Inside The Mariners

Seattle Mariners Put On Sunday Night Delight Against New York Mets

The Seattle Mariners dominated the New York Mets 12-1 on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball to secure the series sweep.

Teren Kowatsch

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets on Sunday at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh runs the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the New York Mets on Sunday at T-Mobile Park. / Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners hosted ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball for the first time in over 20 years on Sunday. And they made sure it was worth the wait (and probably guaranteed it wouldn't be that long until the next one).

The Mariners dominated the New York Mets 12-1 on Sunday and swept them in the process. Seattle let up just one run to New York over the three-game series. The win improved the Mariners' record to 63-56 and kept them tied for first in the American League West with the Houston Astros.

"The energy in the ballpark tonight was awesome," Seattle manager Scott Servais said in a postgame interview Sunday. "We haven't been on Sunday Night Baseball here in Seattle in 20-some years. But our guys showed up today. Great effort, fun ball game. ... Credit to our players. We had a great series."

Jorge Polanco kicked off the scoring with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the second to put Seattle up 1-0.

The fireworks really started in the bottom of the fifth. Randy Arozarena had an RBI single and Cal Raleigh followed with a first-pitch, two-run, 415-foot homer to right-center field to bump the Mariners' lead to 4-0.

Jeff McNeil guaranteed the Mets wouldn't be shut out and sent a solo home run to to right field in the top of the sixth.

McNeil's hit was the lone blemish for Seattle starting pitcher Luis Castillo. He had nine strikeouts in six innings pitched.

Any hope New York had that McNeil's homer could spark a rally was quickly squashed.

The Mariners put up five more runs in the bottom of the sixth. The first came off a Leo Rivas RBI single, two more came off an RBI single from Victor Robles (the second run was due to a throwing error committed by Mets second baseman Jose Iglesias).

Raleigh capped off the sixth with another first-pitch home run — a three-run shot to right-center field. Seattle led 10-1 when the inning was done.

Both of Raleigh's homers came with two outs. It was his eighth multi-home run game of the season — tied for the fourth-most in the league, according to Mariners PR.

"It was a huge series. Finishing that sweep off was huge," Raleigh said in a postgame interview Sunday. "Came out, swung the bats well today, got on their starters all series. And obviously we pitched the ball pretty much immaculate. Our guys were great. When we do that we're tough to beat."

The Mariners tacked on their last two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Robles was walked with the bases loaded and Arozarena was hit by a pitch also with the bases loaded.

With the game all but decided, Troy Taylor made his major league debut for Seattle in the bottom of the ninth and struck out two batters two close out the sweep.

"That was insane," Taylor said in a postgame interview Sunday. "I was thinking about that this morning — 'man, I might (make my debut) on Sunday Night Baseball.' Which is obviously a dream come true. I haven't been that locked into an 11-run ball game in a while. That was a ton of fun."

The Mariners just swept a playoff-caliber team on a national stage in dominant fashion. They concluded their nine-game homestead 6-3. Those wins included a series victory against the Philadelphia Phillies — another National League contender.

Seattle will be on the road for 12 days for a nine-game road trip and will be back for a six-game homestead starting Aug. 23 against the San Francisco Giants.

Julio Rodriguez is back (although he went 0-for-5 on Sunday), Dominic Canzone impressed in his return (he had two double Sunday), the offense is rolling and the bullpen has improved to the level where it's not longer a big concern in close games.

If the Mariners can keep this momentum going on the road trip, then they have a good chance of being in the driver's seat in the AL West for the last crucial weeks of the season.

Seattle will have an off day on Monday and will be back in action at 3:40 p.m. PT on Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. George Kirby will get the start.

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

MARINERS WIN SERIES AGAINST METS: The Seattle Mariners shut out the New York Mets with a 4-0 win on Saturday and secured a series win in the process. CLICK HERE

MARINERS MANAGER TALKS IMPACT OF SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL: Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais talked before the team's game against the New York Mets on Sunday about the impact and importance of having ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball in Seattle. CLICK HERE

MARINERS SHUT OUT METS: Seattle Mariners starter Bryce Miller pitched six scoreless innings and Ryan Bliss, Leo Rivas and Cal Raleigh each had two-run hits to down the New York Mets 6-0 on Friday. CLICK HERE

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