Mariners Fall on Right Side of a Shutout, Beat Sox 5-0

The Mariners offense finally came alive in the third game of the Boston series, scoring five runs and collecting 16 hits in Seattle’s 5-0 win over the Red Sox.

The M’s came into the game on an embarrassing cold streak offensively, and didn’t make things better right away either:

But just before getting to Griffey number of scoreless innings, Kyle Seager made it home on a wild pitch from Rick Porcello. It certainly wasn’t a convincing way to break the streak, but it got the job done.

The Mariners continued picking up hits all game long, and everyone got in on the action. Every member of the M’s starting lineup collected at least one hit in the game. Carlos Ruiz even went 3-for-4! He’s hitting very well now. Better than some, anyway.

Yeah...the team really needs a new starting catcher.

Anyway, it was very cool to see the entire lineup producing from top to bottom, especially against the reigning Cy Young winner (who is having somewhat of a down year, but shhh).

But the most incredible work was done by starter Christian Bergman, who was surprisingly effective coming off a 10-run shelling by the Washington Nationals. Bergman’s final line was 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K. He wasn’t dominant, but he pitched to weak contact and got the job done against a pretty talented offense in a run-friendly park.

If you take away the Nats outing, Bergman has a 1.09 ERA in Seattle. It’s deceptive to just remove outings you don’t like, and in reality the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But it illustrates that he’s been a heck of a lot better on the whole than his stats might otherwise suggest.

He’s really been just fine, which in itself is pleasantly surprising. James Paxton is on his way back next week, with Felix and Kuma soon to follow (in theory). All the M’s need is for Bergman and the others to hold the fort until then. At this rate, there will probably be people who’d rather have Bergman in the rotation than Iwakuma by the time the latter returns.

The Mariners will go as far as their patchwork rotation can take them. Bergman looks like he can get the job done. Tomorrow another part of it — Sam Gaviglio — will take the hill against the red-hot Colorado Rockies. Let’s keep it going.

Goms.