Emerson Hancock dominates, Mariners shut out Blue Jays for 2nd straight day

SEATTLE – A weekend series vs. the Blue Jays always bring s droves of fans from north of the border to T-Mobile Park, large and boisterous crowds and a postseason intensity.

But this year’s series had the underlying memory of the last time the Mariners and Blue Jays played each other – the American League Champion Series. It was an emotional, back-and-forth seven-game test of each team’s fortitude and resilience.

To be fair, neither the Mariners nor the Blue Jays have played to the preseason expectations of returning to the ALCS and beyond. Both teams have battled injuries and underperformance from star players in what has been a frustrating first half of the season.

But after three games over the holiday weekend, it certainly seems that one is starting to trend in the right direction and the other is starting to list toward postseason irrelevance.

Buoyed by yet another dominant pitching performance on a breezy and bright Sunday afternoon, this one led by starter Emerson Hancock, the Mariners shut out the Blue Jays for the second straight game with a crisp a 4-0 victory to close out with a series win and a 5-1 home stand.

“Just an excellent series win,” manager Dan Wilson said. “The energy in the ballpark this weekend was outstanding. It’s always good to get home here to T-Mobile and to feel the energy, really all week, first with the Angels series and with the Toronto series. It’s always a big series when these two teams come together.”

Hancock pitched the first seven innings, allowing just two hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Lefty Gabe Speier worked a 1-2-3 eighth while Andrés Muñoz worked around a leadoff single to retire the next three hitters to close out the win.

It was the first time this season the Mariners have held an opponent scoreless in back-to-back games this season and their seventh shutout of the season It was also the first time Toronto has been held scoreless in back-to-back games since Sept. 26-27, 2023. The Blue Jays have been shutout six times and three times in their last five games.

“Excellent pitching,” said catcher Mitch Garver. “They were getting ahead, doing all the things that we talked about, winning the 0-0’s and the 1-1’s. Just a really great series from our pitchers.”

But it was more than just the two shutouts. The Blue Jays scored two runs in the entire series – both came in the third inning of Friday night’s game off starter Luis Castillo. Mariners pitching held Toronto’s offense, which is missing George Springer and Addison Barger, scoreless over the next 24 innings.

“I can’t say enough about the pitching,” Wilson said. “This whole series, really, the pitching has been outstanding. Emerson today, wow, he just kept doing what he does. I thought he and Garv had a great game plan again today.”

Hancock attacked early with the fastball while using the sweeper and change-up to keep hitters off balance. Only one runner reached second base over his seven innings of work.

“That’s what happens when you are aggressive,” he said. “Sometimes those are singles, sometimes they are first-pitch outs, but we always want to err on the side of throwing a ton of strikes, and if you’re able to get the first-pitch out, those are always great for us.”

The Mariners rolled out all six of their starters in the home stand and received a quality start (six-plus innings pitched, three runs or fewer allowed) from each of them. The list:

• George Kirby vs Angels: 7 innings pitched, 2 runs, 7 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts.

• Bryan Woo vs. Angels: 61/3 innings pitched, 2 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.

• Bryce Miller vs Angels: 7 innings pitched, 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 walks, 8 strikeouts.

• Luis Castillo vs. Blue Jays: 6 innings pitched, 2 runs, 5 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts.

• Logan Gilbert vs. Blue Jays: 71/3 innings pitched, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 7 strikeouts.

• Emerson Hancock vs. Blue Jays: 7 innings pitched, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts.

“You build off each one, and I think you see what the guy does well the night before, and in a way, it makes you want to go out there and just continue to hold up the standard every time,” Hancock said. “Just a great home stand in general for us.”

The Mariners grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third inning against Toronto starter Trey Yesavage.

Victor Robles led off with a single to center and J.P. Crawford worked a walk. Both runners moved up 90 feet on Randy Arozarena’s slow roller to third base that went for an out.

It brought Cal Raleigh to the plate. While Raleigh homered in Saturday’s win and the Mariners would love to see him get rolling, they were very pleased to see him produce a hard, sinking line drive to right field that was caught by Nathan Lukes. The ball was hit deep enough for Robles to tag up and score from third with a headfirst slide.

The Mariners tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning when Garver hammered a 2-2 fastball from Yesavage, sending a line drive into the lower level of Edgar’s Cantina for a two-run homer.

On a day where the wind was knocking fly balls down that traveled to center and right, making it miserable for hitters, Garver’s ball had the right trajectory.

“You gotta hit it below the wind” he joked.

Hancock loved seeing the two catchers provide the offense on the day.

“For us as a pitcher, sometimes you forget they have two or three at-bats that they’re solely focused on too because they do so much for us,” Hancock said. “You love to see them have that success. I can’t say enough about our catching group and the work they put in for us.”

Donovan nears rehab assignment

Brendan Donovan is expected to start a rehab assignment Tuesday with a Mariners affiliate. He participated in the pregame infield work and ran the bases Saturday morning.

“I feel good,” he said. “I’m hoping they let me.”

He will have to be cleared by the medical staff to start playing games. He’s increased the level of intensity and length of his pregame workouts considerably this week with no setbacks as he recovers from a groin strain.

The Mariners haven’t finalized where Donovan will go for his rehab assignment. Triple-A Tacoma is opening a series Tuesday in Las Vegas. High-A Everett is also on the road, starting a series in Vancouver. Double-A Arkansas is also on the road this next week with a series in scenic Amarillo, Texas.

With full-season minor-league teams also off over the All-Star break, Donovan is expected to go to Arizona during the break and compete in games in the short-season Arizona Complex League. The hope is that he will be ready to go after the All-Star break.