2022 Seattle Mariners Season a Significant Step Forward
Slow Start
After losing for the 4th time in a 5 game series against the Angels, Seattle was 29-38 on June 19. What many fans hoped would be a promising season spiraled out of control.
Among the reasons for their poor start were:
- Inept hitting.
- Outfielders Mitch Haniger and Kyle Lewis both went down for extended periods.
- Robbie Ray struggled with the blow-up inning in every single start.
- Marco Gonzales lost another tick on his velocity.
- A bullpen that struggled to find an identity.
The Streak
After an off day, the Seattle Mariners faced Oakland and started to turn it around, sweeping the A’s. That was part of a run when Seattle won 5 in a row.
On June 26, during a 2-1 loss to the Angels, came “The Brawl.”
Jesse Winker was hit by LAA opener Andrew Wantz in retaliation for the Mariners allegedly throwing at Mike Trout in the previous game. MLB suspended Winker, JP Crawford, and JRod due to the mele.
After losing to the A’s at home 3-1 on July 2, Seattle won the first of what turned out to be the longest winning streak by any team in 2022 and their longest-ever winning streak heading into an All-Star break.
In the middle of this streak, the Mariners faced playoff teams San Diego and Toronto for a total of 6 games. To make things even harder, all three players served their suspensions during the streak.
The M’s won 14 straight games. Going back to June 21, they went 22-3 to finish the first half 9 games over .500 at 51-42.