‘Stay together’: J-Rod, Suarez mash two homers apiece to clinch weekend series win

Eugenio Suarez made sure to relish the moment of triumph, slowly circling the bases at T-Mobile Park before vanishing into a huddle of Seattle teammates at home plate.

Once his walk-off home run in the ninth inning of Sunday’s game landed in Seattle’s home bullpen, Suarez lifted both arms in celebration. It was his second long ball of the game. Those remaining from an announced attendance of 45,245 erupted with cheer, as the Mariners had rallied to shock the Braves Sunday, 8-7, and secured the weekend series despite dropping Friday’s opener.

Moments prior, Julio Rodriguez tied the game with another solo shot, also his second. The mammoth performances required the presence of both Rodriguez and Suarez inside Seattle’s postgame interview room, side-by-side at the podium.

But Seattle’s third baseman wasn’t surprised by his own heroics, nor was he surprised by Rodriguez’s.

“I swear. I told everybody,” Suarez began Sunday. “If Julio gets on base, we’ve got a chance to win this game. And it happened.

“Like I always say… Everything that Julio does is special.”

Manager Scott Servais broke Sunday’s contest into two parts: the first eight innings, and the ninth. Reliever Diego Castillo entered the final frame with a 6-2 lead, but walked the first pair of batters he faced. Atlanta’s Michael Harris launched a three-run home run with two outs, ending Castillo’s outing and requiring closer Paul Sewald to record the final out.

But Sewald wouldn’t – he walked Ozuna and later surrendered what, at the time, was thought to be the deciding blow – Grossman’s two-run blast to right.

“It was about as low as you could get to about as high as you could get there,” manager Scott Servais began, “in a range of probably 15 minutes.”

Rodriguez’s homer off reliever Kenley Jansen in the ninth erased Atlanta’s comeback effort. When the AL Rookie of the Year entered the dugout after his first homer, Seattle’s manager teased him: “Anybody can hit one,” Servais joked repeatedly throughout Sunday’s contest to the rookie.

“And sure enough, (Rodriguez) hits the second one, and comes across the plate and says ‘I told you so,” Servais repeated with a chuckle.

“‘I’m not like anybody else,’” Rodriguez told him. “I hit two.’”

Starter Marco Gonzales was brilliant, starting Sunday with a trio of no-hit innings over the reigning World Series champions. Shortstop J.P. Crawford’s fielding error allowed outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. to reach on the first at-bat of the game, but Gonzales would retire the next 10 straight.

After six innings, Gonzales had surrendered only two hits with an earned run. He walked none, and struck out five.

Sunday’s near-sold out crowd rewarded Gonzales with a standing ovation. Austin Riley broke up the southpaw’s no-hit bid with a solo homer into Seattle’s bullpen in the fourth inning, though it was all Atlanta would muster until the eighth.

Gonzales’ outing marked 24 consecutive by Seattle starters with two or fewer walks, dating back to Aug. 15.

He mixed four pitches, predominantly a split between his four-seam fastball and cutter. His fastest pitch of the game clocked in at 90 mph, though he relied on supreme command to stifle Atlanta hitters; 62 of his 91 pitches were strikes.

“No free bases. When we’re rolling, that’s what we’re doing,” Gonzales said. “Good things happen when you’re ahead (in the count) 0-1. You’re battling when you’re 1-0.”

Adam Frazier tripled home a pair of runs in the fourth inning and scored on Sam Haggerty’s two-out single later in the frame. Suarez’s first home run of the season was a solo shot in the fifth.

Crawford rolled a double to the left center wall in the sixth inning, pushing the lead to 6-1 before a wild ninth.

The win evened Seattle’s eight-game homestand through six contests, following two losses to the White Sox in an earlier weekday series at T-Mobile Park. Two games with San Diego await.

Losses by both Toronto and Tampa Bay on Sunday pushed Seattle back into a virtual tie for the first wild card allocation with the Rays (78-60).

“This is the epitome of team,” Servais said, “and you don’t often get that at the professional level. You’d think you do, you’d think you would. But oftentimes, you don’t, and I think this team has really come together at different points throughout the year.

“The whole thing (is) coming together… it’s been awesome to watch. From a fan’s perspective… I think they can connect with this team.”

