San Francisco Giants Michael Conforto (right) claps after hitting two run home run Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh (left) wipes his eyes in the top of the fourth at T Mobile Park in Seattle on Fri Aug 23, 2024 (AP News photo)
Friday, Aug. 23, 2024
T-Mobile Park
Seattle, Washington
San Francisco Giants 5 (65-65)
Seattle Mariners 6 (65-64)
Win: Collin Snider (3-2)
Loss: Erik Miller (3-5)
Time: 3:05
Attendance: 38,762
By Stephen Ruderman
SEATTLE–The Giants had a 5-1 lead in the eighth inning, but Tyler Rogers gave up four runs in the bottom of the eighth, and the Mariners came back to win the series opener in Seattle 6-5 in what was no doubt the worst loss of the season for the Giants at T Mobile Field on Friday night.
The Giants were looking to bounce back after an embarrassing loss to the historically-bad Chicago White Sox on Wednesday at Oracle Park, in which the Southsiders scored four two-out runs in the top of the ninth inning. With 33 games remaining, the Giants came into Friday night four games back of the Braves for the third wild card spot in the National League.
The Giants came into Seattle as the Mariners were in the midst of chaos. The Mariners fired their manager, Scott Servais, on their off day Friday after they lost eight of their last nine games. Servais was notified of his dismissal by news alert while watching TV. Mariners Hitting Coach Jarret DeHart was also fired.
On June 18, the Mariners were 13 games over .500 at 44-31, and they led the American League by ten games over the Houston Astros. They have since gone 20-33 to be knocked all the way back down to .500, and they have lost their AL West lead and are five games back of the Astros.
Servais had managed the Mariners since 2016, and he had accumulated five winning seasons in his eight full years in Seattle. He also got the Mariners to the Playoffs in 2022, their first postseason appearance since their historic 116-win season of 2001.
Former Mariners’ catcher Dan Wilson will take the reins for Seattle the rest of this season. Hall-of-Famer Edgar Martinez will take over as interim hitting coach.
What also made it interesting that the Mariners fired their manager with the Giants in town was the fact that Bob Melvin returned to where his managerial career started. Melvin took the Mariners to a 93-69 record in his rookie managerial season of 2003, but they fell to 63-99 the following year in 2004, and Melvin was shown the door.
It was a cold and rainy day here in Seattle, as a rare summertime low-pressure system came down from the Gulf of Alaska. It was equivalent to a winter’s day in the Bay Area with rain and a high in the low 60s. Usually when there’s rain, there’s a threat to the game, but thanks to the roof over T-Mobile Park, there was never a question about it.
This would be a matchup between two teams that are so similar in many ways. They both have offenses that can’t come through with runners in scoring position, and they both rely on their starting pitching to get them through games.
Despite the fact that the roof was closed and that the cold air was seeping in through the sides, the ball was carrying tonight. That would prove to be a factor almost immediately.
Mariners’ starter and former Giants’ farmhand Luis Castillo struck out Tyler Fitzergald to begin the game. LaMonte Wade then stepped up and seemed to get underneath one into straight-away center field, but it kept carrying, and it sailed over the glove of the leaping Julio Rodriguez and over the wall for a home run.
Hayden Birdsong made the start for the Giants. Birdsong had a solid outing on Sunday in Oakland following a pair of rough starts. As Birdsong looked to build on his last start, he would be throwing to a new catcher in Andrew Knapp, who the Giants signed to a major league deal Friday. Birdsong issued a one-out walk in a scoreless bottom of the first inning.
Both pitchers threw one, two, three innings in the second, and Castillo threw a one, two, three top of the third. Birdsong would then give the Mariners a rally for free in the bottom of the third.
Birdsong walked Leo Rivas with one out, and he followed that by hitting Luke Raley. The always-dangerous Julio Rodriguez came up, and he flew out, which moved Rivas to third, and then Cal Raleigh walked to load the bases for Randy Arozarena.
Arozarena hit a pop-up to the left side of the infield on the infield grass. Third-baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald came together and nearly collided. Fitzgerald made the catch, and Chapman nearly knocked it out of his glove. It was a crazier play than it needed to be, but Birdsong was able to get out of the inning without any damage.
Heliot Ramos singled to center with one out in the top of the fourth, and that brought up the Seattle native, Michael Conforto. In his return to his hometown, Conforto hit a two-run home run to center to make it 3-0.
Birdsong walked Jorge Polanco to start the bottom of the fourth. Birdsong had yet to give up a hit in this one, but he had already walked four guys now. Former Giant Mitch Haniger then got the first hit of the night for the Mariners with a base-hit to left.
The Mariners wasted an opportunity in the bottom of the third, and now they had runners at first and second and the tying run up with nobody out in the top of the fourth. Giants’ fans always ask the question of “how will they waste this one?” Well, Mariners’ fans ask that same question.
Dominic Canzone and Josh Rojas both flew out to left. Leo Rivas came up and worked the count full. Birdsong then threw a fastball right at the top of the zone that Home Plate Umpire Laz Diaz liked and rang Rivas up on to end the inning.
