3 takeaways from Mariners’ rare series win in Boston

Apr 24, 2025, 3:12 PM | Updated: 3:25 pm

Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners finally did it.

After beating the Boston Red Sox 4-3 on Thursday, the M’s won their first series at Fenway Park since 2014. As a result, they wrapped up a successful 6-3 road trip, secured their fifth straight series win and improved to 14-11 on the season. Seattle currently sits just one-half game behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the AL West.

AL West Standings

Here are three takeaways from the Mariners’ series win over the Red Sox.

Production from the bottom

The Mariners went on one of their best offensive runs in recent memory during their road trip. In Boston, it was the bottom of the lineup that was at the center of much of the damage. Seattle’s seven through nine hitters went a combined 16 for 33 with a home run, seven RBIs, seven runs scored and seven walks during the three-game series. They also went 6 for 8 with runners in scoring position.

Rookie third baseman Ben Williamson, infielder Leo Rivas and shortstop J.P. Crawford provided almost all of that production.

Williamson continued what’s been a very impressive start to his big league career. He went 5 for 10 with two walks and scored a run in each game, which included his first three-hit game in Wednesday’s 8-5 win. In his first nine big league games, Williamson is hitting .303 with a .785 OPS, three RBIs and eight runs scored.

Rivas provided a spark in both of Seattle’s victories during the series. He reached base four times with two hits and two walks while scoring twice on Wednesday, and had two more hits, a walk and a run scored on Thursday. In total, he reached base in seven of his nine plate appearances during the two wins.

Crawford put the cap an encouraging and much-needed road trip with his best series of the season offensively. He collected multiple hits in all three games, drove in six runs and slugged his first home run of the season. He went 6 for 12 with six RBIs overall.

Crawford was off to a dreadful start entering the nine-game road trip. He was hitting .163 with a .543 OPS and only one extra-base hit in 58 plate appearances. After getting multiple hits five times and at least one hit eight times during the road trip, he raised his batting average to .260 and OPS to .729. With a .400 on-base percentage on the season, Crawford could be making his case to reclaim his former spot at the top of the lineup.

Hancock’s turnaround

Emerson Hancock’s season got off to about the worst start possible. Filling in for the injured George Kibry, the right-handed Hancock allowed six runs over two-thirds of an inning during his season debut, which led to a demotion to Triple-A Tacoma.

When Hancock was recalled for the road trip with outings scheduled for the hitter-friendly confines of Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati and Fenway Park in Boston, it seemed like a recipe for disaster. Instead, he was of Seattle’s best starters on the road trip.

Hancock pitched five innings of two-run ball in Cincinnati and followed it up with perhaps the best start of his big league career in Boston. The former first-round pick held the Red Sox to two runs and struck out a career-best seven batters over six innings. It was just the second quality start by Hancock in eight career road starts.

One of the best signs Hancock showed in Boston was that he was able to generate some swing and miss. He posted a 29% whiff rate during the start, which is well above where he normally sits around 20%. Seven of those whiffs came on four-seamers and sinkers, two pitches he’s struggled to miss bats with in the past.

Good signs for struggling M’s hitter

Much of Mitch Garver’s year-plus with the Mariners has been marred by struggles at the plate. A key member of the Texas Rangers’ World Series run in 2023 as a bat-first backup catcher and designated hitter, Garver hit just .172 with a .627 OPS in 114 games with the Mariners last season.

His start to 2025 hadn’t been any better. Before the road trip’s middle series in Toronto, Garver was hitting .172 with a .505 OPS and zero RBIs. But he’s now riding a four-game hitting streak over the past two series, which marks just the third time he’s had a hit in four straight games as a Mariner.

Garver checked in with an RBI single to kick off the scoring in Wednesday’s game and drove in two runs with a double on Thursday, his first extra-base hit this season. His average is now up to .214 and OPS to .591.

If the Mariners can start to get some sort of production out of Garver, it would greatly help the offense. Even a line somewhat near the .231 average and .773 OPS he posted last September would be just fine.

The Mariners return home to start a three-game series against the Miami Marlins at 6:40 p.m. Friday. Radio coverage can be heard on 710 AM Seattle Sports or the Seattle Sports app, starting with the pregame show at 5:30 p.m. M’s right-hander Logan Gilbert (1-1, 2.63 ERA) is set face Marlins right-hander Cal Quantrill (1-2, 8.31).