Maybe the Seattle Mariners’ big three are finally getting over their World Baseball Classic hangovers.
Over their just-completed six-game homestand, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and Josh Naylor’s bats started to heat up.
The Mariners went 3-3 against a pair of American League West rivals, the Texas Rangers and the Athletics, and start a six-game trip Friday in St. Louis with an interleague encounter against the Cardinals.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday and the score tied at 4-4 against the A’s, Raleigh grounded a single to center field. Rodriguez followed by grounding a single to left, sending Raleigh to second, and he scored on Naylor’s line-drive single to left.
“These guys have really found a good groove,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “Their at-bats have been outstanding, I was super impressed there with two outs, Cal getting the hit up the middle, Julio going into the hole and then Naylor going the other way to win it.”
Entering that homestand, the Mariners’ Nos. 2-4 hitters were scuffling. Raleigh was batting .169 with two homers and 11 RBIs, Rodriguez was hitting .200 with one homer and six RBIs, and Naylor was at .118 with two homers and seven RBIs.
During the six games, Raleigh went 7-for-24 with three homers — one in each of the past three games — and three RBIs; Rodriguez was 9-for-23 with two RBIs; and Naylor was 9-for-17 with three RBIs.
“You work hard to get those results,” Naylor said. “It’s a hard game we play. It’s arguably the hardest sport. We chose to play it — and we’re idiots for choosing it — but we did. And we have decided to come to this ballpark every day and grind.”
The Mariners hope to continue to progress on the road, where they’re 1-8 this season with eight consecutive defeats. They’ve been outscored 33-19 during the skid.
“We’ll take this on the road with us and take some momentum from it for sure,” Wilson said.
The Cardinals return home after going 4-2 on a six-game trip to Houston and Miami.
They lost 4-1 to the Marlins on Wednesday but got a chance to give Alec Burleson, Jordan Walker and Masyn Winn a day off.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol called it a “no-brainer” to get his key players two days off in a row with the team being idle Thursday.
“It’s hard because you want to empty out (the bench) and just take your shot,” Marmol said after the defeat. “But this early on (in the season), you also have to be disciplined about keeping your word. Hit the reset button. Getting (Thursday) off for some guys, two days off for the guys who needed it is important. It may not seem that way from a fan perspective. You look at it and go, ‘Gosh, hit Walker, Winn and Burly.’ That stuff catches up with you.”
Friday’s series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers in the Mariners’ George Kirby (3-2, 2.97 ERA) and the Cardinals’ Andre Pallante (2-1, 4.05).
Kirby has won his past two starts, including a 7-3 decision against Texas on Saturday in which he allowed one run over 5 2/3 innings. He’s 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two previous starts against St. Louis.
Pallante is coming off a 7-5 victory Saturday in Houston in which he gave up one run in five innings. This will be his first appearance against the Mariners.
–Field Level Media
