Mariners discover offense in rout of Cleveland
CLEVELAND – Reliever Jamey Wright summed up the mindset of the resurgent Mariners’ new offense: “It’s nice to beat up on someone for a change.”
Or perhaps the optimal quote was provided by Felix Hernandez, beneficiary, for once, of copious run support: “Wow.”
The team that for so long struggled, often unsuccessfully, to score runs is now awash in them. It may not last, but the M’s are thoroughly enjoying the rare experience of being a well-tuned offense.
On Wednesday, they bashed out 16 hits – after getting 17 in their previous game – and whipped the Cleveland Indians 9-2 at Progressive Field.
On the heels of their 12-7 win in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader, it marked the first time they scored 21 runs over consecutive games since Aug. 8-9, 2007.
Leading the way is rookie Kyle Seager, who departed on this seven-game road trip with a .182 batting average and comes home hitting .313. That’s what happens when you go 15 for 25 (.600), with seven runs, five doubles and two homers.
He was torrid in Cleveland, capped by Wednesday’s 4-for-4 game that included three doubles and a single, as well as a walk. In the four games against the Indians, Seager was 12 for 17 (.706), with a homer, five doubles, six runs and two runs batted.
“I don’t know how you can have a better series than Seager did,” shortstop Brendan Ryan said.
“This is definitely the best 24 hours I’ve had in a while,” Seager said. … “Hopefully, it’ll continue for a little bit and I can ride the wave.”
Seattle is hitting .283 as a team in August, a jump of 65 points from its July mark. It’s been the infusion of youth that has led the way, including Ackley, who had three hits Wednesday, and Mike Carp, whose 20-game hit streak ended Monday.
| Seattle | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| I.Suzuki rf | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .271 |
| Ryan ss | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .261 |
| Ackley 2b | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .288 |
| Carp 1b | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .300 |
| C.Wells lf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .268 |
| Olivo c | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .218 |
| Seager 3b | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .313 |
| W.Pena dh | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .292 |
| Robinson cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .304 |
| F.Gutierrez cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .222 |
| Totals | 43 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 10 |
| Cleveland | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
| Carrera cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .271 |
| Phelps 2b | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .176 |
| C.Santana c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .238 |
| Marson c | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .224 |
| Duncan lf | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .268 |
| Fukudome rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .272 |
| Chisenhall dh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .240 |
| LaPorta 1b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .243 |
| Hannahan 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .232 |
| Donald ss | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .239 |
| Totals | 38 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Seattle | 000 | 240 | 300 – 9 | 16 | 4 |
| Cleveland | 001 | 100 | 000 – 2 | 10 | 0 |
E – Ryan 2 (14), Robinson (2), C.Wells (2). LOB – Seattle 13, Cleveland 11. 2B – Seager 3 (5), W.Pena (2), Chisenhall (9). 3B – Ryan (3). HR – W.Pena (2). RBIs – I.Suzuki (32), Ryan 2 (36), Olivo (52), Seager (5), W.Pena 4 (6), Duncan (24), Hannahan (27). SB – I.Suzuki (32), Carrera (7). RLSP – Seattle 6, Cleveland 6. RMU – Phelps, C.Santana.
| Seattle | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Hernandez W,12-11 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 3.37 |
| J.Wright | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3.79 |
| Lueke | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.17 |
| Cleveland | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
| Tomlin L,12-7 | 42/3 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 4.25 |
| J.Smith | 11/3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1.54 |
| R.Perez | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2.53 |
| Durbin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5.33 |
| Pestano | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.54 |
IR-S – J.Smith 1-0. HBP – W.Pena. WP – Tomlin. T – 3:17. A – 16,037 (43,441).