The anger and intensity were genuine. For eight innings, with his now infamous ego, Walter, in charge, he disdainfully dispatched Rangers hitters with the mindset of “If you don’t know who I am, then maybe your best solution would be to go lightly.
The emotional response was real and high from a sold-out crowd basking in the Sunday sun. Did it always look a little awkward as he screamed, hunched over and stomped the mound? Absolutely, because it’s not something he can practice and prepare for like throwing is.
But as the emotion poured out of Logan Gilbert following his strikeout of Leody Taveras to end the eighth inning and a crowd of more than 44,000 exhilarated by a brilliant pitching performance, it became clear to the Mariners , the American League West title should be the only expectation in the days, weeks and months to come.
Fueled by Gilbert’s brilliant outing – eight shutout innings, two hits allowed, no walks and eight strikeouts – and an improving offense, the Mariners earned a 5-0 victory and a three-game sweep against the defending World Series champion with Texas. The Rangers.
“When it’s packed like that and they’re going crazy, almost the whole game you’re trying to end it on a good note,” Gilbert said of his outburst. “Basically, everything you’ve been suppressing throughout the game comes out.”
The Mariners improved to a season-high 12 games above .500 and are now 43-31 on the season. More importantly, they increased their lead in the AL West, moving to 8.5 games above second-place Texas. It is the largest division in the MLB.
“It was a great series from our guys,” manager Scott Servais said. “This team won the World Series last year and we talked about it from the start of spring training, about what it was going to take. You experience different things throughout the season. But for us it’s always been about pitching, and no one better than Logan ‘Walter’ Gilbert today.
The Mariners manipulated their starting rotation before the series, allowing Emerson Hancock to start the final game of the previous series against Chicago. By doing this, the Mariners’ top 3 pitchers – Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Gilbert – would begin the critical series with an extra day of rest.
“People don’t understand when these decisions are made, it’s everyone that’s involved organizationally,” Servais said. “It goes from Jerry (Dipoto) and Justin Hollander in the front office, to the pitching coaches, to myself, to our HP (high performance) department, it’s everyone constantly communicating and trying to do what they want. there is best for our players. I think our players appreciate it. I think you’ve seen the benefits of that here in this series.
Gilbert wasn’t sure when he discovered the change in the rotation schedule, but it was early enough to adjust his detailed and almost obsessive routine and schedule between starts. He liked that the Mariners fielded the top three starters to start a series that had such importance in the standings.
“It almost felt like a playoff atmosphere in mid-June, which is a little weird to say,” Gilbert said. “But the stadium was packed in all three games, the crowd is going crazy. And it’s a very good team. We are playing really well at the moment. They are division rivals and I liked the way they lined up.
The strategy proved correct as all three delivered quality starts of over six innings pitched and three or fewer runs allowed. They combined to pitch 20 innings, allowing three runs on nine hits with three walks and 22 strikeouts. But Gilbert’s was by far the best of the three. He had a specific location to go with overwhelming stuff. He allowed only one runner to reach second base and only two balls hit over 100 mph.
“He’s good. He’s tough,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “We saw that last year. We couldn’t score on him that game either, really all their starters, that’s the story of this series. We just couldn’t do much against their starters. They have a really good staff and you have to find ways to score points and we had some tough times.
The Mariners held Corey Seager without a hit this weekend. In six games against Seattle this year, Seager is 0-for-19 with four walks, one hit by pitch and two strikeouts.
“He’s definitely one of the best in baseball,” Gilbert said. “I can’t say enough about what he’s done in terms of consistency. It’s a really tough fight. It was really just about going out there and making good throws, mixing things up and hoping he doesn’t guess what you’re throwing.
The Mariners also provided Gilbert with more running support than he is accustomed to. Gilbert entered the game with the Mariners averaging 2.2 runs scored when pitching – third lowest in MLB.
Seattle was held scoreless in the first inning against Rangers starter Dane Dunning, but he was forced to throw 33 pitches to get three outs. Josh Rojas’ 14 at-bats helped inflate the pitch count early.
The Mariners broke through in the fourth inning as Mitch Haniger doubled into the left field corner with two outs and scored on Luke Raley’s double to right field.
Rojas scored on his own in the fifth inning to help Dunning leave the game. He doubled off the wall in right center, then later scored from second on a wild throw from Dunning. The fastball went so far outside that catcher Andrew Knizner couldn’t get a glove on it. The ball ricocheted off the signage behind the plate and shot toward the Mariners dugout.
Seeing the ball was so far away, Rojas sprinted home. Knizner found the ball and threw it to Dunning, who was covering the house. But a headfirst slide from Rojas just beat the tag.
“Ro’s instincts, I’ve been talking about it since day one, really since we acquired him, it’s coming through,” Servais said. “Whether it’s in the batter’s box, defensively, definitely a great base game with some one-on-one play there. The ball receives a crazy pileup on the backstop. In this game you need luck from time to time. We had a break and Ro was on top and made the most of it.
The restart was carried out after five rounds. The Mariners continued to add against the Rangers bullpen.
In the seventh inning, Tyler Locklear launched a line drive into the upper deck of Edgar’s Cantina for his second MLB home run. The solo blast pushed the lead to 3-0.
“There are 45,000 people in the stands,” he said. “I’m just trying to make the city of Seattle happy. Watching the bench go up in flames, it just got me excited. It was great.”
Servais was ready to send in Andres Munoz to close out the match. But the offense earned him an off day, scoring two more runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Dom Canzone and another run scored on a wild pitch.
“We are seeing signs,” Servais said. “The guys are getting some big hits for us offensively. And that’s what’s needed. It’s a timely hit, it’s a great throw and great defense. Our guys were really focused this home game. Lots of close matches, a little respite today, which is good for me and for the technical staff.
THE SCORE OF THE BOX