The Seattle Mariners continued their dominance over the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have a dismal 5-15 record against the Mariners, and with the first game of the three-game interleague series being an 8-0 thrashing, the game did little to lift their spirits. With the second game on the horizon, Cincinnati would look to take comfort in the first two-thirds of their game against the Mariners.
The 8-0 score doesn’t really showcase how the game played out in the early game. By the 6th inning, it was just a 1-0 score in favor of the home team. The 7th inning erased all the good work in the first part of the game and killed any small chance the Reds had at coming back into the match.
With a 6-run bottom of the 7th, it relegated the Reds to an 8-0 loss to open the series. Mistakes were abundant as the Reds got blown out by the Mariners. With the 2nd and 3rd games remaining, a look back into the history books doesn’t do much to help the Reds either.
The Blow-Out Play by Play
The Mariners didn’t start well, with nothing worthwhile to write about in the first 2 innings, until, staring at two outs in the bottom of the 2nd, they sensed something. Cole Young produced a 7-pitch walk to sustain the inning, and then Victor Robles singled to place two men on for Seattle. But Andrew Abbott had other ideas, and struck out Buddy Kennedy to strand both runners.
The Reds then found themselves in a good position in the top of the 3rd when Edwin Arroyo and Ke’Bryan Hayes started with singles and then found themselves with runners on the corners and only a solitary out with Sal Stewart at the plate.
Off George Kirby, Stewart could only hit a fly ball to shallow right-center field. Arroyo tagged up at third base, and right fielder Robles made a perfect one-hop throw to easily throw him out at the plate to end the inning with a double play.
The home team would then finally begin putting some distance between them and the Reds by grabbing a 1-0 lead in the 5th inning. They were helped by some woeful defensive errors from the Cincinnati outfit. Victor Robles started with a single and then stole second base with two outs. On the steal, the throw was recovered by Arroyo and went into the outfield, letting Robles take third base as well.
Abbott Relieved, Game Lost
After a strong performance in the first 6 innings, Andrew Abbott, who had just given away one unearned run, the Cincinnati think tank turned to right-handed Pierce Johnson to start the 7th. The reliever didn’t start well nor finish well; he gave away two singles before a sacrifice fly from Colt Emerson increased the Seattle lead.
Another single thereafter placed two men on for Weston Wilson, who doubled into right field to make it 3-0 and ended Johnson’s day as Caleb Ferguson came on to avoid further damage. It was in vain as Ferguson intentionally walked Dominic Canzone to face off against Cal Raleigh with the bases loaded. The very first pitch was dispatched 408 feet by Raleigh for a grand slam.
Chase Petty would technically allow a run in the 8th inning. With the bases loaded and one out, he got a double-play ball to Arroyo, who didn’t deal with it cleanly, and the ball fell to Elly De La Cruz, who was standing at the bag waiting for the throw. The Reds got one out of the play, but a run was scored to make it 8-0.
That turned out to be the final run as the Seattle Mariners held on for the win in the opening game of the three-game series. The next game starts on Tuesday, July 21st at 9:40 pm ET.
