BOSTON – When Emerson Hancock made his return to the majors last week after getting unexpectedly, and maybe unfairly, shipped to the minors following one start, there wasn’t a sense of bitterness even if it could be justified.
The way Hancock carried himself upon coming back to the Mariners was noticeable to the teammates around him.
“Not enough is going to be said about the way that he handled that experience and going down to Triple-A, keeping his confidence, keeping his head on his shoulders the right way, and then coming back up and delivering a huge start for us,” friend and fellow starter Bryan Woo said last week in Toronto.
That background made Wednesday night at Fenway Park seem extra rewarding for Hancock as he limited the Red Sox to two runs over six innings in the Mariners’ 8-5 win.
“I think the biggest thing is trusting it. Trusting the preparation and the work that you’ve put in,” Hancock said.
“We got a really good team. I’ve got some great guys behind me. So my job is to go out there and just fill up the strike zone, let those guys play behind me and get them back to the plate as quick as possible.”
Hancock (1-1) scattered five hits. He struck out a career-high seven and walked only two. Considering how much the bullpen has been used of late, Hancock provided a little bit of depth at a time any break for the relievers is welcomed.
And, he may have put that first start of the season on March 31 against Detroit fully in the past when he couldn’t escape the first inning and his penance was a trip back down to Tacoma.
But Hancock didn’t sulk. When he returned last week in Cincinnati, he allowed two runs over five innings and gave the M’s a chance to win.
He was even better this time and collected a deserved victory. Other than Woo, Hancock was the first M’s pitcher to throw at least six innings since Luis Castillo on April 2.
Hancock relied mostly on his four-seam and sinking fastball, but mixed in a handful of sweepers, a few sliders and a few good changeups among his 92 pitches.
“We saw this kind of mindset at the end of spring training. He was aggressive in the zone, getting ahead and then being able to use his changeup effectively, and his other (secondary pitches),” M’s manager Dan Wilson said. “I thought his sweeper and slider were very good also. Being able to just pitch like he does and the mindset of attacking the zone to get ahead really makes the at-bat a lot harder on the hitter and he was able to do that consistently tonight.”
It helped that the offense received contributions throughout the lineup but especially the bottom of the batting order. Hitting seventh, Ben Williamson had the first three-hit game of his career and drove in a run.
Williamson credited the work he’s done with hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and assistant hitting coach Bobby Magallanes as partly why his production at the plate is probably a little more than first expected after he was called up.
“I’ve felt pretty good at the plate. Working with (Seitzer) and (Magallanes) behind the scenes has been really cool, bouncing ideas off of them and being able to pick their brain has been really good for me,” Williamson said.
Hitting eighth, Leo Rivas had two singles, two walks and scored twice.
Batting ninth, J.P. Crawford became the 10th Mariner to go deep this season with a three-run homer in the fourth inning that gave Seattle a 4-0 lead.
Crawford’s homer off Boston starter Sean Newcomb was his fifth off a left-handed pitcher in his past eight home runs dating to last season.
Crawford finished with four RBI, tying his career-high accomplished six times previously. The bottom three hitters in Seattle’s lineup combined to go 7 for 12 with five RBI, four runs scored and three walks.
“At-bats up and down the lineup were excellent,” Wilson said.
Mitch Garver added an RBI single, his second RBI of the season, and the Mariners added a pair in the sixth inning thanks in part to Boston reliever Brennan Bernardino making two errors on one play. Bernardino misplayed Dylan Moore’s 41.5 mph check swing back toward the mound then threw wildly toward first allowing Rivas to score. Julio Rodríguez followed with a single – the 499th hit of his career – to score Moore for his first RBI since April 12.
Boston did pull within 8-5 in the eighth inning on Triston Casas’ three-run homer off Casey Legumina, but Andrés Muñoz pitched the ninth to get his eighth save.
While Williamson shined at the plate, he continued to show his defensive value at third base. When Hancock found trouble in the fifth inning, he was able to escape mostly unscathed thanks in part to Williamson’s defense.
Boston already plated one run and had Jarren Duran standing at third with Alex Bregman at the plate. Bregman hit a chopper behind third that was going to stay fair but be a tough play for Williamson going to his backhand. Williamson was able to charge enough to get the chopper on a short-hop and made an on-target running throw to get Bregman.
Williamson said he initially believed the play to make was going to be at the plate and led to him taking a wider angle toward the ball to make sure he had a throwing lane. When Duran didn’t break for home, Williamson quickly adjusted.
“I went to go get it, got it on a good hop and fortunately made a good throw to first base,” Williamson said.
Wilyer Abreu popped out to end the threat and Hancock worked a 1-2-3 sixth inning to fittingly cap his performance.