Mariners Observations: 3 things standing out after series win over Reds

Apr 17, 2025, 3:06 PM

Seattle Sports

It took some late-game dramatics Thursday afternoon, but the Seattle Mariners are leaving Cincinnati with their first road series victory of the year.

Cal Raleigh reaches another milestone in highlight-filled night

The M’s outlasted the Reds 11-7 in 10 innings in the series finale to take two of three games. As a result, they’re 10-9 and above .500 for the first time since winning on opening day.

Next up for Seattle on its nine-game road trip is a flight north of the border to face the 11-8 Toronto Blue Jays. But first, here are three things that stood out from the series win in Cincinnati.

Rookie delivers solid debut

There was no doubt that third baseman Ben Williamson was going to be ready to handle his responsibilities in the field, but there were certainly questions about what he’d be able to accomplish at the plate following just 150 games in the minor leagues. It’s only been a few days games since he was called up from Triple-A Tacoma, but the 13th-ranked M’s prospect looked about as good at the plate as anyone could have hoped during his first series in the majors.

Williamson collected his first hit in first at-bat Tuesday, a well-struck single between shortstop and third base that came off the bat at 105.2 mph. The hit came off a changeup from Reds starter Nick Lodolo, who had allowed just two hits on his changeup in his three previous starts.

Williamson checked in with another MLB first Wednesday, driving in a run with a bloop single to center field. And he added a single in Thursday’s series finale.

On top of his three hits, Williamson showed encouraging signs by hitting the ball hard and not looking overmatched at the plate. Three of his eight balls put in play were hard-hit (95 mph exit velocity or higher), and three more had exit velos over 90 mph.

Bullpen problems

The series victory in Cincinnati was a good start to the road trip, but it was very close to being not so good. And much of that was because of a rough stretch for an overworked bullpen.

In total, the bullpen gave up 10 runs over 12 2/3 innings of work, and it nearly cost the team its two wins during the series.

On Wednesday, Troy Taylor was hit hard in his return from injury. After coming in with a 5-0 lead in the seventh, the right-hander allowed three straight hits, including a two-run double that knocked him out of the game without recording an out. The Reds plated another run with Eduard Bazardo surrendered a single to nine-hole hitter Jose Trevino.

On Thursday, Bazardo gave up a grand slam in the eighth inning to former Mariners outfielder Jake Fraley that put Seattle in a 7-5 hole heading into the ninth. Back-to-back home runs by Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena allowed the M’s to force extra innings and avoid disaster.

Mariners beat Reds 11-7 in extras after Cal, Randy HRs in ninth

The series also saw right-hander Gregory Santos’ struggles continue on Tuesday, as he allowed two runs over one-third of an inning, which included walking three straight batters. Santos, who had zero strikeouts in eight outings, was demoted to Triple-A the following day.

The roster moves made with the bullpen also showed just how difficult of a spot it’s in right now. When the M’s recalled Taylor from his rehab stint before the road trip, he had allowed six runs over 3 1/3 innings in five appearances with Tacoma. And when Santos was sent down, they called up right-hander Will Klein, who had allowed nine runs over 6 1/3 innings in seven outings with the Rainiers (Klein was sent back to Tacoma without making an appearance when Emerson Hancock was recalled from the Rainiers to start Thursday’s game).

High-leverage arm Matt Brash is on a rehab assignment right now. His eventual return is much-needed for this group. More innings from the starters would help, too.

New leadoff hitter?

The injury to Victor Robles left the Mariners with a hole at the top of their lineup. Center fielder Julio Rodríguez has moved into the leadoff spot against right-handers and Dylan Moore against left-handers, but maybe it should be Moore at the top of the order in most situations – at least until Robles returns.

Moore had a huge series against Cincinnati. He had multiple hits in all three games and went a combined 7 for 14 with a double, two home runs, four RBIs, two walks and five runs scored. On the season, the 2024 Glove Glove winner is sporting an impressive .341/.396/.636 slash line with four homers and six RBI.

This may seem like an overreaction to Moore’s good start. He’s a career .210 hitter who hasn’t batted above .224 in a season outside of the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign. But there are numbers that suggest he could be a valuable leadoff hitter in most scenarios.

First, Moore wears out left-handed pitching. Since 2022, he’s slashing .243/.364/.460 with a 140 wRC+ against lefties. His wRC+ against southpaws during that span is tied for 24th-best in MLB, and his on-base percentage is 31st (minimum 300 plate appearances).

Second, Moore’s struggles against right-handed pitching largely stem from how he performs at T-Mobile Park. Against right-handers at home since 2022, he’s slashing just .159/.284/.284 with an 81 wRC+. But against right-handers on the road during that same stretch, he’s slashing .222/.331/.407 with a 112 wRC+.

Maybe that’s not quite enough to be hitting at the top against right-handed pitching on the road, but at the very least, Moore should be in the lineup against right-handers when the M’s aren’t playing at T-Mobile Park. And he should definitely continue to bat leadoff against left-handers.