RULE CHANGES COMING IN 2023

Major League Baseball voted Friday to approve significant rules changes for 2023, including the implementation of a pitch clock and the banning of defensive shifts, first reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The vote among MLB’s Competition Committee was not unanimous, Passan reported. It came against the wishes of players, who voted against both pitch clocks and defensive restrictions.

The vote for larger bases, though, was unanimous.

MLB will implement a 15-second pitch clock in 2023 with the bases empty, and a 20-second clock with runners on. Catchers must be in position with 10 seconds remaining on the clock, and hitters must have both feet in the batter’s box at the eight-second mark. Pitchers receive the entire duration to begin their motion.

A violation by the defense results in an automatic ball. A violation by the hitter adds a strike to the count.

Meanwhile, the shift dies: starting in 2023, two infielders must remain on each side of second base, and with both feet in the dirt.

Pitchers will be capped at two pickoff attempts per at-bat, penalized with a balk after a third unsuccessful attempt. Larger bases are also coming – increasing from 15 to 18 inches square – with hopes of decreasing collisions and improving player safety.

“We’re trying to pick up pace of play. That’s always been an issue,” manager Scott Servais said. “It’s been an ongoing issue to keep more things happening on the field, so you keep, certainly, young fans’ interest. That’s how you grow the game.”

If the rule changes work, baseball will be faster and contain more action. Pitch clocks dramatically decreased the length of minor league contests, now regularly quicker than 2 hours, 30 minutes.

“The game is going to keep evolving,” Servais said, “and it should. We’re not the only game in town anymore, and haven’t been for quite some time. … You’re trying to make it more fan-friendly, and we’re in the entertainment business.

“You want to keep the game moving, and keep the action, and highlight the athletic players that you have out on the field.”

Major League Baseball’s Player Association released a statement in response to the changes, noting that on-field rules and regulations “impact (player) preparation, performance, and ultimately, the integrity of the game,” they said Friday.

“Major League Baseball was unwilling to meaningfully address the areas of concern that Players raised, and as a result, Players on the Competition Committee voted unanimously against the implementation of the rules covering defensive shifts and the use of a pitch timer.”

The competition committee consists of six ownership-level representatives, including Mariners chairman John Stanton. It also includes four players and one umpire (Bill Miller).

Players on the committee unanimously voted against the changes, though Servais was certain some hitters would approve of the shift ban.

“I know a lot of hitters that are smiling today, knowing that (the changes) will help them in the future,” he said. “You can think (of players right off the top of your head) where, gosh, if they didn’t have the shift, this guy would be hitting 20 or 30 points better.

“We’ll find out, won’t we? We’ll see.”

SHORT HOPS

– Luis Castillo’s seven strikeouts to begin Wednesday’s game with Chicago tied an American League record, joining Joe Crowley of the White Sox (May 28, 1986), Carlos Rodon of the White Sox (Sept. 30, 2016), and Blake Snell of the Tampa Bay Rays (June 3, 2018).

Chicago spoiled Castillo’s early heroics, rallying for a pair of runs in the fourth inning and four more in the second. Of the All-Star’s six runs across 5 ⅔ innings, only three were earned in what became a 9-6 loss.

“I was lucky enough to strike out seven guys in a row. I didn’t know what the record was,” Castillo said through a translator Wednesday. “Luckily, we were able to accomplish that milestone.”

Castillo couldn’t remember a better seven-batter stretch in his career, finishing the contest with eight punchouts.

“When you’re striking like that, (you’re) just trusting your pitches to get the results,” Castillo said, “and having a positive mentality can get you those results.”

– Seattle’s weekend series with Atlanta featured the top two rookie outfielders in baseball, measured in Baseball Reference WAR – Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez (5.1) and Braves center fielder Michael Harris II. Both signed long-term contract extensions with their respective clubs in August.

– Seattle pitchers walked 52 batters in the last 30 days, which leads MLB. Tampa Bay is the only other club in that span with less than 63 walks (57).

– Mitch Haniger exited Sunday’s game with lower back tightness. Seattle’s right fielder “is not feeling great,” per Servais, but should return in time for Tuesday’s home contest with San Diego.

– The Mariners sport a 16-5-2 record across their last 23 series.

ON DECK

Seattle’s two-game series with San Diego begins Tuesday, following Monday’s off day. The set concludes an eight-game homestand before the Mariners embark on their final road trip of the season, first with the Los Angeles Angels on Friday (Sept. 16-18).