Mariners Mondays — How Sweep It Is

In the latest installment of Mariners Mondays on ROOT SPORTS — nothing like a four-game sweep to ease the sting of a losing streak.

After tallying 30 wins in April and May, the Mariners went into a bit of a June swoon dropping 10 of 12 games, including a six-game losing streak. So taking two out of three from the St. Louis Cardinals and splitting a two-game series with the Pirates was a welcome change.

Wanting to keep the momentum going, Taijuan Walker took the mound on June 30 against the Baltimore Orioles. Walker was on his game, holding the O’s to just four hits over 6 1/3 innings. Walker’s only mistake was a one-run homer to Hyun Soo Kim, which was the Orioles 56th home run of the month of June, an MLB record.

But Mariners outfielder Seth Smith had a good offensive day as well, hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning, chasing starting pitcher Chris Tillman from the mound and ending his nine-game win streak.

Closer Steve Cishek earned a four-out save, his 19th in 23 chances, to give the Mariners a 5–3 win.

The next day, pitcher Wade LeBlanc, recently acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays, got the start, having gone 646 days without a win. He worked six innings, giving up just three hits and two runs while striking out five.

LeBlanc’s pitching kept the Mariners in the game and Kyle Seager and Dae-Ho Lee powered the offense to a 5–2 win with a pair of homers each.

Back-to-back victories against Baltimore put a little wind in the Mariners sails heading into game three of the four-game series. This time, it was Mike Zunino who stepped up, hitting two of the Mariners five home runs (Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith each hit a three-run bomb), adding up to the 12–6 win.

With a four-game sweep within reach and the chance to make it seven out of nine for the homestand, the Mariners again met the A.L. East leaders at Safeco Field.

Hisashi Iwakuma struggled early with his command, but limited the Orioles to four-runs over six plus innings. Seth Smith hit his first career grand slam (his fourth straight game with a home run), leading the offense to a 9–4 win and the Mariners first four-game sweep since July 2012 against the Royals.

Join host Brad Adam for all the highlights from that memorable series on Mariners Mondays from 7:00–9:00 p.m. on ROOT SPORTS.