Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - MARINERS POSTCAST: Seattle Mariners BOUNCE BACK vs Houston Astros

Starting point is 00:00:04 This is the Mariners Postcast. Your instant game reaction for the Seattle Mariners. Part of the locked on podcast network, your team every day. Welcome into the Mariners Postcast. My name is Anderson Hurst. Mariners win this one 10 to 5. They even up the series against the Houston Astros. They move to 58 and 66 on the season.

Starting point is 00:00:31 They move to back within five of the Houston Astros. for the top of the A.L. West. And it turns into a must win again tomorrow. I mean, you get multi-hit days from one, two, three, four, five, six of your nine batters. And even the ones that didn't Brock Rodden, Randy had a tough day. And then Cal Raleigh, we'll get to that a little bit later. Just honestly, there's two ways to look at this game. all, we'll start with a start with Emerson Hancock. He was fantastic. We'll get to that in a second.

Starting point is 00:01:12 We'll talk about the offense a little bit. And then we'll get to our unsung hero of the day. But we start with Emerson Hancock, because boy, was he fantastic today? I mean, you can tell almost pretty quickly, even though he had to kind of work some stuff through the first couple endings. But the difference between his start and George Kirby's yesterday is the fact that even though he had the bases loaded in that first inning. He only gave up the one run in the first, and then, you know, struggled a little bit in the second, gave up the one run, but then was absolutely lights freaking out after that. Seven innings pitch, five hits, or yes, five hits, two runs, both earned two walks and eight Ks. The sweeper was fantastic

Starting point is 00:02:00 today. And that's, that's going to be kind of the thing with him moving forward. And you can tell when he is confident, he has this aura on the mound where he almost, he holds his like follow through a little bit longer, just looks much more. Kind of reminds me a little bit of Brian Wu when, you know, they have that little swag right after they throw their pitch in almost like a relaxed nature. It's not a very tense situation. But then when he isn't going well, you can tell that he is a little on the tenser side. So I like what I see from him. And he started the season so well. It was bound to come back down to Earth a little bit,

Starting point is 00:02:41 but then he's been really, really good again for the past month or so. So it's been great to see that it wasn't just a good stretch of baseball from Emerson, Hancock. It's been a darn near a great full season from him. So that's great for the Mariners moving forward. and he's just pitching with so much more confidence. And you need these types of starts moving forward. I know that you score the 10 runs today and you score seven yesterday,

Starting point is 00:03:09 but more often than not, it's going to be the, you know, four, three, three, two, two, one type of games. So having a starter that can go seven with, you know, two runs or less, they called it the Felix ultra quality start, which I actually really admire, because that did seem like a very Felix thing. He would go seven to, seven innings two runs almost every time,

Starting point is 00:03:32 which is awesome. So that's why I think you're going to need to start getting more of those types of outings from your starting pitchers. You got that from Logan at the third game of the Yankees series as well. So just great stuff from Emerson Hancock. Let's get to the offense. Yeah, there's two ways to look at this game

Starting point is 00:03:54 from a kind of more macro viewpoint here. Number one, you can look at, it in the positive way that the guys bounced back after a devastating loss last night. And it's good to see that the energy is still there. They're putting quality at bats together, stringing really good plate appearances together. When they scored their seventh run today, they had scored 14 runs in their last two games without a single home run. That's very un-mariners, but in a good way.

Starting point is 00:04:28 It shows that they're starting to get the other parts of their game without relying too much on the long ball. This team's always going to be a home run heavy dependent team, but it has to be to an extent, right? They always show the stats of the teams that have the most percentages of their runs scored on the home run. And a lot of the times the teams that are on the top of that list are good teams. You see the Dodgers, you see the Yankees on there, stuff like that. but it's it gets to a point where it becomes too much at some point. And I think the Mariners definitely were at the point this year where it was too much. You need to do at least a little bit of something else.

