Before All-Star Logan Gilbert could settle in, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber drilled a rocket-shot home run into the glass windows of the Hit it Here Cafe. The Phillies leadoff hitter refused a pair of outside fastballs before hammering Gilbert’s third heater a considerable 428 feet, quickly dampening hopes of a sweep over the NL East-leader.
If only for a moment, Schwarber’s mammoth blast appeared to reverse the trajectory of a low-scoring pitcher’s duel between Gilbert and Phillies All-Star Zack Wheeler.
That is, until Gilbert pivoted.
“We definitely wanted to spin today,” Gilbert said. “The curve, slider, saw that work well the last couple games.”
And so the right-hander, once so heavily reliant on his four-seamer, righted the ship with an array of sliders and breaking balls. Gilbert recovered, offering his fastball just 24 percent of the time, and Sunday’s series finale quickly reverted to the pitching spectacle many expected.
“His stuff was outstanding,” manager Scott Servais said. “Just the one blemish there in the first inning.”
Gilbert was undoubtedly excellent.
But Wheeler was impeccable.
Philadelphia’s NL Cy Young Award candidate dazzled through eight scoreless, and the Phillies hit three home runs off Seattle relievers to run away in the later frames, 6-0.
“We just weren’t able to solve Zack Wheeler,” manager Scott Servais said, “like a lot of teams can’t solve Zack Wheeler. He’s really good, one of the best in the National League.”
Possessing one of the game’s elite fastballs, Wheeler surrendered only two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Seattle mustered three total hits and failed to score in a showing that starkly contrasted 16 combined runs scored in wins over the Phillies on Friday and Saturday.
Sunday remained up for grabs until the eighth inning, when Philadelphia pounced for five runs. Bryson Stott, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm homered and catcher J.T. Realmuto singled home a sixth run that put the finale out of realistic reach.
No sweep for Seattle, but the Mariners (59-54) grabbed two of three over Philadelphia and recaptured sole possession of the AL West lead. After Sunday’s loss, the lead sits at a single game.
“It would’ve been pretty sweet to finish off the series with the win and get the sweep,” Gilbert said. “Especially against that team. They’re really good.”
HANIGER’S WALK-OFF WALK
Mitch Haniger had already homered in consecutive games against the National League-leading Phillies. But the outfielder’s pivotal at-bat of the series, and certainly his most productive, arrived and concluded without the big swing.
Haniger stood to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in Saturday night’s middle game, providing the opportunity to walk-off the Phillies in front of 36,629 home fans. And he did, literally, just that – drawing the game-sealing walk for the Mariners, a 6-5 win that lifted Seattle a full game above the American League West.
He fought back from an 0-2 hole with an impressive take, a fastball just off the outside edge for ball one. Phillies closer Carlos Estevez’s next fastball clipped much of the strike zone but considerably missed catcher J.T. Realmuto’s target, enticing home plate umpire Ryan Wills to misjudge the call. Ball two.
Ball three was Haniger’s most impressive pass, another fastball even closer to the edge than Estevez’s first miss. And ball four carried high as Seattle’s right fielder tossed his bat and took his free base in walk-off fashion.
“Players that have played as long as (Mitch) has in the league, they feel it,” Servais said. “He’s starting to feel it. And we need it.”
In recent weeks, Mitch Haniger sensed his season would soon turn a corner – that perhaps his prolonged struggles were destined to subside. The 33-year-old privately told manager Scott Servais he was “about to get hot.”
It’s showing in the win column and on the box score. Haniger slashed .286/.444/.643 with a 1.087 OPS in the nine games leading up to Sunday’s finale with the Phillies, adding three home runs and seven walks in that span.
The difference? Haniger adjusted his posture in the batter’s box, aiming to keep his head still and remain more upright.
“Everything I had worked on, I kind of had to throw it to the side and go back to what I’ve done in the past, and get back to swinging like I can,” Haniger said.
