CLEVELAND — The Mariners were behind from the very first pitch of the game.
And angry.
J.P. Crawford, clearly upset with umpire Doug Eddings' strike zone, struck out in his first at-bat against Cleveland's Tanner Bibee.
The Mariners' shortstop struck out again in the third inning, and then a third time in the fifth inning, after which he slammed his helmet into Eddings' face.
Crawford was immediately ejected. Manager Scott Servais was ejected soon after.
And then things got worse for the Mariners on Wednesday with an 8-0 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
“We all try to have good, competitive at-bats,” Crawford said later. “But, personally, when the at-bat is knocked out of your hand from the first pitch, it's hard to come back from that.”
Bryan Wu, playing for the first time in 13 days, labored through a 30-pitch first inning and managed just four innings, allowing three runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout.
“We knew there would be a little rust,” Servais said. “That's the concern when a player hasn't pitched in 12, 13 days. You know, sometimes command is the issue.”
Wu took the field with a strict pitch count and the Guardians fouled off 22 of the 64 pitches he threw. He was asked afterward how he felt physically on the field.
He said, “It's not great. But it is what it is.”
In his seventh match, Wu suffered his first defeat of the season.
“Too bad,” Wu said. “Just not efficient. Walked the leadoff player in the first inning, leading to a 30-pitch inning on an even lower pitch count [overall]…I didn’t do my job properly.”
On an encouraging note, Wu struck out the final seven batters he faced — after giving up a two-run homer to Steven Kwan in the second inning — and was able to incorporate some off-speed bowling effectively.
Woo's return, however, became a secondary storyline, as the Mariners batters grew increasingly frustrated with Eddings over the first few innings.
“You definitely feel it being made in the dugout — because those are balls,” Servais said. “Our leadoff hitter has the best eye in the league, and when the first pitch of the game is 4 to 5 inches out and it's called a strike, there are going to be problems.”
The 25-year-old Bibe struck out a career-best 12 in six shutout innings in his first start against the Mariners. The Mariners managed to put runners in scoring position only twice, and no runner ever advanced beyond second base.
Crawford, who was the A.L. leader in walks last season, also had reason to be angry.
Two pitches in his first at-bat were clearly balls. Two more pitches in his last at-bat were borderline strikes, at best, at the top of the zone, including a third strike.
“I'm not making excuses; I mean, [Bibee] He had his best game tonight. He pitched really well,” Crawford said. “But when he bats [are] Having it taken away from your hands… it gets tough. It's very frustrating.
The Mariners struck out 14 times and walked just twice, a notable step backward for an offense that showed signs of steady improvement in June.
“This is our first time observing this incident [Bibee]And that’s why he’s got really good numbers in this league,” Servais said. “He’s got really good stuff.”
After Crawford struck out to end the top half of the inning, Mike Bauman took over for Woo in the fifth inning, and things quickly went awry for the Mariners.
With two outs, José Ramírez hit a bouncing ball to the right side of rookie second baseman Ryan Bliss, who had entered the game as Crawford's replacement (Dylan Moore had shifted from second to short). Bliss fielded the ball cleanly, moving to his right, but he made an off-balance throw and the ball slid twice before reaching Ty France at first base – and Ramírez beat it out.
The game got off to a run when Andres Gimenez drove the ball full force from second and scored before France could throw in. This increased the Guardians' lead to 4-0.
Josh Naylor, the next batter, hit Bauman's 97 mph fastball to right field and scored a two-run homer, increasing the lead to 6–0.
The Mariners then effectively waved the white flag.
Naylor hit a solo home run off Eduard Bazardo in the seventh.
The Mariners (44-32) had their four-game winning streak snapped.
They'll turn to Luis Castillo for the series rubber match on Thursday afternoon. It's a crucial game in the American League playoff landscape; the Mariners are chasing the AL Central-leading Guardians (45-26) for the No. 2 seed, which comes with a first-round bye.
“We must forget [the loss]“We’ll come out here tomorrow with a chance to win the series against a good team, and we’re definitely capable of doing that,” Servais said.
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