Ben Gamel Makes Quick Enemies in Philadelphia, M’s Win 10-9

Ben Gamel was absolutely unconscious tonight.

Metaphorically, of course. “Unconscious” is what the Kool Kids say when they mean “unbelievably good.” Gamel was exactly that tonight. In case you missed it, the rookie outfielder went 4-for-5 with a homer and a walk. He also had this crazy throw to the plate with the bases loaded to keep the game tied late.

The outfielder raised his line to .362/.455/.596 with a 200 (!) wRC+ for the season. If he can keep his pace up by the time Mitch Haniger comes back from injury in a couple of weeks, the team could have a tough decision on its hands. Guillermo Heredia has been great too and I highly doubt the team sits Jarrod Dyson. It’s definitely a good problem for the team to have.

A one-run win is never easy, but this particular game was a roller-coaster for the Mariners.

Ariel Miranda started off the game by coughing up four runs in the first inning. The M’s came back in the third and fourth innings, capped off by this shot from Gamel to give Seattle the lead.

But that didn’t hold for long as Miranda got tagged for four more runs in the fourth. He got pulled, then Jean Machi yielded the fifth run of the inning to put the Phillies up 9-5.

The M’s scratched cross three runs in the sixth, then Gamel tied the game in the seventh with a double. Gamel came up again in the ninth with a chance to take the lead, but his flow-brother covered for him and gave the team the lead for good.

The M’s are just one game under .500 at 16-17 with the victory, and will play tomorrow morning with a chance to pull back even. Now onto the bullets!

• Robinson Cano left the game early with what was diagnosed as a quad strain. The good news is he isn’t presently expected to miss a lot of time.

With Felix, Kuma, Haniger, Cishek, Smyly, and others already on the DL, it’s obvious that another player added to that list would spell big trouble for the Mariners. But Seattle is now just a game under .500 despite all of these injuries. If Cano truly is just day-to-day, that’s great news. The rest of them should be back within the next couple of weeks, and we’ll get to see what this team is really capable of.

• Carlos Ruiz got a nice standing ovation when he pinch hit for James Pazos in the eighth. That kind of stuff always warms my heart.

• Outside of Machi’s shaky outing, the Mariners bullpen was solid. Dan Altavilla, Pazos, Nick Vincent, and Edwin Diaz each threw a scoreless frame. After a horrible performance from Miranda, the M’s really needed the ‘pen to step up and they certainly did.
• Today was a big day for ex-Mariners hitting home runs. Brad Miller, Adam Jones, Adam Lind, Seth Smith, Eric Thames, and Logan Morrison all went deep. You can add Michael Saunders to that list as well. He went 1-for-4 with a long ball and a walk.

Onto the next one. Goms.