After Marco Gonzales stymied the Toronto Blue Jays last week, allowing one run in six innings, Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais was asked why the left-hander doesn’t get more credit.
“Marco’s not sexy,” Servais said.
Gonzales will try to help snap the Mariners’ four-game losing streak when they return home to face the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.
Gonzales (2-4, 3.08 ERA) laughed when told of his manager’s assessment.
“I’m not sexy,” Gonzales said. “Everybody looks at what I got, and they say I don’t even touch 90 (mph). But I don’t know what else I can say. I’m still here and I’m still making big-league starts and still getting big-league hitters out. So I guess that speaks for itself.”
Said Servais: “There are a lot of different ways to get people out, and Marco takes pride in what he does. ”
When he steps on the mound, he feels like he can throw 100 (mph). He locates. He changes speeds. He wins. There’s a lot to be said for that.”
Gonzales helped the Mariners salvage the finale of a three-game series in Toronto, but they had a disastrous weekend in Boston, losing all four games. That included an 8-4 defeat Sunday in 10 innings as the Red Sox’s Franchy Cordero hit a walk-off grand slam on an 0-2 pitch with two outs.
The Red Sox hit 10 homers in the series, with five from Trevor Story, whom the Mariners tried to sign as a free agent in the offseason.
The Mariners have allowed a major-league-high 56 homers this season, four more than the next-closest team.
“We’ve had some adversity early in the season,” Servais said. “More than we really bargained for. But that’s just the way it goes. You’ve got to figure out a way to fight through it.”
The Mariners hope facing Oakland for the first time this season might change their fortunes. Seattle went 15-4 against the A’s in 2021, winning the last 12 meetings.
The A’s are 3-7 over their past 10 games, the same record in that span as Seattle.
Oakland has lost two in a row, including a 4-1 defeat Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
The A’s managed just four hits in the loss and allowed solo homers to Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
The loss spoiled the return from the injured list of Cole Irvin, who posted a quality start.
“I thought he did a great job managing that lineup,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Getting through six innings was huge for us. The bullpen needed it after (Saturday). He gave us a chance to win.”
A’s rookie left-hander Zach Logue (2-2, 2.04) is set to make his fourth major-league start on Monday. While Logue has never faced the Mariners, Gonzales is 7-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 15 career appearances against the A’s, including 14 starts.
Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano is considered day-to-day after getting hit in the right hand by a pitch Saturday.
–Field Level Media
