Mariners aim to maintain positive atmosphere at home in rematch against Twins.
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais described it as a “vibe.” The Mariners are a changed team when playing at T-Mobile Park, no matter what the reason may be.
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Seattle Mariners
The Mariners began a long homestand, coming back to win 3-2 in 10 innings against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night, with Cal Raleigh’s fielder’s choice chopper making it past the mound for the deciding run. The competition among the playoff contenders in the American League will go on Saturday night.
Raleigh mentioned that he was somewhat rewarded for swinging at a bad pitch, but he acknowledged that this is just a part of how baseball can be at times. “You simply need to make contact with the ball.” Certainly not the correct approach, but we’ll make do with what we have.
Even though the Mariners struggled with batting in key situations and struck out frequently on Friday, their bold baserunning played a significant role in their victory. The Mariners, with a 28-12 record at home this season, took the lead in the fifth inning when Mitch Haniger walked with two outs and then scored on Josh Rojas’ double in the right-field corner.
After Carlos Correa’s two-run homer in the sixth for Minnesota, Seattle tied the score with an unearned run two innings later. Haniger drew a leadoff walk and Rojas grounded a single to right, sending pinch-runner Luke Raley to second. After J.P. Crawford popped out on a bunt attempt, Julio Rodriguez hit a chopper to third baseman Jose Miranda, who fanned on his attempt to tag Raley and then made a low throw to first, the ball skipping past Carlos Santana to allow Raley to score the tying run.
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In the 10th inning, Crawford alertly took third on Rodriguez’s groundout to short, then raced home on Raleigh’s bouncer back to pitcher Cole Sands, whose off-balance throw to the plate sailed to the backstop. It was Raleigh’s fourth career walk-off winner and his second this season after a grand slam in an 8-4 victory against the visiting Chicago White Sox on June 10.
Minnesota Twins
“I think there were some funky plays off the bat that we had to deal with,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “But overall, I wouldn’t say we played a poor ballgame. I would say we played a decent ballgame. There were a lot of things I liked that I saw.”
Pitching Matchup
Seattle Mariners
- Bryce Miller (6-6, 3.90 ERA): Miller had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 6-4 loss Sunday at Miami in which he allowed six runs over four innings. Miller is 1-0 with a 9.53 ERA in one career start against the Twins.
Minnesota Twins
- Pablo Lopez (7-6, 5.11 ERA): Lopez is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts against Seattle. He beat the Mariners 11-1 on May 9 in Minneapolis, allowing one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings with no walks and 10 strikeouts. Lopez is coming off his best start of the season Sunday at Oakland, when he pitched eight scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory. He gave up just two hits and matched a career-high with 14 strikeouts.
Conclusion
As the Mariners look to continue their strong home performance and maintain the “vibe” that has made T-Mobile Park a fortress, they face a Twins team eager to bounce back. With Bryce Miller on the mound for Seattle and Pablo Lopez pitching for Minnesota, this game promises to be a competitive clash between two teams eyeing playoff contention. Both teams will aim to capitalize on their strengths and secure a crucial win in this exciting series.