A distinctly spring training game from start to finish.
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We all know the drill about spring training, especially in the second game. Sun and wind wreaking havoc? Adventurous baserunning? Head-spinning lead changes? All of this and more was on display at Tempe Diablo Stadium this afternoon, but the Mariners couldn’t pull this one out against the Angels, losing 11-10 and falling to 0-2 in the early Cactus League slate.
It was a wild one right from the jump. Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz set down the top of Seattle’s order on just seven pitches, but Logan Evans ran into trouble quickly, with Taylor Ward reaching on a slow roller that third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni couldn’t get out of his hand in time and scoring on a ringing double from Logan O’Hoppe. Evans did get Mickey Moniak on an easy flyout, but Jorge Soler brought O’Hoppe home with a base hit up the middle, and trouble continued to brew on an infield hit from Nolan Schanuel that Evans fielded and unwisely tried to throw to first, missing wide and allowing Soler to get to third and Schanuel to scamper to second. Eat that next time, Logan! Things continued to unravel, with a wild pitching bringing home not one, but two runs.
Yikes! J.D. Davis kept the train rolling with another base hit, but the bleeding was mercifully stopped a routine 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Jo Adell. The M’s, for their part, struck back much sooner than yesterday’s game, with Luke Raley leading off the second inning with a single to center and Mastrobuoni working a walk. Lazaro Montes couldn’t come through with a strikeout, but Luke Raley stole third in a truly hilarious fashion to put himself in a spot to score with Leo Rivas due up next. Words can’t do it justice, so I’ve captured it in .gif form: