I’m going to level with you. I tried to write a maritime history themed recap for this game. I really did. I have seven tabs open right now for various sources about the German battleship Bismarck and its sinking during the second World War. But I can’t stop thinking about Andor, and by extension, Star Wars.
Andor — and the film it’s a prequel to, Rogue One — are about the formation of the Rebel Alliance that we meet at the end of A New Hope. It shows the various rebel groups coming together, uniting behind a common cause, and sacrificing everything when necessary. It makes the destruction of the Death Star at the end of A New Hope that much more meaningful. The Empire’s colossal super weapon, defeated not with a bigger gun, but with courage, sacrifice, and hope. And, I suppose, that’s how baseball works too.
Not that the Mariners had to wait as long as the rebels for their first victory tonight. At 6:41 pm Pacific time Padres starter Stephen Kolek threw a four-seam fastball to J.P. Crawford to open the game. It was a well placed pitch, down and in on the corner, but it didn’t matter to J.P.
Nothing like a little X-Wing (J-Wing? P-Wing? J.P.-Wing?) ambush to wake you up. If the Padres a represented by an Imperial Star Destroyer, then this home run was a disabling shot from the Mariners’ Ion Cannon. The Padres were on the back foot all afternoon, from the very first pitch to the last.
But to keep that lead, and to keep yourself protect from an ISD’s firepower, you need shields. For the Mariners, Logan Evans was that shield. He fought for his life today in the longest start of his career. He went 6 full innings without allowing a run, which is about as much as you can ask from a 23 year old making his fourth career start. But it was touch and go for him. He allowed 7 hits and a walk while only striking out 3 San Diego hitters. But he came through when it mattered and kept the Rebel fleet — and Mariners lead — safe.
He was helped out by his defense, of course, notably with an excellent double play turned by J.P. Crawford in the third inning, but I’d like to shoutout another young Rebel’s defense. With Fernando Tatis Jr. on first, Luis Arraez hit a weak fly ball to shallow left field. Third baseman Ben Williamson took a couple of steps back and threw his glove up, acting like he was about to catch the ball. Tatis watched Williamson instead of the ball, and was forced to hold at second. That little trick is what kept Tatis from scoring on that J.P. double play. Crafty Ben, real crafty.
With the Padres’ Destroyer disabled by J.P.’s ion blast, it was time to send in the bombers. The classic Rebel bomber is the Y-Wing. Shaped like a wishbone, Y-Wings are lumbering, slow, craft. But they’re sturdy and they pack a punch when used properly. Remind you of anyone?
That’s right, we got Rowdy in the fourth inning when Tellez crushed a 1-0 sweeper 408 feet to right field. With Cal Raleigh on first, this two-run blast extended the lead to 3-0 and put a real stick in the eye of the Padres. Kolek had yet to give up an earned run in 2025. Now he had given up 3 in 3.2 innings. And all from the long ball, just to add insult to injury. He was being hit, and hit hard.
But that wasn’t enough for the rebellious Mariners. In the top of the sixth, Julio led off with a single to bring up Cal Raleigh, who wasn’t all that impressed with Stephen Kolek. My favorite Star Wars ship is the B-Wing. It’s a bomber like the Y-Wing, but it’s a little lighter, little faster, and far more versatile. Armed with proton torpedoes (bats), there’s just about nothing than can stand up against it.
The Empire doesn’t take kindly to failure, and Kolek was shortly replaced by a new pitcher, Wandy Peralta, who managed to escape the inning without further damage. Their ship battered and bruised, but still firing, the Padres continued to try to snatch something from the Mariners. But they were running out of time.
Carlos Vargas, Casey Legumina, and Colin Snider jumped out of hyperspace (which is what I call the bullpen) to relieve Evans after his six innings, and guided the battle to a happy conclusion. The Padres were able to get a direct hit on the Mariners in the bottom of the ninth when Jake Cronenworth hit an RBI double. But it was too little, too late. One more good salvo from Snider’s cruiser was all it took to detonate the Padres’ reactor.
But more trouble looms on the horizon. The Padres have two more Destroyers in orbit of Octep, and the M’s will have to push through each of those before they can move on to liberate the next occupied planet. I think it’s called “Chicago?” What a silly name.
