'This one stings': Mariners miss late opportunities in Miami
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MIAMI -- Julio Rodríguez took his ¡°No Fly Zone¡± to the furthest end of the other coast when making two remarkable catches on Friday night at loanDepot park. But it was the one that he didn¡¯t corral that created more of a ¡°what-if¡± on the final outcome of a 3-2, 10-inning walk-off loss to the Marlins.
Rodr¨ªguez narrowly missed what would¡¯ve been an incredible home-run robbery in the sixth inning, jumping just to the left of the ball¡¯s trajectory, which instead led to a 403-foot solo shot from Bryan De La Cruz off George Kirby. Then on the very next pitch, Kirby surrendered another solo shot, this one 413 feet from Josh Bell, which tied the game.
Had Rodr¨ªguez pulled off the robbery, it would¡¯ve capped a hat-trick of sorts after he made two epic catches when running back and to his right in the early innings, both at the warning track -- one of which directly saved at least one run, possibly two.
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¡°He does so [dang] well out there,¡± Kirby said of Rodr¨ªguez. ¡°It wasn't a great pitch and [De La Cruz] took advantage of it. That would have been awesome if he came up with another one, but we've just got to shake it off. And of course, the next pitch goes out too.¡±
Two fateful pitches -- both on four-seam fastballs and both in 0-0 counts -- wound up being the most defining moments in an otherwise strong outing from Kirby, as the Mariners lost in the 10th, when Austin Voth surrendered a walk-off single to Tim Anderson that scored the automatic runner, Jake Burger.
It¡¯d be imprudent to suggest that Rodr¨ªguez had to complete what would¡¯ve been his fourth career robbery and second this season to lift the Mariners to victory -- especially on a night where their offense came up short on one scoring opportunity after another, and especially late.
The Mariners put the leadoff man on in the eighth and ninth innings and had the automatic runner in the 10th, but couldn¡¯t cash in.
The first such sequence was their best opportunity, as they put runners on the corners with no outs, only to see J.P. Crawford, Dylan Moore and Rodr¨ªguez -- their Nos. 1-3 hitters -- strike out in order on three pitches apiece. Moore¡¯s backwards K was particularly tough, as Statcast showed that it was outside the strike zone, but they still had more chances.
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¡°This one stings a little bit,¡± Mariners manager Scott Servais said. ¡°I think everybody in that clubhouse feels that we should have won the ballgame tonight, but you've got to execute.¡±
In the ninth, Mitch Garver drew a leadoff walk, but Cal Raleigh hit into a double play before Ty France grounded out. In the 10th, they hit three deep line drives but right at Miami¡¯s outfielders, stranding Tyler Locklear on third base.
Aside from Kirby¡¯s seven-inning gem, Seattle also couldn¡¯t capitalize on scoreless efforts from its best leverage relievers, Ryne Stanek and Andr¨¦s Mu?oz, which put the onus on Voth in extras, where he surrendered the game-winner on a first-pitch, middle-middle fastball.
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Anderson¡¯s 103.1 mph knock was hit hard enough for left fielder Dominic Canzone to create a play for Raleigh at the plate, but the one-hopper bounced off the backstop¡¯s chest as Burger began his slide. That left Seattle with three consecutive losses for the first time since dropping four straight from May 22-25.
¡°I've got to catch that ball, that's all there is to it,¡± Raleigh said. ¡°Dom made a good throw. I've got to catch that ball and not try to make the tag so quick -- catch first and then apply the tag. So, that's on me.¡±
The Mariners still have plenty of time to salvage this three-city road trip that began in Cleveland and ends in St. Petersburg. But to do so, they must overcome their season-long challenges on the road, where they¡¯re now 17-22, compared to 27-12 in Seattle. And the clearest way to do so would be with more offensive consistency.
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Seattle is hitting .194 with a .658 OPS over these four games with an MLB-high 38 strikeouts since the trip began on Tuesday. On Friday, they sent the minimum to the plate seven times in 10 innings after taking a 2-0 lead with a run in each of the first two frames.
They¡¯re typically in good shape when scoring first (entering play with a 34-12 record) and in extras (5-2). But they¡¯ve almost always needed more than two runs, as they¡¯re now 4-23 when plating that few.