ANAHEIM, Calif. — From flailing to formidable, from falling apart to the first wild card spot, from another frustrating team failing to live up to expectations to perhaps finally reaching the postseason again, the Mariners’ journey from the forgettable first months of the season to Wednesday’s 11-7 drubbing of the Angels defies typical baseball logic.
On June 19 they were shut out in front of a packed T-Mobile Park. They had lost four of five games to the Angels and were sitting at 28-38.
The sounds of their own fans booing drowned out the sound of the Mariners hitting rock bottom. Demands for people to be fired and changes to be made permeated social media.
Fast forward two months to a sun-drenched afternoon at Angel Stadium, the Mariners, now fully healthy, rolled to a three-game sweep of the Angels while racking up their second most runs scored of the season, powered by four home runs, to improve to 65-54 — a season-high 11 games over .500.
That doesn’t happen often in baseball.
The Mariners got two homers from Cal Raleigh and homers from Eugenio Suarez and Jesse Winker.
Seattle got a solid start from George Kirby.
Kirby pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with a walk and a strikeout. With the Mariners working to control his usage, it was a bit surprising to see Kirby jog to the mound for the bottom of the sixth with the Mariners leading 9-3. Given the high 90s heat and Kirby having thrown 74 pitches in five innings, it might have seemed like a decent way to steal some extra rest.
But with an extra day of rest, Kirby got to start the sixth. He didn’t quite finish it after issuing a two-out walk to Steven Duggar. It left him shaking his head in disgust and his pitch count at 94.