Starting point is 00:05:06 And I'm not even saying small ball bunting, all that stuff. But, you know, doubles, slugging. You're seeing some extra base hits that aren't home runs. And yes, they're more prone to that in this ballpark for sure. But it's good to see they're taking advantage of that. And I think a big, big kind of culprit of that is Victor Roblo. right a guy that hasn't hit a home run yet this year but has had a fantastic last couple games um hope he's okay with the diving catch and the slide into second base but he he waved off

Starting point is 00:05:37 the trainer he seems like he's good to go i love the way he plays man and i'm a little biased because i i just like him as a player and i like him as a person too but i still think the best version of the mariners um involves victor robos playing every day it's a little more ify now with the way dom can zone has been this year. You can easily DH DOM and then Victor plays your right field and then that really sure's up your defense as well. So,

Starting point is 00:06:04 Victor Robles, let's talk through the guys that had multi-hit games today. Brendan Donovan topped the lineup. Excellent bounce back game from him. Just a classic example of what the Mariners thought they were getting when they traded for this guy to bat at the top of their lineup. And he looked like he was going to be that type of player

Starting point is 00:06:23 for the early part of the season. Then he gets hurt, tries to come back, seems like he maybe come back too early, goes back to the injured list and was out for a long, long, long time.

Starting point is 00:06:35 It gets back a little bit slow of a start once he's getting back, but he's getting his feet under him now, and he goes three for five with three, two out RBIs today. So that's the player, the Mariners thought they were getting when they were trading for him.

Starting point is 00:06:49 And if he can be that guy that we're seeing as of late and that we saw early in April and early part of May, that will be such a big thing for this offense, especially if Cal Raleigh is just going to continue to be the worst hitter in baseball. Brendan Donovan, being good, will help shoulder some of that. Randy, a rare off day for him, goes 0 for 5 of 2Ks. Dom can zone two hits.

Starting point is 00:07:16 Julio gets two hits, scores two runs, great for him. Josh Naylor gets two hits. Cole Young gets three hits. including that very big, considering the state of your bullpen right now, three-run, home run, and the ninth inning. They absolutely needed that very much so. Calderalli goes 0 for five of the K, Victor Robles, two hits, and Brock Rodden, even though he only goes one for four in three Ks,

Starting point is 00:07:42 he still shows a lot of good stuff, both on the defensive side of the ball and on the offensive side of the ball. he gets that wall ball double that was an RBI. I think it was in the seventh or eighth inning. I can't remember, but also gets a walk as well. So I can live with the K's with him if he's going to continue to be a guy that can do damage and kind of scrappy up there.

Starting point is 00:08:06 So love that from Brock Rodden. Really the only downside for today, because I'm not even going to take Randy as a downside. I mean, he's been so consistently good all season long, one over five day, as long as it doesn't stack. which he's been really good at that, making that not happen, right?

Starting point is 00:08:26 As long as that doesn't stack for Randy, I'm not worried about that whatsoever. It's Cal Raleigh again, man. He now is a 156 batting average. And again, I'm not a batting average guy, but if he continues to be an everyday player for the rest of this year, the lowest batting average ever recorded in the modern era since 1920, was Chris Davis in 2018 with a 168 for a qualified,

Starting point is 00:08:51 hitter. And Cal Raleigh, right now is a 156 batting average. It tells you how much he's really struggling right now. I don't know if there is a solution. I don't even know if playing Johnny Parada every single day is the answer to that. I still think if the Mariners are going to do anything, they could I'm not saying they will, but there's a reality where they can realistically go on a run. sneak into the playoffs at around 500 or just above that if they figure their stuff out at the end of August and then during September. But if Cal Raleigh isn't, is going to continue to be this version of Cal Raleigh, they're not doing anything in the postseason. And that's going to make it

Starting point is 00:09:39 that much harder to get to that point. So it's kind of tough to put all your hopes on one player. but I feel like he doesn't even have to be, he doesn't have to get hot. He just has to not be God awful. And there's a big gap with that, right? Get a couple walks, string some hits together. You don't have to hit 15 home runs in one month. That's not what we're asking, right?

