Salk: Next generation shines in Mariners’ ‘best win of the year’

It’s not the Tacoma Rainiers that bested the Phillies Tuesday in what 710 ESPN Seattle’s Mike Salk called the team’s “best win of the year.” But with Nelson Cruz pinch-hitting, Robinson Cano leaving early with an injury, Leonys Martin relegated to the minors and starting pitchers Felix Hernandez, James Paxton and Drew Smyly all on the disabled list, there are a lot of fresh faces pushing the Mariners back to respectability.

It’s been next-man-up for the Mariners, who have clawed their way back to one-game under .500 entering Wednesday’s game despite a myriad of injuries to start the season. It culminated in Seattle’s youngsters, led by right fielder Ben Gamel, leading the team back from a pair of four-run deficits Tuesdat night in Philadelphia.

Salk and co-host Brock Huard said that win exemplified the kind of youth movement that the Mariners have lacked in recent years.

“You are seeing your youth, your younger players actually come up and have success, and right now that is one of the biggest differences between this regime and the couple that proceeded it,” Huard said. “It’s not Jesus Montero, it’s not Justin Smoak, it’s not Dustin Ackley coming up and being, unfortunately, lost.”

After his four-hit night Tuesday, Gamel entered the day hitting .362 for the Mariners in place of injured rookie Mitch Haniger, who still has the third-highest WAR in the American League. Guillermo Heredia, the team’s other young replacement outfielder, is batting .308 and getting on base more 37 percent of the time, while also playing highlight-reel defense. The team’s major offseason acquisition, 27-year-old Jean Segura, has also produced with a .376/.414/.516 slash-line. Even utility player Taylor Motter, who is only batting .238, has five home runs and added a crucial RBI double on Tuesday.

“They’ve brought in young guys and unlike in the past, they’ve delivered,” Salk said. “Now look, I don’t think Ben Gamel is going to hit .360. I don’t even know if he’s a .300 hitter in baseball if you give him an entire season of playing time in right field. But what you needed him to do was serve you while Mitch Haniger was out, and he’s done that in spades.”

So why has this group of talent succeed where others failed?

“I think Scott Servias, if he’s gonna answer that question, he’s gonna hope that it’s the culture that they’ve established, it is that openness, that understanding like they have done the last two springs down there, and made it very clear it’s going to take all of us,” Huard said. “Jerry Dipoto’s going to say, this is my job to have some redundancy so when guys go down … you have an opportunity and some talent that could come in and not miss a beat.”

With all that said, Huard and Salk know this can’t last forever.

“This is not sustainable,” Huard said. “And, for crying out loud, can we just have some guys stay healthy and stay out of the training room?”