An even and bright end to an illuminating spring training.
The twilight of Spring Training has come to a close, and we begin the brief night before the long Alaskan summer day of the regular season that will start on Thursday. In those waning hours, tendrils of that dimming presence will reach out and illuminate many answers to questions we have about the next coming day; in dancing rays we welcome new friends to our group, we tell others that we hope to see them later, and brought to light but with the feeling of a void, we say farewells. It is these answers about individual journeys, and how they will intertwine, that matters most about these pre-season ceremonies. Some satisfying answers made for a satisfying closing game, despite the Seattle Mariners ultimately tying the San Diego Padres 7-7.
Bryan Woo made the start for the Mariners, and after a promising spring his line on the day is entirely forgivable. Better to have the rough day now, the one that will soon be over, than in the coming beginning of the long next one. Putting in 4.1 innings of work, Woo finished the night having given up six earned runs on ten hits, walking two, and striking out six, and doing it with 78 pitches thrown. He started his night out right enough, at least more right than the ump, as the first pitch fastball called ball against leadoff batter Luis Arráez was challenged and overturned to a strike. Woo missed inside with the next two fastballs, reaching 95, but was able to get Arráez to fly out easily to Julio in center. Fernando Tatís followed that up with a 3-2, six pitch walk where he didn’t swing at all, and was promptly replaced with pinch runner Jake Snider. There Snider would remain when Woo fought through one ball and four fouls to Jackson Merrill before he finally swung through a fastball for strike three, and only threw one pitch to Manny Machado before he too flew out to Julio, this one ending the inning. That was also all we would see of Merrill, who was replaced by Mike Brosseau, and Machado who was replaced by Tyler Robertson. Luis Arráez was replaced by Trenton Brooks, much to the chagrin of Woo and his bullpen mates later. Brooks would strike out once, but otherwise go 3 for 4 on the night with two runs batted in.
Most of the ugliness of Woo’s night came immediately after that in the second inning, and yes, Brooks would be part of that. Landing the wrong pitches in the wrong spots of the zone. Jake Cronenworth singled, and Xander Bogaerts and Gavin Sheets both doubled, before Woo could get the first out. Jason Heywood grounded out but there was no respite for Bryan, the play coming on the first pitch. Martín Maldonado also only needed one pitch, but was more successful than Heywood, hitting one to right for a single. Trenton Brooks worked a longer at bat, but when Woo dropped the fourth pitch fastball dead center, Brooks did not miss. Coming 98.2 off of the bat and at a 29 degree launch angle travelling 348 feet over the left field wall, bringing the Padres run total to five. Jake Snider then grounded out and Mike Brosseau drew a four pitch walk before Bryan Woo would be spring-training-pulled (he re-entered the game next inning), making way for Jimmy Joyce. Understanding the assignment Joyce ended the threat with a Tyler Robertson strikeout. From there Woo still struggled with some command, but improved considerably over the second, just nowhere near clean in his results, giving up at least a hit in every inning and allowing another run in the fourth on a Mike Brosseau sac fly.
The Mariners rotation is essentially all appointment viewing, but the buzz around tonight’s pitching was actually about the long-awaited return from injury from elite bullpen arm Matt Brash. Maybe some of that buzz was the radio static since that was the only way to enjoy the game short of being in Arizona (but I swear I am not bitter about that [just kidding I am, as bitter as the lemon slices I often eat for a snack]). Brash entered the game for the bottom of the sixth, and he wouldn’t get out clean, but close enough. Touching 98 with his sinker he set Braedon Karpathios down on three strikes swinging, through a slider perfectly placed on the bottom-inside corner. Next he set down Trenton Brooks to properly avenge Woo, getting him looking on a sinker in the same spot he had Karpathios swinging through the slider. The command slipped with Jake Snider, who worked a four pitch walk, but Brash recovered enough to get Brosseau to line out hard to right field, although that was luck more than it was actual return to form, as it came on a dead-center sinker. Still, after such a long absence, it was an incredibly hopeful showing from the long-missed reliever.
If the aforementioned tie score didn’t already make it obvious, rest easy knowing that Seattle would also get in on the scoring. It was actually them that would start the scoring in the top of the second, with infielder Miles Mastrobuoni striking first. Mastrobuoni would make the most of his one at bat today much like he has made the most of his spring training. Going into today’s game his spring numbers include a 167 wRC+, a double digit walk rate of 10.3%, a single digit strikeout of 7.7%, and a AVG/OBP/SLG slash line of .412/.462/.559, doing that across 39 plate appearances in 19 games. Today he added an RBI single into those numbers, finding a lower zone changeup. Victor Robles would then continue and end the scoring of that inning, with an RBI single of his own.
The rest of the Mariners runs came across the sixth and seventh, and powered by the springtime of youth. (Yes, this is a Might Guy reference. No, there was no reason to make that reference, and no, I am not sorry.) Shortstop Axel Sanchez was next to get on the board with an RBI ground ball triple into right field, and that was only Axel’s second most impressive at-bat for the night (more on that later). Colin Davis doubled him in with a line drive, and he himself would go on to score when Lazaro Montes hit a one out, bases loaded infield grounder. Davis would have scored on the play with just the one out, but Montes decided to show off the wheels and added to the sweetness by beating the throw to first. The scoring stopped there for that inning, but Axel Sanchez would cap it off in the next. Hitting an 85.8 mph “fast” ball from opposing pitcher Alek Jacob 33 degrees and with 99.5 mph speed the ball flew out to center for a home run.
Today marked a turning point. A long, slumbering winter naturally led into a lethargic start to spring. Not for the Mariners roster, but rather for their fans. But as the light of spring danced across the field it shone on much that we could look forward to, many plants budding, if not in bloom. The light closes on today, on this period of the Seattle Mariners. But perhaps only to return in a few more days time with a much brighter tomorrow.
Also of note:
- Mitch Garver had a strong showing with a 2-for-3 night, both hits hard doubles of 108.9 mph and 104.2 mph. It was also Garver behind the dish that challenged Woo’s very first pitch and had it overturned, something he was notorious for this spring training, and something I wish we could see extended into the regular season.
- Gregory Santos worked a solid seventh inning, hitting leadoff batter Tyler Robertson with a pitch, but amending that mistake with a Clay Dungan foul-tip strikeout, a Francisco Acuna ground out, and a Jack Costello strikeout looking to avoid any further trouble, and throwing eight of his thirteen pitches he needed to do it for strikes.
- Carlos Vargas, recently informed of making the opening day roster, worked a solid eighth inning. Like Santos, Vargas also faced four batters, but achieved all three of his outs on groundouts. His one big mistake was leaving a cutter at the top of the zone for pesky-for-today Trenton Brooks, who hit it a hair under 100 mph for a double.
- Julio Rodríguez had a hit in his one at bat capping off a fantastic pre-season, sending a middle sweeper from Padres starter Stephen Kolek 105.4 mph into left field.