Inside The Mariners

Seattle Mariners Hold On to Avoid Sweep, Sneak By Kansas City Royals in Extra Innings

Thanks to George Kirby's gem and some clutch hitting in the 10th inning, the Seattle Mariners wrapped up their road trip with a 6-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.

Sam Connon

Jun 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby (68) pitches during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.
Jun 9, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Seattle Mariners starting pitcher George Kirby (68) pitches during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. / Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
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The Seattle Mariners narrowly avoided a sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, but not before nearly choking away the win two separate times. Following the M's 6-5 road win, here is our breakdown of how it all went down:

The Overwhelming Story

As expected, Sunday's contest started out as a pitchers' duel between two of the most dangerous pitchers in the American League – George Kirby and Cole Ragans. Kirby outlasted Ragans by one inning, though, setting the Mariners' offense up for a critical go-ahead rally in the seventh. Seattle held onto that lead well into the final frame, only for Mike Baumann to allow a game-tying home run to MJ Melendez in the bottom of the ninth. The Mariners came through in extra innings to erase the potential embarrassment, even if the Royals very nearly forced another frame with another clutch bomb.

The Big Plays

For the second day in a row, shortstop JP Crawford started the scoring with a leadoff home run in the top of the first. In doing so, he became the first Mariners player to achieve the feat since Julio Rodríguez in September 2022.

Tyler Locklear eventually came through with an RBI double in the top of the seventh. That gave the Mariners the lead again, after a sacrifice fly helped the Royals tie things up in the fifth.

The base hit was the first of Locklear's MLB career, as he was making his big league debut on Sunday.

Josh Rojas doubled the lead with a pinch-hit, RBI single on the very next at-bat, plating Locklear for his first career run.

Ryan Bliss and Rojas both notched web gems in the bottom of the eighth to keep the Royals' lineup at bay, helping Andrés Muñoz get through the frame unscathed.

Mariners manager Scott Servais turned things over to Mike Baumann in the bottom of the ninth, putting his faith in a 28-year-old veteran without a single save in his career. Baumann got two outs, then gave up a double to Nick Loftin and a two-run home run to MJ Melendez.

Momentum swung back Seattle's way in extra innings, starting with Julio Rodríguez's RBI single that scored Rojas from third. Then, catcher Cal Raleigh added some insurance with a bases loaded single that plated two more runs.

As it turned out, the Mariners needed every bit of that cushion. Austin Voth gave up a two-run shot to Hunter Renfroe in the bottom of the 10th before passing the torch to Tayler Saucedo, who finally closed out the win.

The Odds and Ends

Kirby tossed 7.0 innings of one-run ball, allowing just five hits and zero walks. His ERA went down to 3.81 ERA, while his WHIP now sits at 1.021. ... Rodríguez has now reached safely in all 16 of his career appearances against the Royals, either at home or on the road. His 16 hits and 12 RBI at Kauffman Stadium are his most at any non-AL West ballpark. ... Locklear went 1-for-4 with an RBI in his MLB debut. Seattle's No. 8 prospect was starting at first base in place of Ty France, who was placed on the injured list with a right feel fracture earlier on Sunday. ... Through 21 series in 2024, the Mariners still have not been swept.

The Mariners will return home to open a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Monday. Chicago boasts the worst record in all of baseball more than 10 weeks into the regular season.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

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