Mariners Observations: What stands out after sweep of Angels

The red-hot Seattle Mariners just keep winning baseball series.

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After hanging six runs in the seventh inning Wednesday to pull away for a 9-3 win over the Angels, the Mariners secured a two-game series sweep of their AL West rival, earned their seventh straight series win and 14th win in their past 18 games. At 18-12, the M’s sit in first place in their division heading into the month of May, and they’re already 9-3 in games within the AL West.

Here are three things that stand out from Seattle’s latest series win.

Moving on up

It’s been quite a while since J.P. Crawford last batted leadoff for the M’s, but he was back in his former spot atop the order for the first time this season Wednesday. The move came after Seattle’s shortstop jumped up to the six hole the past two games, which were the first times he hadn’t hit ninth all season.

Crawford batting leadoff was partially a result of Dylan Moore, who had been hitting first against left-handed starters, going on the 10-day injured list Monday, but it’s also a spot he’s certainly earned with his play on the field of late.

Crawford entered Wednesday with hits in 14 of his past 16 games while slashing an impressive .370/.469/.519 with two home runs, 12 RBIs, 11 runs scored and six multi-hit games during that stretch. And he collected two more hits, two RBIs and a walk Wednesday afternoon. After entering April 9 batting just .125, Crawford has raised his average to .289.

The most important factor as to why Crawford was moved back into the leadoff spot is a pretty obvious one – he just keeps getting on base. Crawford has reached base 29 times over the past 17 games.

“His on-base has been there, and with the couple of injuries and what not, it seemed like a time to get him up there,” manager Dan Wilson said before the series finale. “He has swung the bat well and has really started to click offensively. So getting him on base and allowing those guys at the top to drive him in will be big for us.”

One benefit of Crawford hitting leadoff is that he can be penciled into the top of the lineup regardless of who is on the mound. Perhaps the most underrated of his abilities has been his ability to hit left-handers. Crawford hit nearly 100 points better against southpaws last season, and his average and on-base percentage against lefties were nearly identical to what it was versus right-handers in 2023. That’s a trait that sticks out to Wilson.

“That’s the great thing about (Crawford) is he’s equally as good against lefties as he is righties,” Wilson said. “When he’s right, he’s able to just take them up the middle (and) the other way. And then when he gets his pitch, he’s able to turn on it. That’s what we’ve seen from him, and being able to have him (in) that leadoff spot against a lefties is huge.”

Mr. Wednesday

Baseball always provides some weird and oddly specific stats and trends. For Randy Arozarena, the trend is that he is coming up huge on Wednesdays.

Arozarena continued his midweek mashing against the Angels with a solo home run off starter Tyler Anderson in the second inning, and he made a big defensive play in the next frame when he threw out Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe at home plate trying to score from second on a single. Arozarena added another single later for his sixth multi-hit game, four of which have come on Wednesdays.

The left fielder’s success on Wednesdays started back on April 9 when he blasted a game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning and worked a walk-off walk in the ninth during an improbable 7-6 comeback win over the Astros. He’s had two hits in each game on Wednesdays since.

In five total games on Wednesdays, Arozarena has collected nine of his 22 hits, two of his five home runs and seven of his 18 RBIs, and he’s hitting .474. Arozarena is batting just .149 on all other days of the week.

Rivas providing big spark

When Ryan Bliss went down with torn biceps that will keep him out for most, if not all, of this season, it was a tough blow for the Mariners. The second baseman was just starting to click at the plate and show some of the skills that made him a valuable returning piece in the Paul Sewald trade in 2023. However, Leo Rivas has has done everything the M’s could ask for and more since replacing Bliss on the roster.

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Rivas has been a pesky out at the bottom of the lineup while mostly playing second base, and he had one of his best games of the season on Wednesday. The switch-hitting infielder picked up three hits and three RBIs, which included getting a hit from each side of the plate during Seattle’s six-run seventh inning. It was the first three-hit game for Rivas in the big leagues.

With another solid performance under his belt, Rivas is hitting .367 with an impressive .513 on-base percentage in 13 games. He’s reached base at least twice six times.

“He just puts a really tough at-bat on you, and he doesn’t chase, has a really good concept of the strike zone, and right-handed or left-handed he’s going to make you work,” Wilson said. “He’s one of those guys who’s gonna drive a pitch count up, gonna get on base and he’s gonna come up with some big hits like he did today.”

If Crawford continues to hit in the leadoff spot, Rivas is showing he could be a comparable replacement near the bottom of the order when it comes to on-base skills.

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