Good, Bad, and Ugly: Long Ball Highlights Mariners Dominant 9-1 Win vs. Nationals
Well, that was fun.
After a (very) disappointing end to a still-solid road trip that saw the team lose three of four to the Houston Astros, the Seattle Mariners appeared to enjoy their off day very much, shellacking the Washington Nationals by a score of 9-1 at T-Mobile Park.
As always, let’s look at the good, the bad, and ugly from the blowout win over the Nats on Tuesday night:
Good: Logan Evans
Let’s be abundantly clear: the results are the results, and you cannot take away what Evans did Tuesday even if you wanted to argue that there was some good luck in the outing. He generated just five swings-and-misses and struck out three - two of those coming on the first two batters of the contest - and there was some hard contact that found Seattle gloves. He also gave up a home run to James Wood that went an estimated 448-feet, and that feels about a mile and a half short.
All that being said, Evans deserves a ton of credit for his work against an entirely left-handed lineup. He pounded the strike zone, and far more often than not, he hit his spots with all of his offerings. So sure, this was a lineup that can be decimated by anyone who locates and you would prefer more ability to miss bats, but you cannot dismiss eight innings of one-run baseball. Guess I kinda buried the lede there. This was easily the best start of Evans’ career, and likely keeps him in the Seattle rotation until Logan Gilbert comes back.
Good: No High Leverage Relievers Used
It’s great to get some of the arms in the bullpen back-to-back days off, as the only reliever the Mariners needed to use Tuesday was Eduard Bazardo. With the Mariners about to play six games in a row, the ability to keep those high-leverage pitchers on the bench for at least one more day could pay off in a big way for the upcoming series.
Good: The Bottom Of The Order
Leody Taveras went 0-for-4, one of two hitters who didn’t either get a hit or an RBI, with the other one being Mitch Garver. That being said, the rest of the “bottom” hitters were able to get the job done and then some. Donovan Solano continued to see things pick up (note: it’d be really hard to imagine them going any worse) and drove in a run while reaching twice. Dylan Moore went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and continues to just obliterate left-handed pitching, and Ben Williamson picked up a couple of hits while having a few terrific at-bats where he fouled off a bunch of pitches.
If the 6-9 hitters perform this way for the remainder of 2025 - or even a semblance of this kind of production - Seattle is going to be playing in October. You can go ahead and quote me.
Good: The Top Of The Order
The bottom of the order was good. The top was special. J.P. Crawford seemed to break out of his funk with a three-reach game that included a pair of walks at the very top. He lined a single to left field, and came around to score his first of two runs on a homer that was shellacked by Julio Rodriguez to give Seattle a 2-0 lead. One batter later, Cal Raleigh went back-to-back with Rodriguez to make it 3-0. That was more than plenty for Evans.
Rodriguez went 3-for-5 on the evening with three RBI, and Big Dumper homered again for his 19th of the season, giving him the American League lead over that one guy in New York, and one behind that other dude in Los Angeles.
Randy Arozarena wasn’t great and Jorge Polanco didn’t play, but the other big bats in the Seattle lineup stepped up and then some.
Bad/Ugly: Nothing
Not a thing. This was one of the most complete wins of the season, and it was wonderful to see after the disappointing results of the weekend. Again, if the Mariners play like they did tonight, they’re going to win a lot of baseball games. I suggest they do just that moving forward.
