PEORIA, Ariz. -- At the rate that the Mariners are hitting, Opening Day can’t arrive fast enough.
Seattle ran away to a 12-3 win over a split-squad Rockies club on Tuesday afternoon, thanks to a seven-run second inning and a three-spot in the third, with contributions from virtually everyone in the lineup -- which included many of its projected starters.
Beyond the team-wide approach, which featured the Mariners doing most of their damage in hitters’ counts, three players stood out:
Julio Rodríguez
Rodríguez ripped a down-the-line double to the pull side, bursting out of the box to easily reach second base standing. He also had a single in that runaway inning and immediately swiped second sliding feet-first for his first stolen base this spring.
Rodríguez was admittedly rusty after being delayed one week due to left hand inflammation, but that feels like ages ago given the results he’s since posted. He’s now 10-for-23 with three walks and six strikeouts in nine games, good for a slash line of .435/.500/.696 (1.196 OPS).
“It definitely was a little bit later start, but I feel that I had enough time to kind of get my legs underneath me and kind of be in a good rhythm,” Rodríguez said. “And that's what I'm happy about. And I feel like it's right on time for the start of the season.”
Yet, for as ready for the regular season as Rodríguez is, he’s not listing specific statistical goals for himself.
“I don't need to, because I feel like when you play to win, I feel like you put all your abilities on display,” Rodríguez said. “I feel like that's a way to just not focus on too many things. I feel like you have 162 games, and if you help your team to win 162 times, you've got to put up pretty good numbers. So I feel I'm the type of person to look back at the end and not really worry so much about it during the process.”
Mitch Haniger
Haniger crushed his team-leading fourth homer, and to the opposite field -- a telling sign to the swing adjustments he’s installed under the guidance of director of hitting strategy Jarret DeHart. Specifically, Haniger said he’s worked on his load leading into his back (right) elbow and his hand positioning.
Even with the caveat of couching spring statistics, Haniger’s nonetheless stand out given how those tweaks have paid off. He’s 13-for-28 with two doubles, two walks, seven strikeouts and a slash line of .464/.500/.964 (1.464 OPS).
The 33-year-old has also been among the leading proponents among the Mariners’ more pointed objective of deliberate messaging within their pregame preparation.
“I think just doing a better job of explaining game planning and making sure everyone understands it,” Haniger said. “Since pitchers have done a really good job over the last like -- I'd say 10 years but even more so the last five years -- of tunneling their pitches, you have to be really good with game planning and knowing where you need to hunt the zone depending on each guy we face.
“And I think in the past, some guys might not have understood it very well and I think now the language has gotten really good and guys are having a better grasp of what they're trying to do at the plate, which is really helpful.”
Dylan Moore
Moore crushed a three-run homer onto the left-field berm that carried a 39-degree launch angle, per Trackman data at the Peoria Sports Complex. It was his first spring homer, which paired with one other double and an 11-for-28 overall clip has led to a line of .393/.528/.536 (1.064 OPS).
Above all, Moore -- who is slated to regularly start against lefty pitching -- is healthy this spring after dealing with lingering effects of core surgery at this time last year, which led to him beginning the year on the injured list and playing in just 67 games.
“I don't have to worry about getting back to play or getting to a position where my body feels good,” Moore said. “It's already in there, and so just worrying about the other stuff, baseball, it's definitely a load off my back for sure.”