Mariners play bonus Cactus League game, lose to Giants 10-9 in extras

At least they spanked Justin Verlander. One for the road.

Did you miss Spring Training? Then I’ve got good news for you because the Mariners and Giants brought a decidedly Cactus League energy to this afternoon’s tilt: a parade of relievers on both sides, sloppy defense, extended at-bats. Home Plate umpire Sean Barber even got in on the vibe, with a rococo strike zone less convincing than that Kate Middleton photo.

Like a Cactus League game, the box score suggests a game with a lot of highlights. But alas, for a game with a half-dozen lead changes, it was more shrill ride than thrill ride. And so, like a Cactus League game, we’re going to use a tried and true Spring Training recap format and tell most of the game through bullet points. Here are some statistics from this game:

• 4:09: Length of today’s game
• 17: Pitchers used in today’s game
• 154: Pitches caught by Cal Raleigh today (235 Mariners pitches, minus 38 BIP and 43 fouls)
• 2.1: Innings pitched by Justin Verlander today
• 119: Consecutive starts Justin Verlander had made without getting pulled after 2.1 innings or fewer
• 12/65: Whiffs and pitches from Verlander, despite getting bounced after two and a third
• 942: Days since Luis F Castillo last appeared on an MLB mound
• 4: Balls in play from Julio Rodriguez over 100 mph
• 10: Mariners hitters who reached base safely
• 75: Top velo on a Mariners’ infielder throw in today’s game (I’m guessing on this one)
• 13: Pitches seen by Cal Raleigh in a third-inning walk
• 1: Innings the Mariners didn’t allow a baserunner
• 6: Home runs this season by Aaron Judge (OK, that one’s not related to the Mariners game, but, you know, credit where due)

But for as down on this game as I am, there were admittedly some highlights.

The best one came when the game started, back during the Clinton Administration, Julio punished a first-pitch Verlander fastball for a home run to the opposite field. And may I remind you that the opposite field for a righty hitting in San Francisco is among the hardest home runs to hit in baseball. It’s a feat of strength that only 32 other players have accomplished in the last decade.

As noted in the bullets, it was one of four balls that Julio hit into play at more than 100 mph. Add to that just his second intentional walk since 2023, and today had to feel like a major confidence boost for the center fielder on whose shoulders the franchise rests. And for that, he also starts off the year with his second consecutive Sun Hat Award.

But that award is a close call over the other most noteworthy individual contribution to today’s game, from a rejuvenated Gabe Speier. Playing in San Francisco is a big deal for the native Californian. His great uncle, Chris Speier, is a member of the San Francisco Giants Hall of Fame, and Gabe had his parents and plenty of family in attendance to watch him today. The irony of being a reliever is that when you reward your audience with a good performance, it’s definitionally short. Speier’s half inning was the only one in which the Mariners kept the bases clean today. With three whiffs on four swings and another four called strikes, his ten pitch inning was one of the only MLB-caliber performances on the diamond today. So he gets an honorable mention for today’s Sun Hat.

But mostly this game lingered like the back half of an Olivia Rodrigo album, filled with boners like Ryan Bliss missing a layup of a double play because he was in the wrong spot. (I don’t mean to pick on Bliss, whose shortcomings were hardly solitary, since he actually had a barrel today, but that play represented the best available synecdoche.) For a moment, baseball seemed to turn to its customary poetry, with the Mariners taking the lead in the top of the 11th inning by scoring on a wild pitch. Of course the winning run would score on a wild pitch. How could this game end any other way. But no, nothing was tidy today, not even the narrative. Willie Adames walked it off with a two-run, perfectly legitimate single in the bottom of the inning. Go figure.