Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - MARINERS POSTCAST: Seattle Mariners get SECOND STRAIGHT SWEEP vs Arizona Diamondbacks

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. Six in a row, baby. Let's go. Mariner baseball is up and add them once again. They get the sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, three to two in extra innings. You get a great outing from Bryce Miller.

Starting point is 00:00:35 you get a really good outing from Louise Castillo. You get just enough offense and you don't have to use the bullpen whatsoever. A pretty darn good day to be a Mariners fan. And a pretty darn good last six or seven days to be a Mariners fan because, man, it is just a different baseball team that's on the field right now. And I realized today wasn't perfect. There were definitely aspects of the team that left a lot be desired. I started to see a little bit shaky defense and I started to see the hitting with

Starting point is 00:01:13 runners in the scoring position go back to its early season form, which was not good. But you get two solo shots and then you win it in extras and you have elite pitching. All right. It's just great to see. The boys are playing good baseball right now. Let's start with the start of the piggyback. with Bryce Miller. Man, he is in mid-season form. And it's only, I think that was his fourth start. And it was just he had everything working today. He goes five innings, one hit, one walk, six Ks.

Starting point is 00:01:55 I think he has now graduated to the point where he can be on his own for starting. You can let him go, six posse. possibly seven. And I know they mentioned on the broadcast that they're for the upcoming road trip because of so many days played in a row. They are going to the six-man, the full six-man rotation. So both Luis and Bryce will get their own starting days. And I'm excited to see that for Bryce because I think we need to see what a full outing of him looks like. You know, he gets through five again with kind of a breeze, to be completely honest. So I want to see what it looks like when he is fully extended out.

Starting point is 00:02:42 And a lot of the reasoning for them doing this was, yes, to keep Luis stretched out. But also, Bryce Miller for his first couple starts is coming off an injury. He didn't really have spring training. And then he's had the injury scare last year as well. So this was kind of a precautionary measure, along with trying to keep Luis Castillo in the rotation from some point as well. But Bryce Miller on the Bryce Miller side of things, man, he was fantastic. And again, I mentioned this the last couple of days with Mariners pitching.

Starting point is 00:03:14 This is a good Arizona offense. And they looked like they didn't have anything going on in this entire series. So being able to shut them down is that's a really positive development for these guys. I think the pitching is really starting to get to the point where we thought it could be coming into this part of the season. So it's good to see Bryce be a main part of that. I think he's graduated to earning a full start and not just because he needed to earn it, I guess, is the wrong phrase to use. But work your way into it. No spring training.

Starting point is 00:03:55 you know, you just came off the injured list, get yourself, you know, your feet under you and stuff like that. And I think it's official that you, all right, he's good to go now. No training wheels whatsoever. I want to see that coming up in the next road trip. It's going to be interesting to kind of see what that looks like. Second part of the piggyback with Luis Castillo. I actually thought he looked really good. And I know that when you see Bryce just easing through the lineup and then you take him amount. I didn't look at the exact pitch count here. 71 for for Bryce. So the exact same amount of pitches actually with Luis Castillo. So that's pretty interesting. 71 pitches. Yeah. Like I know it's frustrating. You see him breezing through the lineup. You only have a one zero lead at that point.

Starting point is 00:04:50 And then you bring in Luis and he gives up the run. I am not really blaming him for the for the run that's given up. He obviously, you know, it's, it's, you're comparing the two. Bryce Miller was elite today. And, you know, when you're looking at those two pitchers back to back, you can see that there is a difference in level, we'll say, but that's not necessarily an insult to Luis Castillo. That is a compliment to Bryce Miller and how good he has been. And I think actually this worked, today it worked out really well for the Mariners because you go into extra innings and you have to use none of your bullpen. So that's really a good positive. Again, I know people are frustrated with it, but honestly, the pitching was not the issue today. Absolutely not. And you still win the game. So Louise,

Starting point is 00:05:44 definitely the second run wasn't his fault. Josh Naylor needs to help him out there. I don't know what he's doing. Get the out. And then you get out of the inning after that. but the first one was still a little bit shaky defense. It gets kind of split through Cole Young and J.P. Crawford. Feels like there was a little bit of miscommunication there. It feels like he should have been helped out a little bit more. He wasn't as dominant as Bryce Miller. I'm not trying to argue that he was,

Starting point is 00:06:14 but he was still very, very good today. And I'm more taking the positive that we're starting to see good Luis Castillo now compared to where he was earlier this year. And I don't know how much of it is him only going in these little spurts, right? Or if it's just him rounding into form. And he would have done that if he had regular starts as well. So I took a massive positive from the piggyback situation today. And I realize that he does give up the two runs.