That would also end the night for Birdsong, who threw 80 pitches. Birdsong gave up just one hit and struck out five over four shutout innings, but his four walks upped his pitch count. What really got him was the fact that of his 80 pitches, 41 of them were balls, and 39 were strikes. He just didn’t have his control.
The Giants wasted a one-out double by Grant McCray in the top of the fifth, and Sean Hjelle was brought in for the bottom of the fifth. The Mariners got on the board when Luke Raley hit a home run to left-center to leadoff the inning. Hjelle walked Julio Rodriguez, but then retired the side in order, though two of the outs were to the warning track.
Wade doubled to lead off the top of the sixth, and that brought up Heliot Ramos. Ramos took a slider at the knees from Castillo and gulfed it into the second deck out in left to make it a 5-1 game. For Ramos, it was his 19th home run of the season. The Giants were once again relying exclusively on home runs, and every run in this game had scored on a home run at this point.
Luis Castillo went six innings; didn’t walk a guy; and struck out nine. That is usually the stuff of great outings, but the three Giants’ home runs were the real story for Castillo Friday night.
Left-hander Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless bottom of the sixth. Landen Roupp, who was pitching for the first time in nine days, pitched through a rally to get out of the bottom of the seventh unscathed.
Thairo Estrada led off the top of the seventh with a double off Troy Taylor, and the Giants loaded the bases, but with how home run happy they are, they were of course unable to come through. Gabe Speier then struck out two in a one, two, three top of the eighth.
Melvin interestingly brought in Tyler Rogers in a 5-1 game for the bottom of the eighth. You usually don’t see the eighth-inning guy come in for a four-run game, but Rogers was not surprised that he was brought into the game.
The first batter Rogers faced was Jorge Polanco. Polanco hit one into the hole on the left side of the infield. Chapman slid to his left from third to get it, but his throw was too high and pulled LaMonte Wade off the bag at first.
Haniger singled the other way to right to move Polanco over to third, and Justin Turner singled to left to score Polanco and make it 5-2. Josh Rojas lined a base-hit to right, which scored Haniger to make it 4-3. Leo Rivas also lined a base-hit to right to knock in Turner, and suddenly, it was 5-4.
Rogers was just trying to get an out at this point. Leadoff man Luke Raley came up, and he blooped a single to left, which scored Rojas to tie it. The Mariners had come all the way back with four runs, and there were still nobody out. At that point, all Melvin could do was pull Rogers for Ryan Walker.
“I figured Tyler [was] going to at least an out,” Melvin said after the game.
Walker, who has taken over as the interim closer with Camilo Doval down in Triple-A, really put out the fire. The Mariners had scored four runs to tie it, and they had runners at first and second with still nobody out. Walker retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts to send this game to the ninth tied at 5-5.
Andres Munoz struck out the side—all swinging—in the top of the ninth, and Walker did the exact same—all swinging as well—in the bottom of the ninth. Walker, who was born and grew up in nearby Arlington, Washington, really gave the Giants what they needed by eating up two innings; retiring all six men he faced; and striking out five.
The game went into extras, as Collin Snider came in for Seattle in the 10th, and Knapp was the runner at second for the Giants. Tyler Fitzgerald led off the inning with a line drive to center, but Julio Rodriguez made a slick diving catch to rob Fitzgerald of a base-hit. It was a catch that proved to demoralize the Giants.
Dan Wilson opted to have Wade walked intentionally to face Ramos, which seemed like a bit of a gamble. However, it paid off, as Snider struck Ramos and Conforto both out swinging.
Erik Miller was brought in for the Giants in the bottom of the tenth with Turner being the runner at second. Miller struck Josh Rojas out swinging, but pinch-runner Dylan Moore stole third, which seemed to catch the Giants off guard. Leo Rivas was the hitter, and he flipped a base-hit to center to win it.
Collin Snider got the win, and Erik Miller took the loss. This was the worst loss of the season for the Giants, who fall back to .500 at 65-65, as well as five back of the Braves for the third wild card with 32 games to go. There is no other way to say it.
However, it was a desperately needed win for the Mariners. Firing a manager during a slump while you’re still on the outskirts of contention is always a gamble. A struggling Mariners’ offense coming back from down four runs late to win could be just the kind of win they need to turn it around.
The Giants will look to bounce back tomorrow with Blake Snell (2-3, 3.67 ERA) on the bump, and hope that he can continue his historic stretch. George Kirby (9-9, 3.40 ERA) will go to Seattle.
The rain is expected to persist into the morning and possibly early afternoon Saturday, but it should taper off as the day goes on. Don’t be surprised if the roof is closed again Saturday. First pitch will be at 1:10 p.m.
National League Wild Card Standings:
- Diamondbacks 73-56 +3.5
- Padres 73-57 +3.0
- Braves 69-59 —
Mets 67-62 2.5
GIANTS 65-65 5.0
Cardinals 64-64 5.0
Cubs 64-65 5.5
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