Inside The Mariners

Takeaways From Seattle Mariners Series Win Against Boston Red Sox

The Mariners closed out their road trip at 6-3, moving to 14-11 overall on the season. Seattle has now won five straight series.
Teren Kowatsch|
The Seattle Mariners celebrate after a win against the Boston Red Sox on April 23 at Fenway Park.
The Seattle Mariners celebrate after a win against the Boston Red Sox on April 23 at Fenway Park. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners had a successful road trip that has set them up well for an upcoming five-game homestead. They went 6-3 on the road and improved to 14-11 on the season. Entering play on Friday, they are tied for first place in the American League West.

The Mariners have won five consecutive series, with the most recent being a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox. Seattle won two straight to clinch the series win and found a variety of ways to secure victory.

Here's the takeaways from the series between the Mariners and Red Sox:

Seattle starting rotation nearing midseason form?

Seattle's starting rotation entered the season considered one of the best in baseball. Even without George Kirby, who will be out until at least late May with right shoulder inflammation, the Mariners' rotation was considered to be in a good place.

Even beyond Kirby's fill-ins Luis F. Castillo and Emerson Hancock, the starters have struggled to go deep in their outings. Bryan Woo is the only starting pitcher to throw at least six innings in all of his starts.

Hancock and Woo had quality starts in Games 2 and 3 against Boston. It was the first time the Mariners had individual pitchers register quality starts in consecutive games at Fenway Park since Jamie Moyer and Freddy Garcia did it August 2001.

What's more impressive is those quality starts came against a potent Red Sox lineup. Boston is seventh in the league in runs scored (124), 12th in batting average (.244) and tied for eighth in OPS (.721).

Hancock and Woo are only two-fifths of the puzzle, but it might be a sign the rotation is heating up.

Mariners offense capable of pulling out wins against top-flight pitchers

Seattle has pulled out wins against some early Cy Young candidates and high-end starting pitchers in the first 25 games of the season. The Mariners have scrapped out victories against Tarik Skubal, Hunter Brown, Jacob deGrom, Jose Berrios and Garrett Crochet.

Seattle beat Crochet in the rubber match of the series against the Red Sox on Thursday. He entered the game with a 1.13 ERA. He allowed four earned runs on five hits Thursday, which all counted for the Mariners in their 4-3 win. Seattle chased Crochet out early after he threw 110 pitches in five innings.

Seattle has been reliant on the home run ball for most of their wins but used small-ball to beat Crochet. Two runs came on a Mitch Garver double and the other two were on a sacrifice fly and RBI groundout.

Crochet was the latest example the Mariners are capable of winning in a variety of ways against top-flight pitchers. And that's encouraging for the future.

Another infield move might be in the future

Ben Williamson made his major league debut in the first game of the road trip against the Cincinnati Reds on April 15. Barring a drastic regression, Williamson will continue to be a fixture at third base for Seattle for the rest of the year. In the series against Boston alone, he hit .500 (5-for-10) with three runs and an RBI.

And another infielder might make his season debut in the future.

Seattle has used veteran first baseman Donovan Solano primarily against left-handed pitching. The team signed him to a one-year, $3.5 million deal in the offseason. So far, the veteran infielder hasn't performed well. He's hitting .079 (3-for-38) with one RBI in 16 games this season. He went 0-for-7 and struck out four times against the Red Sox.

First baseman Tyler Locklear is having himself a solid season with the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He's hitting .302 (25-for-82) with seven doubles, two home runs and 15 RBIs in 21 games.

Locklear had a stint in the major leagues last season and batted .156 (7-for-45) with two homers and three RBIs in 16 games.

If the Mariners were to release Solano and bring back up Locklear, they would lose some of the positional versatility the former provides on defense. Locklear's struggles in 2024 might also give the organization pause to bring him up again unless they're 100% certain he's ready.

There's also the fact that Seattle is winning, even with Solano having difficulties at the plate. The team has no inclinations to make a move unless losses pile up. But it might behoove the team to make a move before the situation continues to regress.

Up next

The Mariners will play the Miami Marlins in the first of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins at 6:40 p.m. PT on Friday. Logan Gilbert will start for Seattle and Cal Quantrill will start for Miami.

Related Stories on Seattle Mariners

JULIO RODRIGUEZ REACHES MAJOR CAREER MILESTONE: The face of the Mariners franchise accomplished an incredible feat against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. CLICK HERE

MARINERS CLINCH FIFTH CONSECUTIVE SERIES WIN WITH 4-3 WIN AGAINST RED SOX: The Mariners got a quality start from Bryan Woo and won their first series at Fenway Park since 2014. CLICK HERE

MARINERS OUTFIELDER VICTOR ROBLES TRANSFERRED TO 60-DAY INJURED LIST: The Mariners outfielder has been out with a fractured left shoulder since April 6. CLICK HERE

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Teren Kowatsch
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