Mariners get spark late in 2-0 victory over Orioles
As they await for the appeals to be processed, heard and ruled upon, “The Suspended Trio” or perhaps “The Three Suspendees” provided all of the offense on a night where it looked like the Mariners might be held scoreless again.
J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodriguez reached with two-out singles in the eighth inning of the scoreless game and Jesse Winker scored them with a double off the wall in deep right-center as the Mariners grabbed a much-needed 2-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles.
Robbie Ray didn’t get credit for the win, but he put the Mariners in a position for victory with another brilliant outing.
The veteran lefty tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit — a single from Ryan Mountcastle in the fourth inning — with three walks and eight strikeouts.
Since being forced into using a two-seam fastball in a middling start vs. the Astros and then employing it regularly in his pitch repertoire, Ray has made four starts for Seattle — all of them six-plus innings pitched with one run or fewer allowed. He’s thrown a combined 27 innings, allowing two total runs on 11 hits with seven walks, three hit batters and 28 strikeouts.
The last pitcher to put together a similar four-start span, posting 28-plus strikeouts while allowing two runs or fewer was Felix Hernandez from July 13-Aug. 1 in 2013.
Ray’s only trouble came in the fourth inning. After Mountcastle singled, he walked Adley Rutschman. It was the only runner in scoring position he would allow. But Ray struck out Tyler Nevin and got Rougned Odor to pop out. It started a run of 11 consecutive batters retired.
Baltimore starter Dean Kremer was equally effective. The 26-year-old right-hander matched Ray with seven scoreless innings, allowing four hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
The Mariners had a prime scoring opportunity against Kremer in the fourth inning. Rodriguez led off with a single while Eugenio Suarez and Carlos Santana worked back-to-back one-out walks to load the bases.
But Kremer got Taylor Trammell to roll over on a cutter over the middle of the plate. The ground ball to second turned into an easy inning-ending double play. Not only did the Mariners fail to score on the play, but Trammell re-injured his right hamstring while trying to beat out the throw at first base. Trammell limped off the field signaling that he was done, but it’s different than that first strain when he needed to be helped off the field and missed almost two months.
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