The problem with exciting young players is that no matter how good they look, there are always moments when they struggle: when the unstoppable force of their talent inevitably meets the immovable object of an older, wiser, stronger opponent. As Jake put it in the series preview, the Yankees’ lineup consists of the unstoppable force and immovable object known as Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Whoever controls them controls their destiny. Tonight, Bryan Woo couldn’t control his destiny, repeatedly letting them line up with runners in scoring position and scoring a total of six runs; more than enough to defeat the Mariners, who managed just two measly solo home runs on offense.
Woo’s troubles began immediately, though it wasn’t his fault: Gleyber Torres got lucky with a base hit in the infield that was just fair, and then Juan Soto did what Juan Soto always does and used a well-placed changeup for a double on an 0-2 count. Aaron Judge then got a slider that hit too much of the plate to make a two-run double of his own, giving the Yankees an early 2-0 lead.
The Yankees extended their lead in the second inning when Woo failed to take care of the bottom of the lineup, allowing a two-out single to nine-hole hitter and Rancid Vibes player Alex Verdugo. Torres then got lucky again with a parachute single that put Juan Soto in with runners on base. Woo could have struck out Soto, but the third-base umpire ruled he hadn’t swung, leaving Judge with the bases loaded. On a 1-2 count, Woo made a bad pitch to Judge that he was lucky didn’t hit a grand slam, and left a fastball over the plate that Judge redirected to left field for a two-run single, making it 4-1 Yankees.
Unfortunately, despite a clean third inning, Woo couldn’t correct his mistake and again got two quick outs in the fourth before dropping a pitch right down the middle for Torres, who hit a double for his first barrel of the day. That brought Soto back to the stage, and he pounced on the first pitch he saw from Woo and blasted a fastball into the bullpen that put a nail in the coffin, hitting a two-run home run that put the nail in the coffin.
Manager Dan Wilson was encouraging of Woo, saying, “I think the result may not have been as meaningful as his pitching.” He noted that the two guys at the top of the lineup did the most damage. That’s like saying the Spanish flu did the most damage in 1918-1920.
“Those are the games where you learn a lot,” Wilson said. “You often learn from games that don’t go so well. It’s tough when you go against a lineup like that, and if you make a mistake, you get hurt. And those are the types of games where those things show up.”
“It was just learning moments,” Woo said when asked what he would take away from his performance. “But I need to get better at reading situations. Knowing who’s ahead, who’s coming forward, understanding which guys I want to play against and which guys I don’t want to play against. It’s just about reading the game a little bit better.”
The Mariners had chances against Luis Gil, who is a strikeout machine but can also get pretty wild. Victor Robles was the first batter again tonight, and since Victor Robles is practically incapable of throwing a normal swing, he was immediately hit by Gil’s first pitch of the game:
Another “yuck” moment with Victor Robles, who just had a 91.7 mph fastball from Luis Gil taken off his right hand/fingers on the first pitch.
He immediately ran to Gil and essentially told him that he understood that the throw had slipped away from him. pic.twitter.com/zfc8FE3T9H
— Daniel Kramer (@DKramer_) 18 September 2024
After Robles was carried to first base on his golden palanquin, lifted by four old-time strongmen, Julio Rodríguez retired on a full count, and Cal Raleigh was then able to walk after five pitches, denying Victor Robles the steal of second base he wanted to make. so badyou could see it. Randy Arozarena then worked a walk on five pitches, two of them stepping out, which gave Luke Raley a turn with the bases loaded and an early test of how disciplined the free-swinging Raley could be. Trailing 0-2, Raley missed the first pitch and took a strike on the second, and then walked right into Gil’s trap, blocked by an inside fastball for an easy popout, leaving veteran Justin Turner with the responsibility of coming through. Turner made it 3-0, but Robles was struck out trying to steal home—a good idea considering how rattled Gil was, but a bad idea considering Turner almost let the run go anyway. Robles, who had originally played DH because he was ailing, was replaced by Mitch Garver after the inning; the Mariners later announced that he left the field with a bruised hand (X-rays were negative), and Dan Wilson said after the game that the team was in the process of “assessing” the damage after Robles had trouble gripping a bat. Asked if it was frustrating that Robles threw them out of the inning, Wilson replied, “It was a frustrating evening overall, in a lot of ways.”
“It was a very aggressive play and you want to make sure you’re in it, but he just didn’t get it.” – Dan Wilson on Robles’ attempt to claim home base and also on my attempt to parallel park right in front of the downtown restaurant where my friends are waiting.
