Mariners have somewhere better to be, quickly beat Reds 2-0
An underappreciated element of being part of a community is the art of the polite appearance. Sometimes whenever there’s an event that you don’t really want to go to, you have to anyway. While having to make a polite appearance may be annoying at the time, it is important that we show up to support our friends, neighbors, and family.
But there is an art to it. You don’t want to leave too early, as that would be rude, but you’d very much like to get back to whatever it is you were doing. So how long is long enough?
Today the Mariners answered that question in their third spring training game of the year. The M’s and the Reds got through 9 innings of baseball in 2 hours and 5 minutes, despite all of the usual spring training player substitutions. They got through the entire game as quickly as they could before continuing with whatever it is players do after games during spring training. Racing dune buggies in the desert, probably.
In the first inning the Mariners clearly showed how little they wanted to be at Goodyear Ballpark, with J.P., Jorge Polanco, and Ty France all getting themselves out as quickly as possible. In the bottom of the inning the Reds were also pretty weak against M’s starter Luis Castillo, though J.P. didn’t quite look in midseason form, making one error and being bailed out of another by Ty making a good grab at first.
The game quietly and quickly carried on from there, with the M’s going in order in the second, and Seby Zavala gunning down a stealing Jose Barrero, erasing a walk from La Piedra.
That would be the last time a Reds batter got to even look at second base, let alone stand there, as M’s pitching was nails for the rest of the game. Castillo was great as we know, but Austin Voth (2 IP) and Heath Hembree (1 IP) also put in a good showing despite not getting a single strikeout between them. They were followed by Ty Buttrey (1 IP, 2K), Joey Krehbiel (1 IP, 2K), and Reid VanScoter (2 IP 4K), all of whom brutally shut the door on the Reds.
They were assisted by a defensive alignment that made some nice plays. Particularly Sam Haggerty and Cole Tucker who both showed off speed and glovework in center, each making a couple difficult catches.
Lest we read too far into this, we should note that today was a split squad day for Cincinnati, and their stars were at the other game. But still, the Mariners carried a combined no-hitter until the bottom of the 8th where, with two outs, Jacob Hurtubise singled on a grounder that got just out of reach of Hogan Windish at third. And, as Alex Mayer pointed out, no-hitting the Reds in an exhibition game isn’t something that happens often.
On the other side of the game, the Mariners bats were fairly quiet. Sam Haggerty reached first on a grounder that was generously scored as a hit and not an error on 2B Josh Harrison. Of course, being Sam Haggerty, he later stole second. That steal came despite the fact that he jumped to early and pitcher Lyon Richardson turned around and threw to second. But it didn’t matter. Swags is just that fast. In the sixth, Seby Zavala hit a ground ball that popped out of the glove of Erik Gonzalez and was also scored a hit. So, charitable scorekeeping aside, the Mariners fared about as well as the Reds did on offense.
Until the top of the 8th inning. With one out, Cole Tucker struck out swinging on a slider away. But catcher Mat Nelson dropped the ball. And then Tucker did something we almost never see the Mariners do. He ran out the dropped third strike. He was halfway down the basepath before Nelson regained control of the ball, and the catcher rushed his through, sending it into right field, and allowing Tucker to reach.
A follow-up single by Nick Solak put runners on first and second. Gilbert bounced back to strikeout Blake Hunt, thus earning him 3 strikeouts in an inning that was not over. And then Cole Young stepped to the plate.
Despite the fact that he has a career 4.32 ERA, Tyler Gilbert is technically an MLB pitcher! Good news for Cole Young as he looks to climb through the minors.
In a game like this, where both sides are clearly just going through the motions, a two run lead was insurmountable, and the Mariners were able to ride 2 innings of VanScoter to their first Cactus League victory of 2024.
The lesson we can learn today, besides that running out dropped third strikes is good and Cole Young can play, is that when you are called on to make a polite appearance, it isn’t about how long you spend, but whether you do everything that’s expected of you. The Mariners were expected to play nine innings, and they did so quickly, efficiently, and, above all, politely.
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