Inside The Mariners

Logan Evans, Cal Raleigh Shine in Seattle Mariners 9-1 Win Over Washington Nationals

The Mariners rookie pitcher and veteran catcher helped lead the club to a dominant victory against their National League foes on Tuesday.
Teren Kowatsch|
Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Evans throws during a game against the Washington Nationals on May 27 at T-Mobile Park.
Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Evans throws during a game against the Washington Nationals on May 27 at T-Mobile Park. | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

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SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners rookie starting pitcher Logan Evans had the best start of his career and was supported by his starting catcher Cal Raleigh in a 9-1 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday at T-Mobile Park. Seattle improved to 30-23 on the season and maintained a 1.5-game lead over the Houston Astros in the American League West.

Evans went eight innings — the longest outing for a Mariners starter this season.

"Obviously the story — Logan Evans," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview. "I thought, from pitch one, did a really good job of getting ahead and controlling the count, which is what we talk about lot. Had a really good breaking ball tonight. Had really good stuff all around and took advantage of some early swings on their part to get deep into the game."

Evans was bolstered by a solid early start from the Mariners' superstars. Julio Rodriguez hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first. Raleigh followed the next at-bat with the first of his two solo homers for the day. Seattle led 3-0 through the first inning.

That lead was more than enough for Evans to work from. He made easy work of the all-lefty Nationals lineup. He finished with four strikeouts in his eight innings of work, walked one and allowed one earned run on four hits (one home run). He faced 27 batters — just three more than the minimum. Evans' day ended after Randy Arozarena sprinted into foul territory in left field to catch a fly ball hit by Daylen Lile. Evans walked off the field to a standing ovation from the home crowd at T-Mobile Park and acknowledged the fans. He also received a celebratory water douse after the game.

Evans' only blemish was a solo homer allowed to James Wood in the top of the fourth.

"Solos aren't gonna kill you," Evans said after the game. "I think I've also proved that over however many starts I've made so far. If it doesn't go my way, I'm just gonna keep getting in there. My advantage is throwing strikes and getting ahead. And I felt like I did that all night, and I wasn't gonna let one swing change that. I didn't even really even notice it in the moment. ... Just keep attacking guys and get the hitters out."

Raleigh got the Mariners' lead back to three with his second solo homer of the day in the bottom of the fifth. He finished the game 2-for-5 with his two runs and two RBIs off his pair of homers.

"To me, I'm just trying to be as consistent as possible," Raleigh said postgame. "I'm not really trying to change or do anything different. I'm trying to just do the same thing every day. If I go hitless, or have a bad game, (I) understand that's just kind of part of it. And understand that I'll be better off if I just stick with what I do well rather than trying to go and change something."

Seattle's offense continued to reward Evans for his masterclass. Dylan Moore scored on a fielder's choice, Ben Williamson scored on a groundout and Williamson scored on an RBI single hit by Rodriguez — all in the bottom of the sixth. The Mariners led 7-1 after the trio of scores.

Rodriguez, Moore and Williamson were Seattle's three other players aside from Raleigh with multiple hits. Rodriguez finished 3-for-5 with a run and three RBIs, Moore went 3-for-4 with a run and two doubles and Williamson finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

Arozarena grounded into a force out in the bottom of the eighth to score Williamson. J.P. Crawford scored on the same play after Washington second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. committed a throwing error to first base trying to turn a double play. Arozarena was credited with the RBI on Williamson's score.

The Mariners will try to secure the series win against the Nationals at 6:40 p.m. PT on Wednesday. Trevor Williams will start for Washington and George Kirby will start for Seattle.

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Teren Kowatsch
TEREN KOWATSCH

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