Before Seattle Mariners All-Star Logan Gilbert could settle in, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber drilled a rocket-shot home run into the glass windows of the Hit it Here Cafe at T-Mobile Park. The Phillies leadoff hitter refused a pair of outside fastballs before hammering Gilbert’s third heater a considerable 428 feet, quickly dampening hopes of a sweep over the NL East-leader.
If only for a moment, Schwarber’s mammoth blast appeared to reverse the trajectory of a low-scoring pitcher’s duel between Gilbert and Phillies All-Star Zack Wheeler.
That is, until Gilbert pivoted.
“We definitely wanted to spin today,” Gilbert said. “The curve, slider, saw that work well the last couple games.”
And so the right-hander, once so heavily reliant on his four-seam fastball, righted the ship with an array of sliders and breaking balls. Gilbert recovered, offering his fastball just 24 percent of the time, and Sunday’s series finale quickly reverted to the pitching spectacle many expected.
“His stuff was outstanding,” manager Scott Servais said. “Just the one blemish there in the first inning.”
Gilbert was undoubtedly excellent.
But Wheeler was impeccable.
Philadelphia’s NL Cy Young Award candidate dazzled through eight scoreless, and the Phillies hit three home runs off Seattle relievers to run away in the later frames, 6-0.
“We just weren’t able to solve Zack Wheeler,” Servais said, “like a lot of teams can’t solve Zack Wheeler. He’s really good, one of the best in the National League.”
Possessing one of the game’s elite fastballs, Wheeler surrendered only two hits with one walk and nine strikeouts. Seattle mustered three total hits and failed to score in a showing that starkly contrasted 16 combined runs scored in wins over the Phillies on Friday and Saturday.
Sunday remained up for grabs until the eighth inning, when Philadelphia pounced for five runs. Bryson Stott, Bryce Harper, and Alec Bohm homered and catcher J.T. Realmuto singled home a sixth run that put the finale out of realistic reach.
No sweep for Seattle, but the Mariners (59-54) grabbed two of three over Philadelphia and recaptured sole possession of the AL West lead. After Sunday’s loss, the lead sat at a single game.
“It would’ve been pretty sweet to finish off the series with the win and get the sweep,” Gilbert said. “Especially against that team. They’re really good.”
Haniger’s walk-off walk
Mitch Haniger had already homered in consecutive games against the Phillies. But the outfielder’s pivotal at-bat of the series, and certainly his most productive, arrived and concluded without the big swing.
Haniger stood to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in Saturday night’s middle game, providing the opportunity to walk-off the Phillies in front of 36,629 home fans. And he did, literally, just that — drawing the game-sealing walk for the Mariners, a 6-5 win that lifted Seattle a full game above the American League West.
He fought back from an 0-2 hole with an impressive take, a fastball just off the outside edge for ball one. Phillies closer Carlos Estevez’s next fastball clipped much of the strike zone but considerably missed catcher J.T. Realmuto’s target, enticing home plate umpire Ryan Wills to misjudge the call. Ball two.
Ball three was Haniger’s most impressive pass, another fastball even closer to the edge than Estevez’s first miss. And ball four carried high as Seattle’s right fielder tossed his bat and took his free base in walk-off fashion.
“Players that have played as long as (Mitch) has in the league, they feel it,” Servais said. “He’s starting to feel it. And we need it.”
In recent weeks, Haniger sensed his season would soon turn a corner — that perhaps his prolonged struggles were destined to subside. The 33-year-old privately told manager Scott Servais he was “about to get hot.”
It’s showing in the win column and on the box score. Haniger slashed .286/.444/.643 with a 1.087 OPS in the nine games leading up to Sunday’s finale with the Phillies, adding three home runs and seven walks in that span.
The difference? Haniger adjusted his posture in the batter’s box, aiming to keep his head still and remain more upright.
“Everything I had worked on, I kind of had to throw it to the side and go back to what I’ve done in the past, and get back to swinging like I can,” Haniger said.
“I wish it didn’t take me two and a half months, or three months, to figure it out.
“But I’m glad I did.”
The Mariners erased a five-run deficit Saturday night, jump started by Haniger’s solo home run in the fourth inning. Seattle piled four runs in the sixth via clutch, RBI hits from Jorge Polanco, Luke Raley, and Josh Rojas; closer Andres Munoz would push the game into extras.
And Haniger’s late heroics arrived the night after recent trade acquisition Justin Turner launched a grand slam in his home debut at T-Mobile Park and the Mariners routed Philadelphia, 10-2, behind seven sparkling innings from Bryan Woo.
Turner, 39, is praised for his veteran clubhouse presence as much as his bat, a career .286/.363/.460 hitter with 1,543 hits in 16 major league seasons.
“I love talking hitting,” Turner told reporters after his grand slam. “Love being around the cage, watching guys do their work. What they’re feeling, what their cues are… and offering a little bit of insight when I’ve gone through stuff like that.
“Hopefully, they lean into it. I don’t have all of the answers. I’m not always going to be right. But I certainly have a lot of different things that guys can maybe try, that hopefully can unlock some stuff.”
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