*Photo from the Everett Herald*
Seattle leads series 1-0
Riding a wave of momentum, the Seattle Mariners got the help they needed from the man affectionately known as Big Dumper. Cal Raleigh homered, Eugenio Suarez drove in a pair of runs, and the Seattle Mariners defeated the Toronto Blue Jays with a 4-0 victory on Friday afternoon in Toronto.
After clinching their first playoff berth since 2001, the Mariners rode the wave to a series opening win North of the border, with Raleigh and Suarez driving in all 4 runs scored. They are now in position to clinch the series as early as Saturday and book a ticket to the ALDS.
Raleigh said of the last week that "It's been a little crazy. I think the biggest thing, though, is just ending the drought was amazing, and getting to do that with my teammates. Obviously, coming here and getting this win was huge. It's awesome. We're not done yet. We're going to focus on tomorrow and try to get one more."
With one out and Julio Rodriguez on base in the first inning, Suarez got the scoring started. He ripped a double down the right field line, scoring Rodriguez from first base to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead quite early. The very next batter was Raleigh, who blasted a two run home run to right field, tripling the Mariners lead to 3-0.
The scoring then quieted down, with the second, 3rd, and 4th innings going scoreless as both pitchers settled in. Rodriguez was on 3rd base in the 5th inning, and was able to score on a fielder's choice by Eugenio Suarez, making the lead 4-0 in favor of Seattle. There was no more scoring after that, with the Mariners holding on to the shutout win.
The Mariners opted for Luis Castillo to start game one, and he dominated the Blue Jays offense. Castillo allowed 6 hits, striking out 5 hitters in 7 1/3 shutout innings to get the win. Andres Munoz was the only reliever used out of the bullpen, getting the final 5 outs to wrap up the win for the Mariners.
Castillo said after the game that "I've said it before, the fans, the energy in that moment gives me that little extra boost when I'm out there. Like I said before, whenever I go up on the mound, I'm going to give everything that I have in my heart and my body to give the best I can."
It was Alek Manoah starting for the Blue Jays, getting hit to the tune of 4 runs on 4 hits and one walk over 5 2/3 innings, hitting a few batters as well. Unlike Seattle, the Blue Jays used a chorus of relievers, with Tim Mayza, Yimi Garcia, Zach Pop, Trevor Richards, and Adam Cimber being used in game one.
Asked about his start after the game, Manoah said that "I just had to tell myself: Execute pitches. It was a pretty lengthy at-bat with Cal and ended up not executing the front-hip sinker. I just continued to tell myself: Continue to execute. They beat me on my mistakes, and I felt like I was able to start executing after that."
Up next, game two of the series is on Saturday afternoon in Toronto. The Mariners will look to head to the ALDS with Robbie Ray getting the start, while the Blue Jays look to force a game 3 with Kevin Gausman pitching.
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