The Mariners dominated the A’s to a 19-1 victory on Saturday night. The fun got started early as Dominic Canzone sent out a two-run home run to put the Mariners up early in the first inning.
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The Mariners didn’t stop there; in rare form, they continued to pour the runs on. For an offense and team with such high expectations this year, it was nice to watch them go out and seemingly play up to their full potential.
Randy Arozarena would follow up Canzone in the third with a three-run home run of his own.
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But the Mariners weren’t relying purely on power; contact played a role too, and they stayed patient in the box. The A’s walked six and hit one over the course of the game. It’s rare to see the Mariners take advantage of free baserunners, so enjoy it while you can, folks!
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The A’s ended up getting one back in the 4th after a bad throw by Woo on a dribbler back to the pitcher put men on first and third, with a grounder from Shea Langeliers leading to a fielder’s choice that brought home the A’s only run of the game.
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But the Mariners picked Woo right up in the next inning. Michael Arroyo led off the inning with the first hit of his career on a double, hopefully the first of many.
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Weston Wilson came through with a single on the very next at-bat to bring Arroyo around and put the Mariners up 6-1, making the gap five again.
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Wilson would advance to second on a fly ball from Crawford. Randy Arozarena would bring home his third RBI of the night with a single bouncing off the glove of A’s second baseman and former Mariner Donovan Walton.
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The Mariners kept the pressure on in the 5th inning and continued to punish the A’s for giving up soft contact. A Josh Naylor single was immediately regretted as Cole “Cole Young” Young followed it up with his 17th home run of the year.
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I don’t know about the rest of you, but to me Cole Young has been as advertised so far this year. The 22-year-old is well within reach of a 20-homer season in only his first full season in the majors. Having already logged 4 bWAR so far this season, the future is bright for the former first-round pick.
Jealous of the shine their fellow infielders were getting, both Michael Arroyo and J.P. Crawford decided to get in on the action. Arroyo smashed an inside fastball for his first career home run with two outs in the 7th:
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After a double from Weston Wilson, his third hit of the game, J.P. Crawford brought him home with a home run of his own, pushing the Mariners’ lead into double digits heading into the bottom of the seventh:
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An error by the A’s in the top of the 8th allowed Victor Robles, pinch-hitting for Canzone, to reach first. Julio punished the A’s mistakes again with a single of his own for his third hit of the night, men on first and second. Josh Naylor decided to get in on the fun and doubled down the right-field line to score Robles and put himself on second, with Julio on third.
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Cole Young drove one to deep second base, but ran hard to beat out an infield single and bring in another, his second hit of the night and third RBI of the game.
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Michael Arroyo, not to be ignored, follows that up with his third hit of the night and his second RBI of the game, bringing home Brock Rodden, who was pinch-running for Naylor. Arroyo finished with three hits and a triple shy of the cycle.
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Weston Wilson singled to load the bases and notch his fourth hit of the game. Where were you for the Weston Wilson 4-hit game?
Lazaro Montes was sent to pinch-hit for Randy Arozarena. Not wanting to be left out of the scoring, Montes notched an RBI of his own, drawing a four-pitch walk and forcing Cole Young home for the Mariners’ 16th run of the game.
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Position player Carlos Cortes came in to record the final out in the eighth, and remained in the game for the top of the 9th, promptly walking the bases loaded. Cole Young doubled to drive in Julio and Cal to put the Mariners up 18-1, his 4th and 5th RBI of the game.
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A sacrifice fly by Arroyo to right field brought home Rodden to put the Mariners up 19-1, his third RBI of the game.
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As the 19th run crossed the plate to put the Mariners up 18 the Mariners set a team record for the largest margin of victory in team history. The true standouts today on offense were Michael Arroyo and Cole Young. The Greenhorns showed up big for the Mariners tonight, hitting a home run each and driving in eight of the Mariners 19 runs. Cole Young continues to show he belongs, and Michael Arroyo notches his first hit, first extra-base hit, and first home run in the first road game of his career. If both can continue to play like they have tonight, getting on and driving runners in, the Mariners might just be closer to securing a playoff spot than we think.
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Now, as much as the offense deserves credit for a great performance this time out, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention a resurgent Bryan Woo. Woo has struggled on the road this year, but more recently the 26-year-old has started to find his form both at home and on the road. Last time out, Woo dazzled at home, going eight innings of one-hit ball, giving up just two walks and striking out nine. Woo kept the good vibes going tonight with another great performance against the A’s. Woo went six innings, giving up three hits, two walks, and tallying five strikeouts, with just one (unearned) run allowed. The one run being counted as unearned preserves a 17-inning streak that Woo has against the A’s over his last few starts. Woo has also seemed to find his form on the road again as he continues to add to a string of impressive starts he’s had on the road since the beginning of August, owning a 1.59 ERA over 17 innings since the start of August. It’s encouraging to see Woo stay strong and even improve late in the season. With only a handful of games remaining, every performance matters, and Woo’s recent dominance has come at the perfect time as the Mariners continue to push for the playoffs.
The Mariners showed up dominantly tonight in every part of the game, keeping the A’s stifled to one run and scoring 19 of their own. Truly a full-team offensive effort, with nearly every player contributing a hit. The Mariners are still in the race for the playoffs, and wins like tonight are a big step towards making that happen. Obviously, we can’t expect the Mariners to show up like this every game, but games like this could be the start of a great run right when they need it most. The Mariners had one of the easiest schedules remaining at the All-Star break, and that hasn’t changed, as they are set to face the Angels, the Rockies, the Astros, and then the Angels again to finish the season. The last time the Mariners were in a position like this, I distinctly recall the Angels eliminating them at the end of the season; I’d like to avoid having to witness that twice.
We know how good this team is; we have seen what it can look like when it’s firing on all cylinders. Let’s hope the Mariners haven’t spent all their runs in one place and this is just a sign of more to come.
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