SEATTLE: Tell me about the 2021 Sailors, who held their first place on Friday: win or lose, make almost every game interesting and bring each one.
Seattle retired from a three-run deficit for the fourth time this young season, and increased its second gear when Ty France pushed a single into the center-right gap that bounced over the fence and scored JP Crawford in the ninth after the short, came out with a walk. This happened after a draw by Evan White in the eighth inning, which meant a much-needed production in the bottom half of the line-up.
This is due to the fact that it was the usual suspects (France, Mitch Haniger and Kyle Seager) who slowly provoked mini rallies for two races in the sixth and seventh innings each. Seattle’s top three players won a 6-on-12 combination on Friday with five of the club’s six RBIs, helping the Mariners get their fifth win in their last 30 meetings against the Astros.
“We know the kind of group we are,” France said. “We will not go out to hit a lot of home runs and we will win games like this. We are a team that has to undo it. You need those JP rides, those kind of tickets that get started. At the end of the game, this is huge for us. And the energy of the shelter never changed the game, which was fun to be a part of. ”
The bottom sequence of the ninth was precisely how it was crafted by Mariners manager Scott Servais at Spring Training.
Well, a little. Servais did not use a glass ball six weeks ago and revealed that the Mariners would have their best hitters against an Astros club that had the Seattle number since the start of 2019.
But the construction of the poster was conducive to the return. It started with Crawford, who beats hole number 9 every day and came out with a walk. The stoppage was the Mariners ’regular hitter last year and he started playing in the Cactus League in that spot.
But Haniger’s return posed a more powerful threat at the top of the order, and moving Crawford to the bottom basically keeps him in a leadership mindset, as he’s hitting right in front of Haniger when the formation freaks out. But Crawford lost a bat to bat by game with this build and needed the 26-year-old field reception to be more effective.
Crawford won just 5 against 39 in Spring Training and was in a 4 for 25 funk to start the regular season. But he now has a seven-game winning streak after going 1-3 with the walk on Friday.
“It’s so, so important with this club, and you saw him play in the ninth inning tonight,” Servais said. “I tipped my hat to JP for really accepting it, understanding what he can do for this team and he shows up night after night. The only difference is he gets a minus on the bat, that’s it. and Seager, so it is a very important place in our training and it is doing very well ”.
After Crawford’s departure, the stakes were even higher for Astros liberator Ryne Stanek. A speedster at first base with no starts and the Haniger fan – who had his second game of the week with three hits – in the box gave rise to another walk, this one in just four shots. Haniger has reached base in all 14 games this year, with a hit in 13 of those.
And that set the stage for France, who, after a pitching change to Ryan Pressley, ambushed a 95.7 mph fast ball over the strike zone into the gap for the game winner.
Haniger and Seager are veterans and unique All-Stars, so their production is expected. But France has been, by far, the head of offensive lineup among the key young pieces that will be here for years to come. Friday marked another victory with the name of France stamped.
“He has a braggart about him,” White said. “Trust yourself. It’s having fun. He always seems to have good bats, no matter the situation. He really has faith in himself and believes in himself. And I think it’s an infectious thing. “
Call them the kids back in the two weeks of the season. The Mariners outscored 23-49 in the first five innings, but outscored the opponents, 39-21, in the sixth inning and beyond. This has been a huge factor in his first position.