two-run homer.

The Mets picked up their lone run off Castillo and in the entire series in the fifth inning when Jeff McNeil was able to pull a fly ball down the right field line, keeping it just fair a for a solo homer. It snapped a streak of 25 scoreless innings for New York.

The Mariners answered the Mets’ lone run with six runs in the bottom of the sixth. After loading the bases on a double from Polanco and back-to-back walks, the Mariners got an RBI single from Leo Rivas and two more runs on Victor Robles’ infield single and a throwing error from McNeil.

But it was Raleigh, the team’s stalwart leader that punctuated the inning, turning a first-pitch cutter into a line drive into the right field seats for three-run blast. He now has 26 homers and 76 RBIs on the season.

Rodriguez returns to lineup

Julio Rodriguez wasn’t about to miss out on the bright lights of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.”

Ever the showman, Rodriguez tested out his injured right ankle in an afternoon pregame workout and was activated from the 10-day injured list.

The Mariners announced the official roster move at 12:58 p.m. with infielder Ryan Bliss optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma.

Rodriguez was put at the cleanup spot in the batting order and had a rough return, going 0 for 5 with five strikeouts.

Maybe he pushed to get back too soon. Or, maybe he’ll heat back up on the upcoming road trip.

Seattle has Monday off ahead of a three-game series at Detroit, followed by three games in Pittsburgh and three at the Los Angeles Dodgers.