ATLANTA -- What a difference 24 hours made for the Mariners, whose bats were scorching this weekend in a city that has many monikers for its heat.
Seattle ran away to its most dominant win of the season -- an 18-2 rout of the Braves on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park, capped by
And
Overall, the Mariners finished with five homers -- which tied a season high -- and matched their long-ball output from the night prior, when they scored eight runs in the final three innings.\n\nSunday marked just the second time in franchise history that they hit at least five homers in consecutive games and the first since May 20-21, 1994. And it was just the 11th time in franchise history and the first time since 2012 that they’ve scored at least 28 runs in a two-game span.
And for a team that began this three-city road trip 1-6, the Mariners (75-68) all of a sudden return to Seattle with their first series win away from T-Mobile Park since the All-Star break. They also pulled within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Astros in the AL West, while retaining their grasp on the final American League Wild Card spot.
“At some point, you just say, 'Screw it. Go out and play like we have been all year,' and that's kind of the mentality you've got to take,” Raleigh said.\n\nRaleigh has paced the MLB home run leaderboard all season, and Suárez has been close behind, now ranking fourth in MLB with 45. But it was actually a runaway third inning that was the day’s decisive sequence. The Mariners scored eight runs on eight hits and one walk in that frame, marking the first time they had that much production of that criteria in a single inning since June 2, 2016, at San Diego.\n\nIf that date sounds notable, it’s when Seattle overcame a 10-run deficit in San Diego for what remains the largest comeback in franchise history.\n\nSunday’s win, however, was overwhelming from the get-go, and it came on the heels of Saturday’s 10-2 win \\-\\- a margin that wasn’t nearly as close, at least in the early stages, as the final score would suggest. Julio Rodríguez opened that one up with his second two-run homer of the night to break a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning that sparked the rest of the offense.\n\n“Julio is playing really good baseball right now,” Raleigh said. “I think the biggest thing is, a couple nights ago, he had a tough game -- like we all do -- but he didn't let that affect him. He didn't go try to change anything. He just stayed with the process and what he's been doing the second half.”\n\nRodríguez was again front-and-center in the series finale, ripping a bases-clearing double for the team’s first three runs of that explosive third inning. The center fielder yanked a 94.2 mph chopper that one-hopped in front of third baseman Nacho Alvarez Jr. before dribbling into left field, allowing plenty of time for the baserunners to score.
In the eight-run third inning alone, every Mariner had a hit except Suárez, who made up for it with his first multi-homer game since rejoining the Mariners at the Trade Deadline.\n\n“When you get the good results, it's because you're doing something good,” Suárez said. “That's why you're working hard. That's why you prepare yourself, to get results. It's different to chase results. We’re not chasing results. You go there and do your best, and the result is going to be there at some point.”
The Mariners benefited from a Braves pitching change made three hours before first pitch, as left-hander Joey Wentz replaced strikeout artist Spencer Strider, who was pushed back to Tuesday as part of a workload-management decision after his stints on the IL earlier this year.\n\nBut it was their starter who had the true injury scare on Sunday, as