‘Our Guys compete’: Seattle directly claims 11th ‘W’
ARLINGTON – Twelve days ago, the Mariners started something they hadn’t done since Lu Piniela became captain, and they were looking to the American League’s Pennant 21 years ago.
Twelve days later and they are still going.
Seattle returned to the Rangers 6-5 at Globe Life Field on Thursday night for their 11th consecutive victory. This is the second longest winning series in the history of the franchise and currently the longest active winning series in the Majors, the Orioles are one game behind with 10 consecutive wins.
“How fast we’re doing it,” said manager Scott Survey. “You never know how it will go every night, and tonight was a little different than our usual formula.”
With this win, the Mariners (48-42) now have the second wild card spot in the American League. They are just 1.5 games behind for AL’s top spot.
Faced with Rangers all-star Martin Perez, the historic streak seemed almost over. The bats were cold and Texas got the best starter Marco Gonzalez with four runs in the first two innings.
But, as the bullpen nearly tapped after a doubleheader against the Nationals, Gonzalez remained sixth and was then supported by runs.
“I have a lot of faith in Marco,” said Service. “He usually finds a way to find out.”
As they performed a few times in this stretch of 11-game, the Mariners increased the late, maintaining the series by scoring five runs in the last three frames. With 15 games from May 23 to June 8, the 2001 Mariners currently hold the club record for the longest win.
“Even when we’re down tonight, I mean, the energy in our dugout, the energy in our team throughout the year… we know who we are,” said Gonzalez, who made no decision after dropping five runs in a single season. – High 11 hits. “We know how good we are and we never get out of it. There is no reason to be afraid. ”
Thursday’s victory was Seattle’s biggest comeback of the season. The Mariners were down 4-0 before Sam Hagerty gained momentum with an in-the-park home run in the fourth inning. Hagarty added another history to the victory in his three-hit night, as it was the first ins-the-parker by the Mariners since Willie Bloomquist on June 15, 2007.
Hagarty’s Little League homer Rangers center fielder Lloyd Taverus crawled on his head and bounced back against the wall. By the time Taveras caught the ball, Haggerty was already being waved home. Hagarty said he felt like hitting Quicksand when he touched the third, but he gave up everything to keep the Mariners’ first run on board.
“Baseball is very contagious,” Hagerty said. “So something like that, which doesn’t happen often, can definitely ignite the team.”
The rally was set on fire in the seventh inning and closed by France in the eighth inning.
France, who entered the series 2-20 from the IL on July 7, hit a go-ahead in the eighth inning and led Seattle to victory.
“Ty France did what it did,” commented Service.
“11 consecutive victories. Incredible. “
The Mariners have a chance to continue this run in the All-Star break, but they will have to complete these last three matches against the Rangers. They have won the last three series against the Nationals (2-0), the Blue Jays (4-0), and the Padres (2-0) and have won seven series in a row.
“It’s a fun group and they love to compete. It’s a word that’s been thrown around a lot, “said Service. “A lot of people try very hard. Our people compete and they compete every night. ”
