Mariners Stat of the Day: Sept./Oct. 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Mariners this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
Oct. 3: Angels 7, Mariners 3 -- 90 wins in 2021
Though the Mariners fell short of their playoff aspirations, they did stun the rest of the Major League landscape by winning 90 games for the first time since 2003, and just the sixth time overall.
Oct. 2: Mariners 6, Angels 4 -- Haniger's 100th RBI
Mitch Haniger willed the Mariners to yet another come-from-behind win in perhaps the most epic fashion of the season, lacing a two-run, go-ahead single to left field during the eighth inning. Those RBIs brought his season tally to 100, which is one behind Kyle Seager for the team lead. That tandem is the first in Mariners history to hit the century mark in RBIs since 2016, when Robinson Can¨® and Nelson Cruz each reached that mark.
Oct. 1 -- Angels 2, Mariners 1 -- First sellout since 2019
The Mariners welcomed a season-high 41,169 fans for their series opener against the Angels, which marked their first sellout since Opening Day in 2019. It's their first sellout for the final homestand of a season since at least '02, per Mariners PR.
Sept. 29: Mariners 4, A's 2 -- 41st come-from-behind win
The Mariners were once again trailing in the series finale and once again found a way to come back. They've done that often this season. In fact, 41 of their 89 wins have been of the come-from-behind variety. And they've now done so in four straight, their longest such streak since July 25-28, 2019, vs. Detroit.
Sept. 28: Mariners 4, A's 2 -- Sadler's record streak
By recording four critical outs in immediate relief of Tyler Anderson, Casey Sadler extended his scoreless streak to 26 games, which set a new franchise record. Sadler's mark is now tied for the longest streak in the Majors this season, with Andrew Chafin and Josh Taylor.
Sept. 27: Mariners 13, A's 4 -- Season-high 13 runs
Mitch Haniger's pair of three-run homers certainly payed a huge part in Seattle's offensive outburst, but it really was a collective effort in the series opener. Ty France also had four hits and four RBIs to chip in as the Mariners scored a season-high 13 runs, passing the previous high of 11 from July 26 in the epic, come-from-behind, Dylan Moore grand-slam night against Houston.
Sept. 26: Mariners 5, Angels 1 -- Road warriors
The Mariners wrapped up their final road trip of the season with an 8-2 record, and in the process, collected their 44th win away from T-Mobile Park. That total ties the 2000 and 2018 Mariners for the sixth most in franchise history.
Sept. 25: Angels 14, Mariners 1 -- An inning to forget
The eight runs surrendered by the Mariners in the third inning against the Halos was the most Seattle had given up to in a single inning in 2021. It was also their most runs allowed in a frame since giving up nine runs in the first inning to the Astros on Aug. 14, 2020. Previously, the most runs the Mariners had given up in any inning in '21 was six, done on five occasions.
Sept. 24: Mariners 6, Angels 5 -- Six in a row for Seattle
With a win in the series opener, the Mariners extended their win streak to a season-high six and pushed their record to a season-best 16 games above .500 (85-69). It¡¯s the first time since 2018 that the Mariners have been at least 16 games above .500.
Sept. 23: Mariners 6, A's 5 -- Seager/Haniger and 35 HRs
Mitch Haniger didn't just tie the series finale in Oakland in the sixth inning, but in doing so via a solo homer, he also tied Kyle Seager for the team lead. Both have now left the yard 35 times this season, marking the first time since 2016 two Seattle teammates have hit that many homers in the same season. And the company that Haniger and Seager joined is pretty elite in the context of franchise history.
Sept. 22: Mariners 4, A's 1 -- Seager's 35th HR, 100th RBI
It's been a year of milestones for Kyle Seager, and he hit another huge one in a big way in Oakland. Seager set a new career high with his 100th RBI, which he reached via his 35th homer, five more than his previous personal benchmark in 2016. Seager is now one of just five players in the Majors this season with that many homers and RBIs, joining Salvador Perez (46/115), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (46/105), Adam Duvall (37/109) and Matt Olson (37/104).
Sept. 21: Mariners 5, A's 2 -- A multi-triple inning
The Mariners not only clinched their first winning season since 2018, but they matched another feat from that 89-win year by hitting two triples in the fourth inning, the first from Jarred Kelenic and the second from Dylan Moore. That marked the first time since Sept. 3 of that season that Seattle had a pair of three-baggers in the same frame, when Cameron Maybin and Mitch Haniger legged them out.
Sept. 20: Mariners 4, A's 2 -- On fire in Northwest Green
It's not just Tyler Anderson, the former Oregon Duck, who loves playing in Seattle's Northwest Green uniforms, it's the entire team. The Mariners have won 16 of their 18 games wearing the alternate jersey that Anderson has elected to wear in just about every one of his starts since coming over at the Trade Deadline. The Mariners also wear them for Friday home games.
Sept. 19: Royals 7, Mariners 1 -- Kelenic on fire in KC
Jarred Kelenic had one heck of a series in Kansas City. Racking up three homers, a pair of doubles and three walks, Kelenic put together a 2.444 OPS over the weekend as the offensive catalyst behind the series win. It ranks as the 49th-best OPS in a three-game stretch in franchise history.
