With the month of April in the rear view mirror, the Seattle Mariners had a new goal in mind. They needed to turn around their slow start and win against the tough teams they were scheduled to face in the upcoming weeks. So what did they do? They went and won five consecutive series against division rivals and some of the strongest teams in Major League Baseball. Their winning streak started at the end of April, but has yet to conclude.
Being in the tough American League West division, the Mariners expected to face some tough division rivals. The first of which are the Los Angeles Angels. This team packs some heavy power with having names such as Mike Trout who came in second in last year’s Most Valuable Player voting to Miguel Cabrera, Josh Hamilton who just came over in free agency from the Texas Rangers and Albert Pujols who is one of the most complete power hitters the game has ever seen. However, the Mariners shut them down winning three games of four outscoring the powerful Angels 14-9 over the series to take the first series of this streak.
Next on this list were the Baltimore Orioles who were one of the hottest teams in baseball team at the time with players like former Mariner Adam Jones, power hitter Chris Davis and Matt Weiters who is one of the best overall catchers in baseball. While this team was red hot, our hitting was hotter. While taking two games out of three, the M’s out score the rangers over the three games by a score of 16-12. Out scoring a powerful offence such as the Orioles was a big boost and was sure to provide some momentum for the upcoming series ahead.
The Toronto Blue Jays were the next team to face the red-hot Mariners on their tear. The Blue Jays were expected to make a big splash in the tough American East Division but turned into mostly just a ripple. The Mariners still had to face players such as the defending National League Cy Young award winner R. A. Dickey, power hitter Jose Bautista and pitcher Mark Buehrle. The M’s took the first two games of the series but dropped the final game of the series. The M’s took another series against a strong team.
The next series was a short two game set against the NL Pittsburgh Pirates. While the M’s didn’t technically “win” the series, they did win one out of the two, they did still put on a strong show defensively. They still won a game of the series although they were out-scored 3-5 on the two-game series. A strong showing by Felix Hernandez on game two with a homerun by Jesus Montero propelled them to the win and series tie against the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates led by All-Star center fielder Andrew McCuttchen.
The final series of this tear currently is against division rivals Oakland Athletics’s. The Mariner’s bats came alive against the A’s scoring six runs in both wins, and still three runs in the one game they did lose. They out scored the A’s 15-8 over the three-game series. The Mariners were able to hold down the A’s hitters like JD Lowrie, Yoenis Cespedes and former Mariner John Jaso. This series was strong for the Mariners, and the question is, can they continue this tear against the tough teams ahead.
