SEATTLE -- Bryan Woo brought some fiery edge to the mound against the Majors’ hottest team on Wednesday afternoon, and it sure looked like his demeanor rubbed off on Julio Rodríguez during one of the game’s biggest moments.
Because, when Rodríguez pummeled a Statcast-projected 436-foot homer into the T-Mobile Pen during the sixth inning of a 3-1 win over the Braves, the star center fielder quite literally shook upon exiting the batter’s box.
After connecting with a whopping 110.4 mph exit velocity, Rodríguez clenched his fists, then shouted as his arms trembled, before an emphatic bat flip down the first-base line. Woo, meanwhile, was on the dugout’s top bench immediately after his outing ended, mouth agape in awe and approval.
A few tense innings later, Seattle held on and became the first team this season to win a series over Atlanta, which is an MLB-best 26-12 overall and 11-1-1 in series this season.
“You definitely want to build on it,” Woo said. “I think that's the only thing really that we're looking for now, is just consistency.”
Woo had surrendered a combined 13 earned runs over his previous two outings, but he rebounded to give up just one hit while striking out nine.
But arguably the most consequential play took place in the eighth -- and was in the video room of the home clubhouse.
Having just surrendered a sacrifice fly to make it a one-run game, Eduard Bazardo made a quick pickoff attempt on pinch-runner Jorge Mateo. To the naked eye, he looked safe. But after a brief delay, Mariners video and replay operations coordinator Jake Kuruc phoned the dugout to challenge.
And sure enough, Josh Naylor’s quick tag and Mateo’s nonchalant return to the bag indeed generated the frame’s second out, helping Bazardo get out of the jam.
“It's a quick process, no question,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And I thought, you've got to give Nayls some credit. I think the temptation, a lot of times, is to go get that ball and then go back to tag. He let that ball travel really well and got right to his hip, and that's what made the difference.”
That set up Naylor to score a huge insurance run a half-inning later, with a single and a stolen base before scoring on Cole Young’s double to the right-field wall. That also extended Young’s team RBIs lead to 20.
But the day’s unsung MVP was easily Jose A. Ferrer, who locked down his second save -- and became Seattle’s first reliever this season to pitch three days in a row.
With Andrés Muñoz unavailable having pitched on Monday and Tuesday, when he took his third loss in his 16th outing, Ferrer faced the meat of the Braves’ order. And his gritty effort to go 1-2-3 -- led off by Matt Olson and capped with an ABS challenge to Mauricio Dubón to end it -- was one of the Mariners’ best bullpen efforts of the season.
“I woke up this morning and my arm felt great,” Ferrer said through an interpreter. “So when the opportunity came and they told me, ‘Yeah, you're in,’ I was excited.”
There was a lot to unpack from this one, but the raw passion from Woo and Rodríguez stood out. These two play with more emotion than most on the Mariners’ roster, and though this type of flair is more visible in October than May, Wednesday’s game called for it.
The Mariners (18-20) have been mired in inconsistency for much of the season’s first six weeks, both at the plate and on the mound. On days they pitch well, they struggle to cash in. On days they hit, their starter might have a clunker, or the bullpen might cough away a late lead.
This isn’t an everyday dynamic, but it’s happened with enough regularity that’s prevented Seattle from climbing back over .500, a mark it hasn’t reached since standing at 3-2 on March 30.
This series underscored it mightily. The Mariners’ bats had to overcome four solo homers given up by Logan Gilbert to win the opener, then that same lineup went quiet on Tuesday, which spoiled George Kirby’s seven strong innings.
“We've seen some really good stretches,” Woo said, “and then the next series, we just kind of lose that momentum a little bit. So yeah, we've got to start piecing some games together, piecing series together. Obviously, we still have a long way to go.”
Finding more of a middle ground would be the first step, and finding a way to win Wednesday -- to take a series from a powerhouse -- was precisely that.