Mariners look to bounce back, play smarter at Blue Jays

The visiting Seattle Mariners will try to be a little smarter on the bases Saturday afternoon when they continue their three-game series with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto right fielder Addison Barger earned three assists in the 3-1 win over Seattle in the series opener on Friday night. Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk threw out Julio Rodriguez on an attempted steal of second in the eighth inning.

The Blue Jays have won three in a row to improve to 3-1 on a six-game homestand.

The Mariners lost for only the second time in their past eight games and are 2-2 during a nine-game road trip.

Toronto is scheduled to start right-hander Jose Berrios (1-1, 5.16 ERA). He is 4-2 with a 3.18 ERA in nine career starts against Seattle.

He will face right-hander Logan Gilbert (1-1, 2.38), who is 0-2 with a 5.46 ERA in five career starts against Toronto. In his one start against the Blue Jays last season, however, he allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings.

Seattle entered the series in a good frame of mind after winning two in a row against the Cincinnati Reds.

“I’ve seen everybody with a good attitude, going out there and trying to give their best,” Randy Arozarena said on Thursday. “I see a bunch of guys that are going out there and giving the best they can to win these games.”

Arozarena did not help the cause on Friday, however. He was caught in a rundown between third and home and tagged out on Luke Raley’s double to right in the fourth. Barger threw to second on the play. When shortstop Bo Bichette threw home, Arozarena pulled up and tried to return to third before being tagged.

Barger’s other two assists were more direct. He threw out Cal Raleigh trying for a double, also in the fourth. In the fifth, his powerful throw, recorded at 98.8 miles per hour, caught the lumbering Rowdy Tellez at third when he tagged up at second and tried to advance.

“I thought it was deep enough,” Tellez said. “I thought him moving to the line was going to give me a good chance to get there. And obviously, he put it on the money. He threw Cal out earlier and made another good throw when (Raley) was going into second when we ended up getting thrown out at home. But I just want to be aggressive. Sometimes it backfires. Sometimes it doesn’t. Who would have thought he could do it three times in a row. But you know that now.”

The Mariners should have learned something for the rest of the series.

Barger is the third Blue Jays outfielder to record three assists in a game, joining Rick Bosetti in 1979 and Steve Bowling in 1977.

“I love throwing the baseball,” Barger said. “I don’t know if it’s confidence or just something I love to do, but it’s probably my favorite part of the game.”

Tellez accounted for Seattle’s run with a home run against Bowden Francis. They were traded for each other in a 2021 deal between Toronto and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Francis appreciated the help from Barger, recently recalled from Triple-A Buffalo.

“I get the arm strength, but the precision he has too is pretty sick,” Francis said. “He’s always had it. I’ve seen it many times in Buffalo, too. But he just stepped up in a big spot there and he saved the outing.”

–Field Level Media