“It’s early” or not (it is), this weekend streak was huge, and we all knew it. Facing the hated Astros for the first time at a time when they’re looking mortal – ugly as it may have looked – in the middle of a four-game winning streak while debuting their City Connect uniforms? The story wrote itself. Last night was undeniably draining, what with TOOTBLANs, unfortunate pitching sequences and offensive struggles that stole defeat from the jaws of victory, but tonight was a new game. Marco Gonzales might not inspire much hope against a right-leaning, power-packed Astros lineup, but every time the grizzled veteran takes on a guy making his big-league debut (the already-believed-to-death JP France). , it should make for a compelling product – and it delivered right out of the gate.
In the first three innings, the Marco that emerged was almost unrecognizable compared to what we had often braced ourselves for in recent years. Marco opened the game with an emphatic fastball that broke the 90 and clipped through Houston’s order the first time, a leadoff walk to Jose Abreu the second time was the only error. Even that imperfection, however, was immediately remedied in a handsome 1-6-3 doubles game from Kyle Tucker.
The third inning was particularly electrifying as Gonzales stormed through the bottom of the order, racking up a pair of strikeouts and a half-dozen swinging strikes in the process. Armed with a notoriously powerful changeup and a curveball with a little more oomph and tilt — plus a fastball that reliably snips the top edge when needed — Marco made David Hensley and Jake Meyers both look goofy as each of their three shots came from puffs.
However, as all too often in the first act of the season, the bats couldn’t get through early. Astros righty JP France made his major league debut tonight, sporting a profile with plenty of swing-and-miss but a tendency to get a little wild with it. That was in full display tonight, with strikeouts from Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh pinching a clean base hit from our France, a toe plunk for Jarred Kelenic and a walk for Eugenio Suárez in the first inning. Once again the M’s had a wild starter on the ropes, an easy base hit being the only difference between two runs and a disappointment.
It didn’t work this time. Teoscar Hernández probably should have had a four-pitch Jack Cust special here, but was caught looking instead, and shot three was a little less defendable as he was well in the zone.
It also proved costly as Houston’s France calmed down, Seattle’s France still scored a second base hit in the third. The Astros also started catching Marco in the fourth, with Dubón reaching down to turn an 0-2 curveball left to lead out of the frame, going back-to-back with Yordan Álvarez and José Abreu—only the former is understandable – loading the bases with one off. The clenching started, especially when last night’s dagger was due in Kyle Tucker.
Luckily, things could have turned out a lot worse when Tucker smoked a sac that Teo had to move into to ensure elimination. Sure, a run was in, and yes, Jeremy Peña extended the lead with a single, but Marco made rookie catcher Yainer Díaz go down harmlessly and stop the bleeding in an inning that blew the floodgates threatened. Houston would have one at the end of the fifth thanks to a Meyers double, a Dubón infield hit that Kolten Wong sensationally stopped from getting into the outfield, and a ringing Yordan double that should have overshot two, if not for one further meet star relay started by Jarred Kelenic, carried by JP Crawford and completed by Tom Murphy to bring Dubón to the plate to finish the frame. Yes, yes, there was repeat drama, but ultimately the right decision was made.
Unfortunately, the M’s couldn’t counter at the plate, with Wong looking visibly uncomfortable during an ugly strike in the fifth. It turned out, as some inferred from his flinching and wrist tremors, that he injured himself on the top of the frame on the infield hit, and indeed José Caballero took the field in his place as the sixth inning rolled around. Really unhappy when he seemed to turn the corner at the plate! Houston’s France would be eliminated after five, but Phil Maton and Hector Neris would prove equally confusing as each worked their way out of trouble in their respective innings.
Marco came through sixth unscathed to round off a rather unexpected quality start – despite a two-out double and Kelenic clann from Peña – and it was time for some silver lining to shine through. Juan Then took the mound for seventh on his own big league debut and it was a winding road for him to get here despite being just 23 years old. Traded away, traded back to your original org, a bit stalled thanks to COVID and commanding poor and still cracking the big leagues? This was a perfect balm for my frustration with the bats. Then worked an easy 1-2-3 inning with two weak contacts and impressed me with the time it took him to knock Hensley out on a comebacker. He may have to wait for his first major league strike, but that scene in the dugout made the whole game worth it for me up to that point.
Lefty Tayler Saucedo came on for eighth and I have to say it was a surprise that he made back-to-back appearances after not seeing game action for almost two weeks. What ended up being the bigger surprise was a dominant game, with Saucedo beating Álvarez and Abreu with goals to keep the 3-0 result stable. Still, it was hard not to see that it has some sort of white flag. Former Mariner Rafael Montero – who has enjoyed unbearable continued success since his trade – was bottom of the inning and quickly finished off Ty and Jarred. Eugenio worked on his second free base of the game to get his walk rate back above double digits for the season, and Cal tucked a grounder under Montero’s glove en route to a true vintage Genu Wein LAstros moment.
May I say that was a call back to CHAOS BALL? Teoscar Hernández kept the train going with an infield goal of his own and JP was called upon to smash in at least one. To be honest, with a stride already notched and 3-0 down, I was preparing for a run where points were at stake. They are always neat!
Of course, it turned out that Seattle’s shortstop had something much better up his sleeve.
That the ball was scalded hard enough to disappear under Tucker’s glove was delightful glee, but the fight wasn’t over yet. Taylor Trammell pinned for Tom Murphy – with Scott Servais bravely sacrificing the DH in the process – and worked a walk to advance his Three True Outcome agenda from new Astros-Reliver and infamous flamethrower Ryne Stanek. José Caballero stepped in, and despite a three-goal performance in his last game and his overall fearless demeanor for a man coming up with 31 big-league appearances tonight, it felt like a big ask. Honestly, tying the game in eighth place was more than enough, and as they say, walkoffs are more fun. From my point of view it would have been okay if he hadn’t made it through here, honestly.
Of course, that wouldn’t be okay in Caballero’s shoes. And he made sure damn sure that wasn’t going to be in the cards.
José Caballero has long had a secretly compelling profile since moving from the Diamondbacks to the Mike Leake trade in 2019: Despite being more than enough taken by injuries in recent years, he has long been a strong baserunner and brought up a capable gloved infield and showed the minors some truly intriguing skills on base. He had already endeared himself to some of the fandom, but right here at this moment? José Caballero has arrived in Seattle. Julio, Ty and Jarred all followed with back-to-back singles, and by the time the dust settled, the M’s had brought home seven runs – all with two outs. It should come as no surprise that T-Mobile Park was as noisy throughout the frame as it was young season. Paul Sewald was a bit shaky when he finished in ninth place, with the Astros recapturing a pair of runs with a Jake Meyers double with two outs, but stress levels stayed low. Insurance works: What a concept!
The sea wall thankfully held, Paul effortlessly spun Dubón away, and once again the Mariners won a game they outpaced with an unexpected late-inning rally. Turning her one-run record might not have helped, but let’s face it: The mood of this series has taken a big boost. We no longer have to wait with bated breath for Bryce Miller’s home debut and hope to dodge a victory at the hands of a direct rival. Rather, we can go into the rubber match with a sense of renewed optimism, eager to steal a streak win from the team to beat, with a sensational pitching perspective looking to build on a scintillating debut. Anyway, I can’t wait until tomorrow.
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