Mickey Gasper didn’t even wait for the first inning to settle in, stepping up and sending the second pitch of the game over the wall. That one swing. One run. That was the whole ballgame right there. Roman Anthony tried on the first pitch, lining out to center, but it truly felt like it just *had* to be Mickey tonight, the guy we’ve been calling Evil Mickey (shoutout to @rockmeannadeus on X for that gem). He put us up 1-0, and that was all our guy Ranger Suarez needed to lock it down.
Ranger Suarez Was Absolutely Dialed In
Seriously, Ranger Suarez was everything this team needed on Friday night. He pitched seven incredible innings, giving up zero runs and forcing ten ground ball outs. Baltimore’s lineup came in buzzing after Thursday’s seven-homer drama, but Suarez just went out there and made them pound the ball into the ground, inning after inning after inning. This was his best start since he came back from the IL in late July, and it felt like a total statement from him, and really, from the whole rotation. When this dude is right, he is *really* right, and he knew exactly what to do with that one-run lead.
The Chippiness, The Close, and What Comes Next
Things got seriously chippy in the eighth inning. There was already some residue from Thursday’s game when Jahmai Jones had a late but legal slide that absolutely got noticed. So when Blaze Alexander slid into second on the inning-ending double play, he made very sure to go right at Nick Sogard. Intentionally. Blatantly. You know what happened next: dugouts and bullpens emptied, words were exchanged, thankfully nobody got tossed, but that’s the kind of thing that sits with a team. Cam Sanders, the Orioles reliever in the ninth, even tried to keep it going, exchanging words with our dugout on his way back. But Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela, man, they wanted all that smoke.
Then Aroldis Chapman came in and closed it clean. No drama. No two-run shot like Encarnacion-Strand had on Thursday. Just three quick outs and a handshake line. Chapman learned from last night, and that’s exactly what you want to see. September baseball is always stress-filled, but these wins against the Orioles are mega important. With no shot at winning the division, it’s all about the Wild Card race, beating teams behind us, and hitting our weight, aka beating teams we should be beating. We’ve got two more games, let’s keep it rolling!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Over the Monster.
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