Randy Arozarena Helps Mariners End Ugly Slide Against Astros

Mariners Finally Cash In On Randy Arozarena Moment Against Astros

To Seattle’s credit, they got moving right away. Tatsuya Imai barely had time to settle in before the Mariners ran him out of the game after one-third of an inning. He walked four, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch that brought in a run, and never looked comfortable for a second. Seattle did not exactly have to do much damage to take advantage either, considering the ball never left the infield while he was on the mound. The Mariners later got the separation they needed with a four-run seventh, with Dominic Canzone and J.P. Crawford both driving in key runs.

For only the second time in franchise history, all nine Mariners in the starting lineup scored exactly one run. It’s a weird baseball detail that somehow fits a game like this. Nobody completely took over, but everybody helped. 

Emerson Hancock deserves his flowers too. He let the Astros back in the game, but he still gave the Mariners five innings, allowed four hits, and struck out five while earning the win. 

Because this is still the Mariners, they couldn’t just hand us a calm finish and move on. Cole Wilcox came in with a big lead in the eighth and nearly turned the game upside down. He recorded only one out, gave up three hits, and served up a three-run homer to Yordan Alvarez that suddenly made a six-run cushion feel very shaky. That part of the game should keep this from turning into some grand declaration that everything is fixed. It isn’t. The Mariners won because they finally got the timely hit from Randy Arozarena and finally did enough damage before the late chaos arrived.

Still, we shouldn’t overthink the bigger takeaway. The Mariners needed a spark, Arozarena gave them one, and for once they actually made it hold.