Sept. 18: Royals 8, Mariners 1 -- Wild times for Kikuchi
Yusei Kikuchi did something that is rare to accomplish once, let alone twice, let alone exactly one year apart. The lefty threw three wild pitches in the first inning, making him just the seventh Mariners pitcher to do so, joining R.A. Dickey (four on Aug. 17, 2008), James Paxton (July 15, 2016), Rob Rasmussen (Sept. 7, 2015), Ken Cloude (June 12, 1999), Jeff Fassero (May 30, 1997) and Gaylord Perry (April 9, 1982). Kikuchi previously did it one year to the day against the Padres on Sept. 18, 2020.
Sept. 17: Mariners 6, Royals 2 -- Kelenic joins Seattle elite
Jarred Kelenic's first multi-homer game put him in pretty good company. With his pair of two-run homers -- the hardest-hit and longest-traveling ones of his career, per Statcast -- the 22-year-old Kelenic became the youngest Mariner to log a multi-homer game since Alex Rodriguez on Aug. 21, 1996. Only Kelenic, Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr. have had multi-homer games at that age or younger, with Rodriguez and Griffey each doing it three times.
Sept. 15: Red Sox 9, Mariners 4 -- Marco's new season high
Marco Gonzales certainly did his part in the series finale against Boston, throwing six strong innings to put Seattle in a solid position. He put the finishing touches on his day with a 10-pitch strikeout to J.D. Martinez that pushed him to 110 for the day, a new season high.
Sept. 14: Red Sox 8, Mariners 4 -- France keeps hitting
With a nice piece of plate coverage in the fourth inning, Ty France flared an RBI single to shallow right-center field. He has 69 hits since the All-Star break, which trails only the Royals' Whit Merrifield's 70 in the American League.
Sept. 13: Mariners 5, Red Sox 4 -- Another one-run win
The Mariners won their 31st one-run game, improving to 31-18 in such games. Seattle leads the American League in one-run wins and is third overall.
Sept. 12: D-backs 5, Mariners 4 -- HRs in back-to-back games
Mitch Haniger and Jarred Kelenic each went deep for the second consecutive game. It was the sixth time this season that Haniger has homered in two straight contests, and the first time since July 16-17. It was the first time that the rookie Kelenic achieved the feat.
Sept. 11: D-backs 7, Mariners 3 -- Raleigh's pair of doubles
Cal Raleigh snapped an 0-for-21 skid when he doubled to lead off the fifth, then he doubled again in the seventh. It marked the first time that the 24-year-old catcher had two extra-base hits in a game.
Sept. 10: Mariners 5, D-backs 4 -- France's impressive 1B streak
Ty France has only one error in 738 innings played at first base this season, as he continues to fill in for Evan White (season-ending hip injury). France hadn't committed an error at the position through 731 innings, before he had one during the second inning of this loss.
Sept. 8: Mariners 8, Astros 5 -- Servais .500 as manager
Scott Servais has been around for the highs and lows of Mariners baseball over the past six seasons, but he's always been even keeled. And his career record moved into a reflection of that following the series finale in Houston, which advanced him to 424-424 at the helm. His win total trails only Lou Piniella's 840 for the most in franchise history.
Sept. 7: Astros 5, Mariners 4 (11) -- Seager's 34th HR a big one
Kyle Seager continued his second-half tear with a tie-breaking homer in the sixth inning of an eventual extra-innings loss. That not only extended his previous career high of 30 homers in 2016, it also moved him into sixth on the overall on the home-run leaderboard this season, behind only Shohei Ohtani (43), Salvador Perez (41), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (40), Marcus Semien (38) and Fernando Tatis Jr. (37). Seager's 18 homers since the All-Star break trail only Perez's 20.
Sept. 6: Astros 11, Mariners 2 -- Toro raking vs. former team
Aside from a second-inning error at second base, Abraham Toro had another productive night against the team that traded him back on July 26. The 24-year-old went 2-for-3 and is now 9-for-28 in nine games against his old club. The big knock of his day was a two-run double down the left-field line. Overall, he's hitting .314/.394/.457 (.851 OPS) in 37 games since the trade.
Sept. 5: Mariners 10, D-backs 4 (11) -- Another road sweep
The Mariners completed a three-game sweep of the D-backs, marking their fifth sweep of the season. Three of their past four road series have all been sweeps, as they won a three-game set at Texas from Aug. 17-19 and a two-game series in Oakland from Aug. 23-24.
Sept. 4: Mariners 8, D-backs 5 -- Seager's pair of 3-run HRs
Seager hit three-run home runs in the first and sixth innings, becoming the first Mariners player to hit a pair of three-run homers in the same game since Daniel Vogelbach did it on July 19, 2019, against the Angels. Seager has hit 33 home runs this year after never hitting more than 30 in any of his first 10 big league seasons.
Sept. 3: Mariners 6, D-backs 5 -- A pair of 30-HR teammates
Mitch Haniger hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, marking the first 30-homer season of his career. He became the second Mariners player to reach that total this season, along with Kyle Seager (31). It's the first time Seattle has had more than one player hit 30 home runs in a season since 2016, when Nelson Cruz (43), Robinson Can¨® (39) and Seager (30) all reached the mark.
Sept. 1: Mariners 1, Astros 0 -- 3rd shutout vs. Astros
Logan Gilbert, Justus Sheffield, Casey Sadler, Drew Steckenrider and Paul Sewald combined to complete Seattle's second shutout in a row against Houston, arguably the American League's best lineup. The Mariners also held the Astros scoreless on April 29 at Minute Maid Park, making them the first team to shut out the AL West heavyweights three times in one season since since 2014.