Joey Gallo came through with a clutch RBI single with two outs in the seventh inning, helping the Washington Nationals secure a 3-1 victory over the struggling Seattle Mariners on Saturday.
Keibert Ruiz and Jesse Winker both contributed with two hits each for the Nationals. The Nationals’ pitching staff, consisting of five pitchers, held the Mariners to just five hits. Dylan Floro (1-0) pitched a flawless seventh inning, and Kyle Finnegan closed out the game in the ninth, earning his 14th save of the season.
“Our pitching and defense are keeping us in the ballgame, and now we’re scoring enough runs to win these games,” commented Nationals manager Dave Martinez.
Julio Rodríguez managed to homer for Seattle, but it wasn’t enough to lift the team, which has now suffered four consecutive losses for the first time this season. The Mariners have struggled to score runs recently, tallying just one run or less in each of their last three games. They were once again limited to five hits or fewer, striking out 12 times.
“Offensively, we’ve got to do a little bit more. Talked to the team a little bit afterwards,” said Mariners manager Scott Servais, who was ejected from the game after arguing a called third strike in the ninth inning.
In the decisive seventh inning, Jesse Winker singled and stole second base against Gabe Speier (0-2). A blooper to left field by Keibert Ruiz couldn’t be handled by Dylan Moore, allowing runners to advance to first and third base.
Pinch hitter Ildemaro Vargas hit a slow grounder to short, but Victor Robles, who was running for Winker, managed to score, while Ruiz advanced to second. Joey Gallo then delivered with a single to right field, allowing Ruiz to score and extend the Nationals’ lead to 3-1.
“The guy is tough,” Martinez remarked about Trent Thornton, the Mariners’ pitcher. “I wanted a left-handed hitter up there. We wanted to try to stay out of the double play, so we got some movement and it worked out.”
The Nationals initially took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Luis García Jr. singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ruiz.
