Mariners 2B Shed Long scored a streak in a 7-6 win Sunday over Houston. (Getty)
In the Mariners’ only win in their season opener in Houston, the key run didn’t score on a home run or hitting the gap. Instead, it came from something that hasn’t been a business card for Seattle in many years, but that may turn out to be exactly that in 2020.
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Leader Shed Long Jr. was able to score from second base on a single in the eighth inning, using not only his speed but also a spectacular slip to turn Kyle Lewis’ hit in right field to a two-single. runs that turned out to be the difference as the Mariners held on to the 7-6 victory
Former Mariners third baseman and former ROOT Sports analyst of color Mike Blowers said Long running and sliding to the back corner of the plate on that play is an example of something that has stood out over young M’s team in the first days of the season.
“The way they handle their affairs and how athletic they are really caught my eye,” Blowers told Tom, Jake and Stacy of 710 ESPN Seattle on Tuesday. “When you see these guys up and down the lineup running, making plays on the bases, they ran the bases extremely well. I was really impressed with that. “
The Mariners have four steals in five games as they entered Wednesday’s game with the Angels, which is second in the American League and tied for third among all MLB teams. This is about more than just the statistics that appear in the scorecard, however, as with Long’s slide, Blowers said they are showing the ability to take extra base when presented with an opportunity.
“I saw (catcher) Austin Nola on a ball breaking on the ground, he left immediately, he read it. It was the textbook the way he did it. That will be a big part of his offense and I was very happy to see all of that. ”
Speed, athleticism, and insight from the base are all things Blowers hoped would be a fortress for the M’s in 2020, and he’s glad to see that manager Scott Servais has put his players in the hands to make that happen.
“I was hoping that was the case and Scott is letting them run, he is releasing them,” Blowers said. “I think they are alone, they can run when they want to run. … He even said it after the game (Sunday), that even when two or three races are down, he still wants them to continue running because that’s how they’re going to get back to the games and I think we saw it over the weekend. “
Blowers had much more to say about the Mariners while they were with Tom, Jake, and Stacy, which can be heard on this podcast.
Follow Brent Stecker of 710Sports.com on Twitter.
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