Dylan Moore, Seattle Mariners.
What started off as an atrocious week, losing three straight, turned into an inspired effort to get back to one game above .500 for the season. The Seattle Mariners won the final three games of their four-game series with Cleveland and one of those games was all about Jarred Kelenic. However, while the rookie had a game for the ages, he didn’t earn his way into one of the three stars of the week. See who was the number one Star of the Week on page three. Let’s start with the Honorable Mentions.
Jarred Kelenic brought a lot of much-needed energy and confidence into the clubhouse. It was refreshing, to say the least. His effort on Friday Night against previously unbeaten Aaron Civale (5-0 at the time) inspired the team to a win. His infectious energy and confidence were on full display throughout the weekend and while he was unlucky a lot on Saturday and Sunday, he’ll get there.
Yusei Kikuchi tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts against the Dodgers on Monday. He left the game with the lead intact. His cutter was particularly nasty on Tuesday, but it was his change-up that should get much of the credit. According to the website baseballsavant.com, Kikuchi’s change-up is the eighth-most unhittable pitch in the majors (on pitch types that have been thrown at least 50 times). Batters are hitting .105 with a whiff rate of 43 percent.
Not a lot of strikeouts, but definitely an effective outing for Justus Sheffield. The lefty threw only 94 pitches and avoided trouble until the 6th inning on Saturday. By then, the Mariners built up a four-run lead. Sheff did everything he needed to do to secure the win when he left the game.
Although other players probably deserved to be on the honorable mention list, we salute Chris Flexen. He’s been a mainstay in these weekly articles because of his consistency. After the win on Friday against the Indians, Flexen’s record improved to 4-1, with a 3.46 ERA. While he doesn’t have a ton of strikeouts, Flexen doesn’t give up hard contact either and exhibited good command of his pitches. All of that was needed as he stopped the M’s five-game losing streak with 5.1 solid innings versus Cleveland.
2 appearances (1 start), 5 innings, 0 Earned Runs, 0.40 WHIP, 7 Ks
Robert Dugger was absolutely dominant on Thursday as he tried to keep the game within reach. Then on Sunday, he was stretched out a little as the opener in the final game of the Indians series. Seattle’s 18th round pick in 2016, Duggar made his way back to the Mariners this spring after two years in the Marlins system.
He started this season a little rough, but Dugger’s last two outings brought his overall ERA to 1.64 with 12 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched in 2021. Dugger isn’t a hard thrower, but his pitches have a ton of movement to them. That’s why opposing batters can’t barrel up the ball against him (0 percent so far vs. league average of 8.4 percent).
Dugger technically throws five pitches, though he rarely uses his changeup. The 25-year-old Texas Tech alumn will be up to stay if he continues to be this effective. His fastball rides in the low 90s, but his curve and slider feature big breaks and his sinker is especially heavy.
.250 average, .650 slugging, 6 RBI, 2 SBs, 2 HRs
Seattle Mariners fans were waiting for Dylan Moore to finally go off this year. In the first three games of the Indians series he did just that. Thursday, Moore followed up a J.P. Crawford no-hit busting single with a mammoth home run to end the shutout. His blast pulled Seattle within two runs.
On Friday night with all eyes on Kelenic’s, Dylan Moore had a fantastic night at the plate. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, one run scored, and a stolen base. His efforts were overshadowed by Kelenic’s night, but Moore sustained his performance across multiple games.
On the weekend, Moore didn’t do a ton of hitting, but he did jack a bomb to left-center that drove in three runs. He had trouble making contact Saturday and Sunday (4 Ks in 7 at-bats), a problem Moore battled all season. On a positive note, he stole his eighth bag on Sunday, which leads the team and is tied for second in the American League.
.333 average, 1.000 slugging, 7 runs scored, 5 RBIs, 4 Home Runs, 2 Doubles, 3 Walks, only 3 Strikeouts.
Mitch Haniger leads the Mariners in nearly every offensive category at this point and he added to his numbers with another great week. He hit two solo home runs on Tuesday. Then a pair of 0-fers Wednesday and Thursday dropped batting .252. It was the calm before the storm Over the weekend, Mitch went 5-for-10 with 2 doubles and 2 more home runs.
Haniger is tied with Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Braves, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, and Aaron Judge of the Yankees for the league lead with 12 home runs after his explosive week. In the American League, he’s fourth in runs scored (14), tied for sixth in RBI (19), and his .895 OPS ranks in the top 15.
The San Jose native is healthy for the first time since 2018 when he was an All-Star and finished 11th in MVP voting. His 2019 season was cut short due to injury and his 2020 season never started as he struggled to recover. A new stretching, strength, and flexibility regimen during the offseason helped tremendously.
While manager Scott Servais said recently that Haniger wasn’t likely to play every day, he’s only missed two games this season. It’s great to have Mitch back in the lineup and producing.
Do your stars of Week 7 match up with mine? Please comment below or on social media.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan and an awarding-winning writer, director, and producer for Broken Arts Entertainment as well as a published author in the YA genre.