Starting point is 00:06:45 But it's good to see the good Luis Castillo because I think you're still going to need him. And if everyone's healthy, I really, and you go to the five man, then he's probably out, which is fine. But I think you can get more value out of him than a low leverage relief pitcher. You know what I mean? So having him stretched out, as they say, is it positive for this team coming into this part of the season? So the Mariners end May 31 and 29.

Starting point is 00:07:18 And they are first place in the AOS, obviously, two straight sweeps. one of the A's and one of the Diamondbacks, one at home, one away, you know, both very good offenses as well. So it's been the pitching that's really carried you in these last two sweeps. The offense, you know, we've seen good moments. Today was not as high. It took a step back from the previous couple days, which is fine. We mentioned yesterday, you're not going to be able to rely on, you know, four solo shots every single game. It's not going to be the way it goes. so you're going to find other ways to score runs. They struggled with that today.

Starting point is 00:07:57 But because your pitching was so good, it kept you in the game, and then you find a way to walk it off in extra innings. We'll get to that a little bit after the break. Let's take a quick break, as I mentioned. We'll talk about the offense and their kind of slightly different outlook. You know, you get home runs from Dom Canzon and Cole Young, which is great. A couple bad days of the plate, though, from your two, three, four hitters. And then I really like the walkoff from Victor Robles.

Starting point is 00:08:25 I know it's a soft hit ball, but he puts the ball in play. He knows exactly what he needs to do and runs out to first base. Good to see that from him. We'll talk more about that coming up next year on the Mariners Postcast after a Mariners win and a Mariners sweep. We'll be right back. There's nothing like watching a Mariners game live.

Starting point is 00:08:46 Even better when you get to watch it in person, in T-Mobile Park, the excitement, the fans, everything. The only problem is getting tickets can feel like a grind. Long queues, surprise fees, price is jumping at checkout, and that's why there's game time. The GameTime app gives fans the advantage with constant innovation. It's how you unlock amazing tickets and experiences in just a few taps. It's super simple to use. And it has the game time guarantee, which means you get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time at the best price.

Starting point is 00:09:18 And the best part is, fees are included. The price you see is the price you pay, period. Another big part of the GameTime app that I love is the zone deals. You can pick your section that you want to sit in. You can choose what area of the ballpark you want to be in, get an extra discount, and then have Game Time choose the specific seat in that section that you choose. It's just another way to save money. It's another way game time's helping out the fans find ways to go to the game last second.

Starting point is 00:09:50 Two taps and it's done. No stress, no hidden fees. just great seats in minutes. That's what makes it so easy to decide last minute to hit a game. Take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Create an account. Use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase.

Starting point is 00:10:06 Again, create an account, redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N for 20 bucks off. Terms apply. Download the GameTime app today. Welcome back, Mariners Postcast. We go live right after every single Mariner baseball game. My name is Anderson Hurst. The Mariners win this one three to two over the Diamondbacks. extra innings. Luis Castillo gets the win, his second of the season. Good for him.

Starting point is 00:10:32 They moved to 31 and 29 on the season and end May in first place in the A.O. West. That's the biggest thing for me is you kind of have a springboard to move on from the rest of the season. Now, the first two months, two plus months, I guess, if you include the March end, is done. So keep going. Build off of these last six games and continue to play. really good baseball, which the Mariners are. And again, I mentioned this yesterday. There's no Calvalli right now. And one of your other best hitters, Josh Nader,

Starting point is 00:11:05 just kind of scuffling a little bit. But you're doing this with really, really good pitching, great bullpen. And then honestly, like, role players are doing their job. And the biggest one for me, Luke Rayleigh and Domkan Zone. And we didn't really get to talk a lot about platoon batting in this series because the Diamondbacks basically only through right-handed pitchers. I don't even know if they have a lefty in their bullpen, but they started three righties and they only went to right-ies out of the bullpen. And I think that's one of the reasons why the Mariners were successful, relatively successful offensively.

