Seattle Mariners "Gift" Game to Los Angeles Angels in Series Opener
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners 3-1 loss against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday dropped Seattle to 53-49 and kept it tied with the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West. It also looked like a reboot of a couple games the two teams played before the All-Star break.
Stop me if you've heard this one before:
The Mariners have a small lead throughout most of the game, a dominant starting pitcher is keeping the Angels in check, and Jo Adell puts Los Angeles ahead against Seattle's bullpen.
Rinse and repeat.
"No other way to put it that, was brutal," Mariners manager Scott Servais said in a postgame interview Sunday. "Brutal ending to that ball game. I don't want to lose sight of what Bryce Miller did. He pitched a heck of a game for us to give us a chance in that ballgame. ... Obviously we got a little something going early and that was it."
Seattle starter Bryce Miller did his best to carry his team through. He went seven innings and allowed just three hits and struck out five batters. He also had nine whiffs, including five on his four-seam fastball, according to a tweet from @MarineLayerPod. It was the first time Miller made it through seven innings since June 12 against the Chicago White Sox.
Bryce Miller had it working today
— Marine Layer Podcast (@MarineLayerPod) July 23, 2024
7 IP
3 Hits
0 Runs
0 BB
5 K’s
9 Whiffs (5 on the 4-Seamer) pic.twitter.com/DyWSKVSEzE
But Miller had just one run of support, which came in the first inning off a Cal Raleigh RBI single. That inning ended up hurting the team in the long run.
JP Crawford scored on Raleigh's hit. He got on base after being hit by a pitch in the hand/upper wrist in Seattle's first at-bat of the game.
Cal gets cookin' 👨🍳 pic.twitter.com/8jJQqPKoX0
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 23, 2024
The Mariners were already without their franchise start after Julio Rodriguez sprained his ankle on Sunday. Losing their lead-off man on top of that didn't help. And unfortunately for the team, Crawford will be out for longer.
Per a tweet from the Seattle Times' Ryan Divish, Crawford suffered a hairline fracture in his pinky and will be placed on the injured list. There was no word on how long Crawford will be on the IL.
JP Crawford has a hairline fracture in his pinky. He’s headed to the IL
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) July 23, 2024
"JP has in his right pinky — where he got hit in that first at-bat — there's a little hairline fracture there," Servais said. "We'll know more once a specialist looks at it and we'll go from there."
Los Angeles tied the game in the top of the eighth after a Taylor Ward sacrifice fly and Adell hit an RBI single in the top of the ninth. On the same play as Adell's single, Zach Neto scored after Victor Robles gunned a throw from center field to home plate that Raleigh couldn't corral. Robles was dinged with the error. This was all set up by four walks in the eighth and ninth innings by Ryne Stanek and Trent Thornton.
It's a somber mood right now around T-Mobile Park. And Miller summed it up best:
"I wish we could just go out and play and just have fun," Miller said. "I think right now, No one's having fun right now."
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
CRAWFORD EXITS GAME: Seattle Mariners starting shortstop JP Crawford exited the game after getting hit on the hand by a pitch from Los Angeles Angels starter Tyler Anderson. CLICK HERE
FRANCE COMMENTS ON BEING PLACED ON WAIVERS: Ty France, first baseman for the Seattle Mariners, took some time before a game on Monday to comment on the team's decision on Sunday to place him on irrevocable outright waivers. CLICK HERE
RODRIGUEZ EXITS GAME: Seattle Mariners franchise star Julio Rodriguez exited Sunday's game against the Houston Astros after colliding with the wall in left-center field on a Yordan Alvarez triple in the top of the sixth. CLICK HERE
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