Seattle Mariners' Offense Falls Quiet Late as Kansas City Royals Claim Series; Here's How it Happened
The Seattle Mariners were unable to avenge Friday's dramatic loss at the hands of the Kansas City Royals, losing 8-4 in game two on Saturday. Here's how the showdown shook out at Kauffman Stadium:
The Overwhelming Story
Through the first few innings, the Mariners and Royals traded home runs and leads. Every time Seattle scored in the top of the frame, Kansas City would answer in the bottom.
Then, the Royals put their foot on the gas, chasing Luis Castillo off the mound and pestering the bullpen as well. While Kansas City's lineup stayed active throughout, Seattle didn't get a single hit down the stretch, coming up well short of a win as a result.
The Big Plays
Shortstop JP Crawford gave the Mariners an early advantage, blasting a leadoff home run on the very first pitch of the afternoon.
☝️ pitch, ☝️ @jp_crawford blast 💥 pic.twitter.com/FgZG5qOdNI
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 8, 2024
Seattle was scoreless for the next three innings, however, allowing Kansas City to jump ahead.
Catcher Salvador Perez tied things up with an RBI single in the bottom of the first, then right fielder Adam Frazier hit a solo homer that put the Royals on top 2-1.
The Mariners knotted the score at 2-2 on a Mitch Garver home run that barely stayed fair in the fifth, before Crawford made it a 3-2 ballgame with an RBI single up the middle.
stayfairstayfairstayfairstayfair STAYED FAIR! pic.twitter.com/Y6CzNXnBTH
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) June 8, 2024
Once again, though, Kansas City answered. Second baseman Nick Loftin drove in one run on a liner to center, setting the stage for first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to send an RBI double to right.
Even after Dylan Moore cut the deficit in half with his sacrifice fly in the sixth, the Royals kept their foot on the gas. Isbel bested Kirby Snead with two outs and runners on the corners, notching his first extra-base hit off a lefty this season to make it a three-run contest.
Izzy tags on two! pic.twitter.com/xa5y6TGjbR
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) June 8, 2024
The Odds and Ends
While Castillo didn't have his best stuff Saturday, he allowed just three hits in his first 4.0 innings of work. The three-time All-Star left some pitches over the plate in the fifth, though, and he wound up posting his worst start since early April (5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K). ... Crawford was the only Mariners batter who finished with multiple hits and multiple RBI on Saturday. The other eight players combined to go 5-for-29 with two walks and two RBI. ... Seattle didn't get any hits after Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh opened the top of the sixth with back-to-back singles. ... The Royals only outhit the Mariners 9-7, but they only struck out six times compared to Seattle's 11 Ks. Kansas City constantly put the ball in play, and that worked against the Mariners' pitchers' strengths.
Ty France was scratched from the lineup Saturday after getting hit by a pitch Friday. Manager Scott Servais said he was concerned about France's heel during his postgame press conference.
The Mariners and Royals will close out their three-game weekend series on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 11:10 p.m. PT. George Kirby will draw the start for Seattle in the finale, while Cole Ragans is set to take the mound for Kansas City.
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