Starting point is 00:10:08 We're just asking you to literally not get out every single time you go to the plate. And that's what's happening right now. It's a 557 OPS very much below. a replacement hitter right now. So again, I don't know the solution to that. I'm not even advocating for benching him because you're going to need him. Like he needs to get his way out of this. You're not going to either A, go to the playoffs or B, do anything in the playoffs

Starting point is 00:10:33 with Johnny Parado is your everyday catcher. I love him. He's great as a backup. But no, that's not the solution here. So I don't know what the answer is. You're trying to let him hit out of his slump right now, but it's just, it's not working. It's not happening. I don't know. I don't know. It's not an easy solution. So that's the one negative for today.

Starting point is 00:10:55 But this is also what makes yesterday's game so frustrating is the fact that you did a lot of this same stuff yesterday. You were scoring runs without the long ball. You were stringing together really good at bats, walks, you know, making contact, not striking out a ton. you know, putting the ball in play, getting big hits with runners in scoring position. You were doing a lot of that yesterday. It's just, A, the start wasn't great from Kirby, so it really put a lot of stress in your bullpen who, for the majority, was good. But then, of course, we all know what happened in the end. And just imagine if we had put together two really good games like this and won both games.

Starting point is 00:11:37 And we had already secured the series win at this point with an opportunity to go sweep tomorrow. imagine how good we would be feeling if that were the case. I would start to change my tune on the reality of this team catching Houston. And that could still happen if they go and win tomorrow. But again, so much of this season and so much of what the Mariners do when they are playing really, really well, they capture momentum and they play off of the highs, right? And maybe they play out the lows too much. Um, so that's another reason why I give them prompts today for kind of flushing yesterday's game down the toilet,

Starting point is 00:12:20 coming back and putting together a really good performance, but they need to, you know, have a stretch where you feel pretty good about yourself, right? And it's not just winning two out of three, winning two out of three, winning two out of three, although that would be great. Mariner's have not won three straight series since their eight game winning streak late, May, early June. And that's the only time they've done that this. year. So winning three straight series would be fantastic. But they need to have kind of those moments. You know what I'm talking about? Where it's it's something that you kind of galvanizes the fan base a little bit. Feels like it's it's a big moment for them. So and then you have to keep winning after that.

Starting point is 00:13:03 That's the second part of that. So they go out and win tomorrow. A lot of people will not forget what happened yesterday, but it will not be the overarching feeling from the entire series. If you had gone into the series saying, hey, we'll win two out of three for that. I would absolutely sign up for that. So go and do that tomorrow. That's a huge, huge ask for the Mariners. Brian Wu on the road. Let's see if you can follow up his start.

Starting point is 00:13:32 Let's come back. Let's give your unsung hero of the day. Talk a little bullpen. and then, you know, what needs to happen tomorrow with Brian Wu on the mound. You're listening to the Mariners Postcast after a 10 to 5 victory over the Houston Astros. Can we talk about one of the most underrated organs in your body? It's your liver. It's your body's filter, processing everything you consume and performing more than 500 functions every single day.

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Starting point is 00:15:40 there, but if he can be that lead off hitter that the Mariners thought they were getting when they made the trade with the St. Louis Cardinals today, three hits, three RBIs, and all in pretty big moments too. That's going to be huge for this offense moving forward. It will kind of shoulder a lot of the downfalls of the Cow Raleigh struggles that are very well documented at this point. So having Brandon Donovan be that guy at the top of your lineup every single day that will be very much embraced by the Mariners.

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Starting point is 00:17:30 Mariners Postcast, Anderson Hurst, your manors win 10 to 5. A great offensive output day, a great start. You're able to kind of use your second bullpen side. Now, Ferrer does give the two runs up with the home run. He didn't look great today. He's been very hit or miss lately. there are sometimes where he just looks like an absolute dog and sometimes where it just doesn't look there. It's much less consistent than earlier this season. So hopefully he can kind of work

Starting point is 00:18:01 through those semi-struggles. I'm not even going to say full-on struggles because he's still been more often than not a very good reliever for the Mariners this year. But he didn't look great today. He gives up the home run. Thank God the offense did their work because it just at that point it was not something we were super worried about. Dominguez comes on, gives up the run. That's more from the attempt at the diving catch from Victor Robles, which I love at that point in the game, it was 10 to 4. But Dominguez, I think I'm just looking at eye test, right?

