3 Up, 3 Down: After Quiet First Two Games, Mariners Bats Explode in 9-3 Win Over Orioles

The Mariners were held to just four runs over their first two games against the Orioles, but the bats broke their silence in a big way on Wednesday. Ty Dane Gonzalez recaps the three best and worst performances from Seattle's 9-3 win over Baltimore.

Ty Dane Gonzalez | Jun 29, 2022

3 Up, 3 Down: After Quiet First Two Games, Mariners Bats Explode in 9-3 Win Over Orioles /

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Wednesday afternoon games at T-Mobile Park are rarely ever synonymous with offensive success for the Mariners, but that wasn't the case in their rubber match win over the Orioles.

Breaking the ice with three runs in the second inning and exploding for six more in the fourth, Seattle cruised to a 9-3 victory to claim its third consecutive series. Only one of its starting nine hitters, catcher Cal Raleigh, finished the day without safely reaching base.

That, my dear reader, will play. Let's get into the three best and worst individual performances from the win.

3 Up

LF Jesse Winker

Winker's impending suspension could not come at a worse time because he just won't stop hitting. After driving in the Mariners' only runs in Tuesday night's win, the 28-year old left fielder got on the board with a pair of base knocks and is now 12 for his last 30 (.400 batting average).

CF Julio Rodríguez

Frankly, it was only a matter of time before Rodríguez reached T-Mobile Park's second deck in left field. During the Mariners' fourth-inning onslaught, the 21-year old sensation ambushed a slider at the bottom of the zone and sent it 431 feet over and beyond the bullpens. The ball traveled at an exit velocity of 109.3 MPH, which is the 25th time he's eclipsed the 109 MPH mark this season (h/t Jordan Shusterman of Cespedes BBQ). Safe to say he's pretty good at this baseball thing.

The Mariners' 7-8-9 Hitters

The bottom of the Mariners' lineup was too good on Wednesday to pick only one player from the Abraham Toro, Adam Frazier and Sam Haggerty stack. Those three combined to go 6 for 11 on the day, with Toro and Haggerty checking in with a pair of doubles apiece. They were critical to Seattle's offensive explosion and set up the top of the order beautifully, coming around to score six of the team's nine runs.

3 Down

RHP Chris Flexen

Flexen wasn't particularly sharp, but at least he didn't need to be. He served up seven hard-hit balls and posted a called strike plus whiff rate of just 17 percent, though he made it through 6.0 innings of work with just three runs allowed on seven hits and a pair of walks. The Mariners will hope he cleans up a few things before his next scheduled start against the Padres on Monday.

C Cal Raleigh

This wasn't a great series for Raleigh offensively. As mentioned, he was the only starting hitter for the Mariners who did not reach base safely. Nevertheless, he drove in a run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

1B Carlos Santana

Santana is still searching for his first hit in a Mariners uniform, going 0 for 3 with a walk. He did, however, record three balls with an exit velocity of 96.1 MPH or higher.