Things got even worse for the Mariners in the second inning. With two outs, Woo was unable to beat Bad Vibe’s Alex Verdugo, who took a 2-1 lead and hit a single to left field. Gleyber Torres then got lucky for the second time in the game, hitting a small base hit (EV 69 mph, not pretty), bringing in the awkward duo of Soto and Judge. Woo actually could have struck out Soto, but the third base umpire ruled he hadn’t swung, giving Judge all the bases. On a 1-2 count, Woo made a bad pitch to Judge that he was lucky not to hit a grand slam, and left a fastball over the plate that Judge redirected to left field, leading to a two-run single.
The Mariners got a point in the bottom of the second inning when Gil left a meatball over the plate for Jorge Polanco, who decided he wanted to lose the crown of “lowest OPS” in this series to Anthony Volpe and hit a solo home run:
After Woo’s first clean inning of the day, the Mariners again bothered Gil in the bottom of the third; Julio hit a one-out double and Raleigh drew his second walk of the day. Arozarena hit a ball into a fielder’s decision, giving Raley another chance with runners in scoring position after he had thrown three pitches in the first. Unfortunately, Raley went down chasing Gil’s changeup and struggled to get Gil to 66 pitches in three innings, but that didn’t lead to any more runs for the Mariners. The Mariners ended up leaving 11 men on base and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Fortunately, they only struck out nine times (remember, we’re celebrating non-double-digit numbers here), and three of those were by Mitch Garver, who had to fill in for Robles. Unfortunately, that means that despite four hits, Julio didn’t get a single RBI, as no one ever got on base ahead of him. It’s little consolation, but the fact that Julio continues to hit well is a positive thing to take away from tonight.
Unfortunately, Woo didn’t get through the fourth inning cleanly, allowing the killing blow of a two-run home run by Juan Soto that put the Yankees up 6-1. Once again, Woo missed the crucial third out, leaving a fastball over the plate for Gleyber Torres, who hit a double on a 1-2 count — maybe Luke Raley could have played the ball better, but the main mistake was pitch placement. That put Soto on base with a runner ready to take advantage of Woo’s first pitch fastball for his 200th career home run. That was also Soto’s first career home run at T-Mobile Park, which he can now check off his list as he has now hit a home run at every MLB park, a record that will stand until the A’s play at some abandoned roadhouse John Fisher finds in the Nevada desert.
Woo wasn’t done giving up runs, though: He allowed a solo home run to Jasson Domínguez in the fifth inning. Domínguez hasn’t been kicking down the door in MLB like you might expect from a player nicknamed “The Martian” when he was considered one of baseball’s most promising talents as a young teenager, but tonight he was able to pounce on a struggling Woo.
That ended Woo’s night, who brought in Austin Voth. Voth also had trouble striking out his batters. He got two outs, but walked Soto to score two runs for Aaron Judge, which is just not what you want. Voth walked Judge, which prompted Dan Wilson to bring left-hander Jhonathan Díaz out of the bullpen to face left-handed catcher Austin Wells. The Yankees have struggled with left-handers this year, but Wells had no trouble scoring Díaz for a bases clearing double, bringing the game to a truly unattainable 10-1. According to Alex Mayer, those 10 runs allowed ended a 107-game streak at T-Mobile Park in which the Mariners did not allow 10+ runs in a game; that was not only a franchise-record streak, but also the longest active home streak in MLB.
The Mariners got a run back in overtime on a solo home run by Raley off Marcus Stroman. This helps Raley’s winning streak, but doesn’t help the Mariners much in this game as it only scores one (1) run.
After that one good thing, however, we had to endure more bad. When outfielder Leo Rivas took his turn to pitch in the ninth inning, Julio dropped what was supposed to be a flyout and allowed a double that would have scored on an Oswaldo Cabrera single. It’s a totally inconsequential run, but it just shows the utter lack of concentration this team played with tonight in a really ugly loss, as Arozarena didn’t even try to get the ball in to stop the runner on third base. I guess if you’re going to be nasty, you have to go all out, but it’s a letdown to start a series, and a letdown after the team played so well against Texas. It’s also a crushing loss for the Mariners’ fading playoff hopes, as every team that needed to lose won tonight, suggesting the end of the Mariners’ season will be similar to Robles’ attempt to steal home games: close, but ultimately just not being able to pull it off.
