Mariners’ Randy Arozarena homers again, Andrés Muñoz closes out Royals
SEATTLE – The last time Randy Arozarena found a power streak like this he was on his way to becoming the MVP of the American League Championship Series.
For now, he’s a little bit of pop to an offense that in the first three games of its homestand has been rather punchless.
Arozarena homered for the third consecutive game on Wednesday night and added a sacrifice fly as the Mariners beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 before 24,752 at T-Mobile Park.
Arozarena homered twice in the series opener on Monday, homered on Tuesday and continued his home run streak on Wednesday. His solo shot leading off the sixth inning came on a 3-2 breaking ball from John Schreiber and traveled 418 feet out to center field.
An inning later, Arozarena’s sacrifice fly scored Cole Young immediately after Julio Rodríguez blistered an infield single off the glove of Kansas City third baseman Maikel Garcia for a hit that scored Ben Williamson. Williamson opened the inning with a double, and Young reached on a fielder’s choice when pitcher Angel Zerpa tried unsuccessfully to get Williamson as he scampered back into second base.
Arozarena has 12 homers for the season and he’s had 20 hits in the past 13 games after a two-hit game on Wednesday. It’s his first three-game home run streak in the regular season, and the only time he accomplished the feat came in the 2020 playoffs when he homered in three consecutive games of the division series, part of the record-setting 10 home runs he hit in that postseason with the Rays.
His power surge couldn’t come at a better time as the M’s need someone to start helping out Cal Raleigh, who was out of the starting lineup for just the third time this season. Along with the homers, Arozarena has five doubles and an OPS over 1.000 over the past 13 games.
While Arozarena was providing the offense, the M’s continued to receive excellent pitching from their bullpen. Gabe Speier and Carlos Vargas combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings with five combined strikeouts between them. The only runner to reach was Freddy Fermin after he was clipped by Vargas’ pitch with one out in the seventh inning, but he never left first base as Vargas struck out Kyle Isbel and Jonathan India.
Matt Brash finally allowed a run after holding opponents scoreless in his first 19 appearances to start the season. Brash gave up singles to Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino before Salvador Perez’s second RBI single of the game pulled the Royals within 3-2 in the eighth.
But the Royals couldn’t sustain the rally, and Andrés Muñoz pitched the ninth for his 19th save and his first since June 8.
Seattle starter Logan Gilbert will be annoyed by his outing despite holding the Royals to just one run. But Gilbert was done after 4 2/3 innings as the lowest-scoring team in baseball in June made him labor to record 14 outs before being pulled.
M’s demote Hancock after rough start
For the second time this season, a shaky start by Emerson Hancock has been followed by his demotion from the rotation back to the minors.
Hancock was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Wednesday after giving up five earned runs a night earlier in a loss to Kansas City. It concluded a rough three-start stretch for the right-hander where he was tagged for nine earned runs in windy Chicago against the Cubs, worked five innings but took the loss in Minnesota and then was knocked around Tuesday.