Mariners upgrade their final weaponry, tactics, advance past Diamondbacks 5-2 to make deadline buying less of a fantasy
It’s Friday night, the Seattle Mariners won 5-2 on an explosive first inning off Arizona Diamondbacks sacrificial lamb/4th starter Tommy Henry. For anyone wondering why a club in the thick of the NL West and Wild Card races would need more pitching upgrades, we saw it laid out clearly in this afternoon’s affair. Even a few poor plate appearances and some hard liners right at defenders could not spoil the evening, nor Matt Brash and Cal Raleigh having themselves a little pantomime of what the experience of sliding around playing with a wet baseball is like for the native Arizonans.
Tonight’s game was a treasure in this tumultuous campaign the M’s have undertaken this season: an easy win wherein the club got ahead early and never got too close to threatening a loss. There was some measure of emotional weight to the game, as the trade rumors swirled again and again all day and even throughout the game, noting the M’s willingness reportedly to move both tonight’s starter Logan Gilbert and tonight’s closer Paul Sewald. That solemnity was reflected in postgame comments from Gilbert, who worked a classic start of his - 6.1 IP, 2 ER, melding efficient strike-throwing with an occasionally frustrating willingness to let hitters hang around, but ultimately dodging trouble.
Logan Gilbert on the trade deadline: pic.twitter.com/P4WtLXE3T6 — Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 29, 2023
Julio Rodríguez was stellar tonight, as was Cal Raleigh, two of the players clearly not at risk of being dealt in the coming 72 hours, as the M’s attempt to juggle talent to hopefully compete as a club now 53-50, their season high above .500, creeping up towards contention once again at 6.5 games back of the AL West and 4.5 behind the Blue Jays and Astros for the third Wild Card spot.
you want doubles? we got doubles. pic.twitter.com/34pw5KKDYl — Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 29, 2023
For tonight, celebratory gummies.
Tomorrow, perhaps, departures and hellos.
Source: Lookout Landing