“I wish it didn’t take me two and a half months, or three months, to figure it out.
“But I’m glad I did.”
The Mariners erased a five-run deficit Saturday night, jump started by Haniger’s solo home run in the fourth inning. Seattle piled four runs in the sixth via clutch, RBI hits from Jorge Polanco, Luke Raley, and Josh Rojas; closer Andres Munoz would push the game into extras.
And Haniger’s late heroics arrived the night after recent trade acquisition Justin Turner launched a grand slam in his home debut at T-Mobile Park and the Mariners routed Philadelphia, 10-2, behind seven sparkling innings from Bryan Woo.
Turner, 39, is praised for his veteran clubhouse presence as much as his bat, a career .286/.363/.460 hitter with 1,543 hits in 16 major league seasons.
“I love talking hitting,” Turner told reporters after his grand slam. “Love being around the cage, watching guys do their work. What they’re feeling, what their cues are… and offering a little bit of insight when I’ve gone through stuff like that.
“Hopefully, they lean into it. I don’t have all of the answers. I’m not always going to be right. But I certainly have a lot of different things that guys can maybe try, that hopefully can unlock some stuff.”
KIRBY HONORS WAKEFIELD AT FENWAY PARK
George Kirby grew up a die-hard Yankees fan, born just 22 miles northeast of Yankee Stadium in Rye. And despite his lifelong affinity for pinstripes, a much-younger Kirby rarely failed to miss Tim Wakefield start for his nemesis.
The famed Red Sox knuckleballer who developed his marquee pitch in the minor leagues – and went on to enjoy a 19-year major league career because of it – inspired Seattle’s starter to throw wicked sliders and splitters of his own. Kirby regularly flashes up to five pitches with supreme command, much of it inspired by the rival Wakefield many Yankees fans, naturally, resisted.
Not Kirby. He simply “loved watching that guy.”
Just 11 years after retirement, Wakefield lost a battle to brain cancer on October 1, 2023. He was 57 years old. In remembrance, the Red Sox are wearing patches with Wakefield’s number 49 on their sleeves throughout the 2024 season.
Kirby planned his own tribute. He mulled the idea for weeks ahead of Wednesday’s start at Fenway Park, where Wakefield spent 17 years of his career.
His tribute was a first-pitch knuckleball to Boston leadoff hitter Jarren Duran, clocked at 74 mph above the zone. Kirby had yet to throw a knuckleball in 2024.
“A ball,” Kirby smirked. Not a strike.
“I want that one back,” he said. “I wish I would’ve started 0-1 on that one.”
George Kirby threw a knuckleball to begin Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox to pay tribute to Tim Wakefield ️
“He was a special player. So just being able to do it here in Boston was pretty cool.” – George Kirby pic.twitter.com/3vLyb7yEGZ
— MLB (@MLB) August 1, 2024
Wakefield went 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA across 627 major league games. His 2,156 career strikeouts rank 72nd in MLB history.
“He was a special player, so just being able to do it in Boston was pretty cool,” Kirby said.
SHORT HOPS
– Luke Raley went where few hitters have gone before: the 29-year-old deposited a skyscraping home run into T-Mobile Park’s third deck in right field Friday night, a gargantuan blast measured at 459 feet.
Justin Turner enjoyed the show from the dugout. “That ball went a long way,” he smiled.
“I want to know what that feels like. And I know that I never will.”
– It’s back: ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball returns to T-Mobile Park on Aug. 11 for the first time since 2004. The Mariners host the New York Mets for an interleague matchup and series finale at 4:10 p.m. PT.
ON DECK
The Mariners receive Monday off before continuing a three-series, nine-game homestand at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle hosts Detroit (Aug. 6-8) and the New York Mets (Aug. 9-11), then departs for a nine-game road trip that begins Aug. 13.
Luis Castillo is Seattle’s scheduled starter for Tuesday night’s 6:40 p.m. first pitch.
Source Agencies
