Mariners Red Sox Opening Weekend Series Discussion.

 Thursday was opening day for the Mariners and myself and many other fans were excited to see what the new look Mariners would bring to the ball park. The team had made an effort to offload players prone to striking out over the offseason in order to bring in players that can control the zone, get on base, and put balls in play. All of these things are supposed to help a team score more runs. Luis Castillo was the opening day starter and everyone thought this would be a game where the Mariners would be able to score some runs while the starter didn't need as much support as the team was giving him. This didn't happen. 

The Mariners gave up 6 runs to the Red Sox while Castillo struggled with control for the game. He would leave the game with the loss. Seattle would end up scoring 4 runs on 8 hits over the course of the game. Boston scored 6 on 11 hits. With the struggles of the starter this wouldn't be a huge disappointment if not for the amount of strikeouts the offense had (9). 9 strikeouts meaning a full third of the outs the Mariners had had no chance of being productive by moving runners around because the ball never left the batter's area. Turning a few of those strikeouts into long fly balls could have changed things, but likely wouldn't as every Mariners run was scored thanks to home runs. There was clearly work that needed to be done by the offense, but the ace of the rotation struggling was the biggest contributor to this loss. 

George Kirby got the 1-0 win on Saturday to bring the team to .500 for the first time on the season. He played very well striking out 8 while only allowing 2 hits. It was only the 7th time in his career that he allowed 2 or more walks in a single start with 2 and it did look like that could lead to issues as it happened in the first inning. Both teams had 4 hits, but the JP Crawford hit that left the yard proved to be the difference in the game. This game was a pitcher's duel as there were a combined 27 strikeouts with 13 for Boston and 14 for Seattle. The offense did not look good, but the team still won. While watching this game, I simply thought I was watching a pitcher's duel and would see some offense the next day from Seattle. Devers missed this game for Boston with a shoulder injury and Mitch Garver missed this game for the Mariners with back spasms. Through 2 games the Mariners had struck out 23 times. 

On Saturday Logan Gilbert pitched 7 innings of 4 hit 1 run ball and was rewarded with a no decision. The game was tied when he left the game. In this game the Red Sox struck out 13 times while the Mariners struck out 12 times for a total of 25 strikeouts in the 10 inning game. In the top of the 10th Boston was able to score 2 runs and it did not look like the Mariners bats would be able to do much to respond in the bottom of the tenth. Julio Rodriguez was able to get the walk off base hit after good hitting and base running ahead of him, it was the first walk off of any time in his professional career. Saucedo ended up leaving with the win. Before the 10th inning, the Mariners bats did not look like they were going to be able to do anything. The walk off win was nice, but it covered up a lot of issues the team is already having. 

Today, the Red Sox tied the series with a 5-1 win. Both starters had 3Ks in the first inning making me think I was going to see another pitcher's duel. This would prove not to be the case as the Mariners' bats never woke up, but Boston's did. The Red Sox had 5 runs on 10 hits. The Mariners had 1 run on 4 hits. The Mariners struck out 10 times. When one team strikes out as many times as the other team has hits, it is very hard for them to win the game. Sometimes, a player will strike out during the course of a game, but many of the strikeouts the Mariners had involved players staring at middle middle meatballs for no reason. 

The Mariners are on pace to strike out 1822.5 times over the course of the 162 game season while going 81-81. That record will not be good enough to make the playoffs in the American League and would be a severe regression after the last two seasons. The Mariners sit at 2 wins and 2 losses half a game back of the division lead. The rotation is one of the best in Major League Baseball and if the offense can figure out how to stop striking out, the Mariners will be a dangerous team this year. It is only 4 games, so there is time to fix the issues. 

The next series starts tomorrow April 1, 2024 against the Guardians for 4 games at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.