Starting point is 00:11:45 They just mash right-hand of pitching. And that's what this offense was built to do. and then any sort of any sort of offense you get versus lefties is a bonus at that point. But you see why it is such a different look when this team faces right-handed pitching. And Dom Canzon and Luke Rayleigh are at their most comfortable in the lineup every day. Dom gets the home run today. Luke Rayleigh just continues to do really good things. His one hit was a bunt today, but good for him.

Starting point is 00:12:17 he saw that Nolan Aronado is not going to move in any closer during that, on that third baseline. And he just drops it down. Now, it's weird that I'm going to say this, but I don't know. Like, I've always, you know, my take on sacrifice bunting is always on the negative side. But if you're bunting for a hit, I'm all for it, right?

Starting point is 00:12:42 That's two different things. And the other thing about sacrifice bunting that we'll get to later, for the extra inning talk is if you are the home team and it's a tie game and it's the bottom half of extra innings where you just need one run to walk it off. That's what I'm okay with the sacrifice bun. Most any other time, I'm not a huge fan of it. But in regards to Luke bunting for a hit, usually I'm a fan of. I'm starting to get to the point with Luke where I don't want him bunting. I know every once in a while you want to drop one down just to keep him honest. you could almost tell the way the diamondbacks were playing.

Starting point is 00:13:21 It was like, yeah, we'll give you that. We just don't want you to hit a home run. He's been that good that I almost would rather him swing away. He's been so good as of late. So that's just a fun conversation. It's obviously a positive that he still gets on base and I'm still cool with him doing it. But the fact that I'm even thinking about that is a really good sign for Luke Rayleigh and the Mariners offense.

Starting point is 00:13:45 If I'm thinking like, hey, I know you can basically get yourself first base, but I think you can get more than that more often than not. So good for Luke to continue to take what's given to him. And, you know, Colby mentioned this on Twitter. And I don't think it's necessarily out of the question. Luke Rayleigh should be in the All-Star conversation, honestly. He's a 280 batting average now with a 932 OPS. I mean, he's been so good. He has 13 home runs on the season.

Starting point is 00:14:19 And I believe they set a stat today where he has the second most or third most home runs versus right-handed pitching. Only two players have more homers versus right-handers than Luke Rayleigh. So that's awesome. That's good to have that type of mash here in your lineup. JP goes one for four, three-k. He's not a great day at the plate for him, but he still gets the knocks. Julio O for five, bad day at the plate for him. It's just, it feels like, you know, one good day, one bad day from Julio.

Starting point is 00:14:49 And honestly, you're going to take that throughout the course of the season. As long as you're not stringing together bad stretches, which he hasn't really done besides the first, like, week or so of the season, then I'll be happy with that. Josh Nader, one for four, Randy, one for five. And on the tying run on the, sorry, the Diamondback's second run, I wonder what factor the sun played in Randy or Rosalena taking that ball from Julio on the sacrifice fly because we all know Randy has a noodle arm. He should not be taken that.

Starting point is 00:15:29 I don't know if Julio mentioned that he couldn't see it or something like that. I just would rather have Julio making that throw. And that should be the center fielder's ball. So it is what it is. You end up winning the game. kind of another small thing where you want them to play a little bit cleaner baseball. But just would rather have Julio making that throw to try and get the out-at-home plate instead of Randy or Rosarina.

