It appears all of the sputtering Seattle Mariners wanted was to get Victor Robles again within the lineup.
Robles returned from a seven-game suspension Saturday for throwing his bat at a pitcher throughout a rehabilitation recreation within the minor leagues and instantly sparked the Mariners’ offense.
After scoring simply 23 runs in dropping six of the primary seven contests on their nine-game journey, the Mariners exploded for 28 runs on 31 hits over the weekend in a pair of lopsided victories at Atlanta.
The Mariners (75-68) hope that continues once they return dwelling Monday to open a three-game interleague sequence with the St. Louis Cardinals (72-72).
“He brings the power, no query about it,” Mariners supervisor Dan Wilson stated of Robles. “It is nice to see him right here. I really like having him again … the best way he approaches the sport with all of the hustle, it simply energizes folks round him. He invigorates them just a little bit. Hopefully he does that for our lineup.”
The Mariners slugged 5 dwelling runs in a 10-2 victory Saturday, then matched that whole in an 18-2 rout Sunday.
Cal Raleigh homered in each video games, giving him an MLB-leading 53. It additionally pulled him inside one homer of tying Mickey Mantle’s file for many by a change hitter in a season.
“It is nearly maintaining your head down,” Raleigh stated. “However sooner or later, you simply say, ‘screw it,’ and exit and play like we’ve been all yr. It is the mentality you have to take, the place you say, ‘Nobody cares. Recreation is over. Transfer on.’ You should simply hold enjoying free, hold enjoying free, hold stealing baggage, hold diving for balls, hold swinging onerous and it is gonna flip ultimately.”
Teammate Eugenio Suarez, who hit 4 homers in a recreation in opposition to Atlanta earlier this season whereas with the Arizona Diamondbacks, went deep twice Sunday.
“That is the lineup that you simply need to see,” Suarez stated by means of an interpreter. “Everyone knows that we’ve a extremely good lineup and the final two video games it confirmed up. We did our greatest. And that is the group that everyone knows that we’ve.”
The Mariners took two of three in Atlanta to win their first highway sequence for the reason that All-Star break. They’re 2 1/2 video games behind Houston within the American League West and 1 1/2 video games forward of Texas for the AL’s third and closing wild-card berth.
The Cardinals are 17 video games again of Milwaukee within the Nationwide League Central however are 4 1/2 video games out of the wild-card race.
St. Louis has gained two in a row and 4 of its previous 5 video games, together with a 4-3 determination Sunday in opposition to visiting San Francisco as Sonny Grey took a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado was again within the Cardinals’ clubhouse this weekend, however just for a short cease on his approach to Double-A Springfield to rehabilitate a shoulder harm. He hopes to rejoin the big-league membership Sept. 15.
“I’ve simply obtained to get on the market, present who I’m, present that I am wholesome and begin hitting the ball onerous once more,” Arenado stated. “These are the issues that I will must do and people are the issues that I am actually centered on doing.”
Monday’s sequence opener at T-Cellular Park is scheduled to function a pair of right-handers in St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas (7-10, 4.89 ERA) in opposition to Seattle’s Bryan Woo (12-7, 3.02).
Mikolas snapped a three-game skid by beating the visiting Athletics 2-1 Tuesday as he allowed one run on 5 hits over six innings. He is 1-1 with a 5.28 ERA in three profession begins in opposition to Seattle.
Woo went six-plus innings in every of his first 25 begins earlier than failing to achieve that mark in his previous two outings. He gave up three runs on 4 hits in 5 innings Tuesday however did not get a choice in a recreation the Mariners misplaced 6-5 in Tampa Bay. This might be Woo’s first look in opposition to the Cardinals.
–Subject Stage Media