Starting point is 00:18:37 He's not going to be your closer. He's probably not even going to be in your top four leverage arms, especially when Matt Brash comes back. But if you can be someone that can get the strikeout and kind of fill a gap when your other guys aren't, available. Like, for instance, Munoz had pitched two straight days. I think Spire was dealing with some stuff today. Bizarre pitched two straight days, including two innings yesterday. So having Dominguez, a guy that's probably your sixth or seventh best guy to go to, and still have some

Starting point is 00:19:11 confidence. You're never going to feel like that guy is going to be lights out at that point in your bullpen. But he looked decent today with, he. He's always going to be kind of a wild delivery. Sometimes he's going to spike some pitches here and there. But if he can kind of narrow it down a little bit and get some swing and miss and kind of really avoid the walks as much as possible, that's going to be a huge thing for him moving forward. My unsung hero of the day is going to be Brock Rodden. I mean, I couldn't have gone unsung hero with him yesterday.

Starting point is 00:19:45 It was his debut. He gets the two big RBIs. But today, I mean, if you look at his line, it's not great. One for four with three Ks does get the walk. But again, it's more that the chase down that he had to end the seventh inning for Emerson Hancock was a big moment because that felt like Emerson Hancock was just starting to labor a little bit. And if Houston had opened it up at that point, there could have been big question marks that could have stretched your bullpen even that much more thin.

Starting point is 00:20:14 So him, I don't know if it was him that called for the step off. or if that was Brendan Donovan, because normally that would be the shortstop, but right after Emerson Hancock threw it and he saw that Taylor Tramel was in the rundown, he pointed to Brendan Donovan. So that makes me think it was Brendan Donovan that did it. But either way, Rodden able to chase him down. It's a good play on his part. And another wall ball double.

Starting point is 00:20:39 So he's showing positive signs at the plate. And his ceiling doesn't look incredibly high, but he was never going to be the high ceiling. like Colt Emerson type, right? He's going to come in and I think his role, he knows what his role is. He needs to be, you know, a good defender, come up with a couple big hits and kind of just a scrappy player that helps the Mariners kind of rally a little bit around each other. And he's done such a good job of that. Great to see his first couple games have been a success with a ton of family in the house as well. So unsung hero, Brock Rodden, good for you. My man, I can't wait to watch you play a little bit

Starting point is 00:21:19 more for the Seattle Mariners coming down the road. Huge game tomorrow. Brian Wu on the road. Hopefully he can follow up his great start in New York with a great start tomorrow. Because if the Mariners win two out of three in this series, a lot will be forgotten from yesterday. You can always say, what if they, even if they win tomorrow, and then you can say, oh, man, they could have swept if they had just, you know, held the lead. But I would much rather win two out of three. either not. I'll just put it that way. So look forward. You could still go win the series tomorrow and then start to stack some series wins. That's huge. This, this would be their first road series win since late May. Yes, late May. It is August 15th. So they have a chance to do something that they haven't done a long time. And I think it would really help, not saying it's going to do this, but it would really help kind of really get this team jump started a little bit. And as much as we like to think, that it's too late. If you win tomorrow, it's not. Your foreback, that's very doable. So, um, let's go, let's go get him tomorrow. Brian will come shove. You know what you need to do. It's a

Starting point is 00:22:25 must, must win. It's a must win for the Mariners tomorrow. If they lose tomorrow, you can kind of, it's curtains. It's curtains. So, um, come out and do it. We'll, we'll be live right after the game. It's a four o'clock game or four 30, maybe, uh, Sunday night baseball. So make sure you have that on your TVs as well. So we'll, we'll be right after that game and I will chat about what's going on with your Seattle Mariners. Talk to you tomorrow. Brian Will, go get it done. See you next time.

Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - MARINERS POSTCAST: Seattle Mariners BOUNCE BACK vs Houston Astros

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