Starting point is 00:15:53 So I don't know if they mentioned that on the broadcast. I was watching on mute today. They might have. So mention the comments if you heard anything regarding that one. Cole Young, like we talked about Cole Temerson yesterday. Let's talk about Cole Young today. He's just been so good. And I know after his pretty hot stretch in, what was it, like kind of late April,

Starting point is 00:16:18 and then early May was a little bit rough for him. He kind of took another step back. But he continues to show that he can do it at second base, first of all. And that's important because, you know, the rest of your infield defense leaves a little bit to be desired. We talked about the play that gets between the first run where the ball against between him and J.B. Crawford. I think that's just a communication thing because they both look like they could have gotten there, to be honest. But his long ball today, that shows you kind of the upside of him. If he can kind of string together, you know, a good two, three week period,

Starting point is 00:16:57 I feel like the confidence is just going to keep growing with him because slightly different to Colt Emerson, you may think they're similar players, so they're both left-handed, they're both endfielders are both kind of the future of the Mariners here. But I feel like the only difference is Cole Young is not as knowledgeable of the strike zone as Colt Emerson is. I feel like Cole Young maybe has slightly more pop in terms of like raw power. So there's going to be some give and take with that. But if he can find a way to get a little more consistency with the bat and take your walks

Starting point is 00:17:33 a little bit more instead of being such a free free swinger, then I think you're going to see a really good offensive output from Cole Young. So good to see him get the home run today. Talked about Dom Canzon as well. Let's talk about the extra innings really, really quick. Luis Castillo, excellent work to get through the 10th without allowing a run, including I believe it was a strikeout to Del Castillo, which was a funny little naming situation there.

Starting point is 00:18:03 the diamondbacks tried the bunt and then you walked gabriel moreno which i didn't hate because it's one out um and there's a guy on third at that point putting a guy on first base gives yourself the opportunity to get the double play so he he didn't really intentionally walk gabriel moreno um but knowing that they had a weaker hitter coming up it was like all right i'm just going to kind of nibble. And if he, you know, kind of takes advantage or overswings a little bit, then you won't be, he'll take the out. But if he walks, that's fine. And then you strike out Del Castillo. And I was surprised they kept Castillo, Luis Castillo, out there for Catelle-Marté, but they get him to ground out and get the scoreless 10th, which I think was one of the biggest

Starting point is 00:18:53 moments in this game. Because then that, like I said, going into the bottom half of the 10th, With Sacrifice Bunce, I'm usually not a huge fan. But since you got that scoreless top half of the 10th, you now just need one run. So the sack bunt, sack fly, or the anything after the sack bunt is definitely in play. And, you know, you start with Randy at second, and they intentionally walk Luke Rayleigh. And then Cole Young's Sacrifice Buntz gets it down. And then Victor Robles, broken bat, ground ball, single. and it's fumbled by Geraldo Perdomo,

Starting point is 00:19:30 and Robles runs it out, and the Mariners win this one in walk-off fashion. It's a great kind of gritty win for the Mariners where your offense didn't go off, and you were throwing the piggyback, and you could say to yourself, oh, no, we may have screwed this one up because we took out Bryce Miller

Starting point is 00:19:48 and gave up a couple runs after Bryce Miller came out and was looking really strong. I see it a little bit differently. It was more defensive stuff than Luis Casas. do stuff, but nevertheless, you gave up two runs, and then you find a way to claw back and win an extra innings. And that is the sign of a team that's playing good baseball right now. You don't play your best overall game. You have really good pitching and then timely hitting. That's what the Mariners are going to be for a long time.

Starting point is 00:20:14 Hopefully they can continue that positivity coming up in the next series starting against the Mets tomorrow. Emerson Hancock on the mound versus Austin Warren. So it should be an interesting one. The Mets are reeling, obviously, not playing great baseball. They're super talented. So hopefully the Mariners can keep this rolling. Let's keep the league's longest active winning streak going, guys. Six straight for your Seattle Mariners.

Starting point is 00:20:40 They finish May at the top of the AOS, two games above 500. Hopefully, hopefully things are looking up, and you can use this as a springboard moving on to the rest of the season. We'll talk to you guys after tomorrow's game. Have a good one. Thank you.

Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - MARINERS POSTCAST: Seattle Mariners get SECOND STRAIGHT SWEEP vs Arizona Diamondbacks

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.