Logan Gilbert sharp in return, but M’s bats silent in loss to Red Sox
SEATTLE – The Mariners couldn’t have asked for much more from Logan Gilbert is his return from the injured list.
And they couldn’t have gotten much less from their offense.
Boston’s Lucas Giolito struck out J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh in order to strand the bases loaded in the third inning, the Mariners’ only real threat in a 2-0 loss to the Red Sox on Monday night in the opener of their series at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners (36-35), held to four hits, were shut out for the fourth time this season. They advanced only one runner past second base.
Touted rookie Roman Anthony hit his first big-league homer off Gilbert in the first inning, and ex-Mariner Abraham Toro’s infield single drove in the game’s second run in the third inning.
Gilbert threw 84 pitches (57 strikes). His fastball topped out at 97.8 mph in the first inning and averaged 95.4 mph – right in line with his season average from April.
Notably, Gilbert got five whiffs on his 15 splitters, a pitch some have suggested can cause stress to the forearm. It didn’t seem to bother Gilbert on Monday.
Gilbert was hit with the loss in first appearance since leaving his last start against the Miami Marlins on April 25 with a right elbow flexor strain.
The Mariners’ Opening Day starter allowed three hits and two runs over five innings, with 10 strikeouts and one walk.
Giolito struck out 10 over six scoreless innings, retiring the final 12 M’s hitters he faced after surrendering three straight singles to Dominic Canzone, Ben Williamson and Cole Young to load the bases with no outs in the third.
Giolito needed just 14 pitches to strike out Crawford, Rodriguez and Raleigh in what turned out to be the defining sequence of the game.
The Mariners threatened again in the eighth inning against Boston reliever Greg Weissert, who opened the inning with eight straight balls to walk Young and Crawford.
As a “Let’s Go Red Sox!” cheer broke out among many in the crowd of 24,490, Weissert escaped by getting Rodriguez to fly out softly, Raleigh to swing over a changeup in the dirt and Jorge Polanco to pop out in front of the Red Sox dugout.
Anthony, baseball’s No. 1 prospect called up last week, hit his first major-league home run on a two-strike pitch from Gilbert in the first inning.
Anthony, at 21 years old, is the youngest Red Sox player to homer since Rafael Devers, who was 20 years old in 2017 when he hit his first MLB homer – also in Seattle.
Anthony’s homer came a little more than 24 hours after the Red Sox shocked the industry with their stunning trade of Devers to the San Francisco Giants.
Devers was two years into a 10-year, $313.5 million contract he signed with the Red Sox.