Mariners ratchet up Good-Vibe-O-Meter, secure first series victory with 3-1 win over Reds

Timely hitting and excellent starting pitching led the charge on Sweepsmas Eve

Last night, the Mariners showed some impressive resolve, winning in resounding fashion after arguably one of the worst regular season losses of the 2020s reared its ugly head on Sunday. Still, there was a dragon that was yet to be slain in this young season: a simple series win.

Who else would you have wanted on the mound other than Logan Gilbert?

From the first plate appearance of the night, it was clear that LoGi Bear was on another level, as Jonathan India and Will Benson both stared at strike three while Christian Encarnacion-Strand flailed at a 1-2 splitter to put a neat bow on a 16-pitch first inning. In fact, Gilbert faced the minimum through four innings, the only baserunner coming via a nonsense one-out infield hit by old ~friend Jake Fraley. Frustrating in the moment? Sure. Was it worth the strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play to end the second? Easily.

We were also treated to Logan’s newest creation from the pitching lab: his budding cutter. In an outing where Scott Servais was hoping to see around ten offerings, Gilbert pushed that limit just a tad with twelve on the night, while also not allowing a single hit off of it. He flashed it early in both inning and count, as well, throwing three in the first and getting two called strikes - including the K - on Benson, and deployed it in nearly any count throughout the game to try to induce some weak contact. Servais was pleased with what he saw, saying postgame, “It’s the in-between pitch, between the fastball and the slider. It’s got a little bit of late movement, just to get off the barrel or get the swing and miss, but I thought he used it about the right amount tonight.”

Of course, we’ve seen this script before. A Mariners starting pitcher - and regrettably, it’s often been Gilbert so far this year - twirling a gem, even flashing some new pitches, and nary a run can be scratched across for them. The Reds’ Hunter Greene has long been touted as a future ace thanks to his incandescent fastball, and we saw why early on, as he racked up four strikeouts through the first two frames while only allowing a free pass to Cal Raleigh. With his drastic time-through-the-order splits, though, there was reason for optimism, and although no runs crossing the plate, the third inning bore that out. Jonatan Clase opened the frame with a strikeout, but Josh Rojas, J.P. Crawford, and Julio Rodríguez each notched consecutive base hits - which would have been great had Rojas not been caught stealing for the first time as a Mariner. Jorge Polanco loaded the bases with yet another walk, but Mitch Haniger couldn’t cash in, striking out on a 3-2 pitch. Still, you couldn’t help but notice it took Greene 76 pitches to get through three. Logan, on the other hand? One shy of three dozen.

An inning later, the bats broke through. Mitch Garver sandwiched a hit-by-pitch between a Cal Raleigh can of corn and Luke Raley strikeout, and Clase continued to make a strong first impression by crossing off “first extra-base hit” off of his MLB to-do list. And hey, shoutout to both Josh Rojas for the emphatic plea and home plate umpire John Libka for the immediate ask for help and quick reversal on what could have been an early favorite for worst blown call of the year.

Annoyingly, the Reds would grab that run right back in the top of the fifth, the only time they had Gilbert even remotely on the ropes. Spencer Steer greeted him with a clean base hit to right, Fraley beat out a double play by maybe a quarter of a step, Elly De La Cruz moved him to third with a base hit of his own, and local product and brief former Mariner Stuart Fairchild brought home Fraley with a groundout to tie the game. Bummer, man.

Thanks to that high-stress third inning, Greene was done after four, and another former Mariner in Emilio Pagán was in his stead. His double agent powers seemed to activate, as Julio lashed a single into left for his second hit of the night, Haniger moved him over to third, and back-to-back walks to Cal and Mitch Garver gave us a most treasured way to snatch the lead back: a Jack Cust Special.

Not content with a one-run lead, the M’s added on their third and final run an inning later, with a J.P. single, Polanco walk, and Haniger knock being the catalysts. With a multi-run lead in hand, Gilbert was on for the seventh, and friends, here’s where the real fun started. A soft liner to Polanco for the first out was all well and good, but it paled - nay, ghosted - in comparison to what transpired in the No Fly Zone a batter later.

If only that had been the final out of the inning. Alas, Jake Fraley reared his pesky head, walking on seven pitches (fun fact: both his first and last hitter faced worked seven-pitch at-bats, the longest battles for LoGi all night) to snap the walkless inning streak Seattle’s pitching staff had rolling and ending Gilbert’s night. Andrés Muñoz was summoned to nail down the final out, but his command wobbled, as well, walking Elly to put two men on. Against pinch-hitter Nick Martini, Muñoz left a 1-1 sinker up in the zone. Martini put a good swing on it for a base hit to Julio, and... and...

The Reds have run wild all season, leading baseball in stolen bases. But this throw to get maybe the fastest of them all? As the trail runner? AND THE RUN CAME OFF THE BOARD THANKS TO FRALEY SLOWING UP AT THE PLATE?! Absolute masterclass in defense and TOOTBLANing; just amazing stuff. As a cherry on top of Julio’s magnificent night in the field, Servais quipped: “[T]he stat Defensive Runs Saved...I don’t know how many runs [Julio] saved tonight. It seemed like four or five to me.”

Muñoz slammed the door in the eighth, and it was up to Ryne Stanek to close out the game in the ninth. Things could have started out better, with Benson working a leadoff walk, but hey, back-to-back easy flyouts from Encarnacion-Strand and Steer took some blood pressure off. And look at that, a ground ball off the bat of Fraley!

We should have known it wouldn’t have been that simple.

Clear error from Ty guy aside, what a Herculean effort from Stanek to try to get that tag on Fraley - and if you look closely at the pant wrinkles, he may have gotten him by a hair. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to overturn, and a walk to De La Cruz loaded the bases and ended Stanek’s night, and look for him to be a bit sore and perhaps unavailable tomorrow. Tayler Saucedo, fresh off a dominant ninth inning in last night’s laugher, was called in for the final out, and David Bell countered by bringing up a righty in Tyler Stephenson. The clenching commenced. A generous strike one call on a slider gave way to three straight changeups, with two missing the zone and the third being fouled off. The Sauce, though, was unbroken. Quadrupling up on the change, he induced a quick flyout from Stephenson, sealing both a game and series win for the M’s.

If last night was a romp, tonight was a taut, thrilling tilt. We were treated to clutch hits and walks, otherworldly defense, unsung relievers stepping up big, and most of all, another strong performance and continuing signs of growth from Logan “Walter” Gilbert en route to his first win of 2024. Servais was effusive in praising his suddenly veteran starter:

“With Logan’s preparation...spending a little time with him this off-season, seeing where he was at in spring training, he’s always trying to get better. And for me that’s the epitome of what we’re about here. We talk about it all the time, doesn’t matter just get better. And that is Logan Gilbert. He’s going to find a way to continue to get better, whether it’s adding a pitch, being more consistent in the strike zone, quickening up his delivery to the plate so he’s not as easy to steal bases on, all the little things you need to do to be a top end starter in this league, Logan’s willing to do it. He will put the time and energy in to get better, even when it’s uncomfortable. That’s a credit to him and it says a lot about the person he is and the pitcher that we have.”

I, for one, am thrilled to see what other tricks LoGi has up his sleeve. We may not get a chance to see them until the series in Texas, but sleep tight, friends. The M’s have a matinee to win tomorrow.