Gilbert's shutout backed by Ford's HR, 4 hits as Mariners win 4th straight

SAN FRANCISCO -- Logan Gilbert paced into the dugout tunnel on Tuesday afternoon at Oracle Park in the top of the ninth inning and refused to make eye contact with anyone, particularly Scott Servais.

A complete-game shutout was in the works, and Gilbert didn’t want to say anything that might steer the decision-making of how the Mariners’ manager would map out the ninth. Already thin on leverage arms and staked with a six-run lead, pitching coach Pete Woodworth nonetheless grabbed the bullpen phone, at which point the entire visiting dugout erupted in good-natured objection.

This was Gilbert’s game to finish. And he did so emphatically.

Seattle’s towering righty went the distance for all 27 outs, the last of which came via a 97.2 mph fastball that he blew by Mike Yastrzemski and roared in front of the ticketed 37,395 to cap a 6-0 victory.

"That was the most emotion I've ever seen out of Logan,” said catcher Tom Murphy. “You could really tell that it meant a lot to him. And what he doesn't know, it meant even more to the team."

After, Gilbert took part in the Mariners’ dance with position players around the mound -- something no starting pitcher has done since the celebration began around this time last year -- then Julio Rodríguez, who was named to the AL All-Star team after the game along with George Kirby, thrust the celebratory home-run trident into Gilbert’s arms.

But after throwing 105 dominant pitches -- bringing the metaphorical fireworks on the Fourth of July and becoming Seattle’s first to throw a shutout since Yusei Kikuchi in Toronto on Aug. 18, 2019 -- Gilbert earned it.

“Everybody in there, they really care about each other,” Gilbert said. “I think that's what really matters for this team when we play well especially, so it was pretty cool that they would do that for me.”

Gilbert allowed five baserunners, via a double and four singles, with no walks and seven strikeouts. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.5 mph, a solid 1.2 mph up from his season mark, and he mixed his pitches masterfully, with his slider taking the front seat for 12 whiffs.

Gilbert’s length was valuable, too, and he got a jumpstart on the day with a three-pitch second inning, just the third in franchise history.

“The big thing today that we talked about was first-pitch strikes, trying to get that, so that inning was pretty good to get me rolling,” Gilbert said.

And about that deliberation in the bottom of the eighth?

“As they saw Woody go to the phone, I'm like, 'Guys, he's going back out. Relax,’” Servais said. “Which is great. That's what it's about. It's not a democracy, but some days, you listen.”

Gilbert had the most monumental contribution on Tuesday, but it was a top-to-bottom win that helped Seattle match its season-long winning streak of four straight and secure its second straight series win after finishing strong over the weekend against Tampa Bay. Both the Rays and Giants occupy postseason spots, and with a four-gamer in Houston looming, the Mariners could go into the All-Star break on a huge high note.

“I remember from last year at the end of the year, when everything's clicking ... It's just like everybody's having fun,” Gilbert said. “It's really cliché to say, but that's kind of how we feel right now.”

Gilbert cruised thanks to huge run support, none more notable than from birthday boy Mike Ford, who turned 31 on Tuesday and went 4-for-5 while finishing a triple shy of the cycle. Ford singled in the second inning, crushed his seventh homer in the third, beyond Levi’s Landing in right field, then hit a ground-rule double in the fifth.

And he nearly had the opportunity in his next at-bat, when he ripped an opposite-field line drive that caromed off the wall in foul territory and allowed him to stroll into second base easily. But, as with Gilbert, his teammates chirped at him good-naturedly for not running for the cycle.

“I joked to the guys, I mean, I was halfway to second when he had the ball in his hand,” Ford said. “I don't think it would've worked out. ... If it didn't hit that little side wall, I would have tried it. But I'm happy with the day.”

The Mariners are back to .500 (42-42), and after a rough stretch that had their season approaching a tipping point, maybe they’ve turned a corner.