‘OK, TIGER, GO GET ‘EM’

Sweeps weekend did not end on Sunday.  

The five sweeps completed on Sunday were not the last of it.

The schedule had the Mariners concluding a four-game set with the Astros on Monday and Seattle had already prevailed in the first three. Gary Hill on the KIRO intro set the table.  

“It’s not easy to sweep in four games,” Hill said. 

“If you sweep in four games, I think they call that a mop,” Rick Rizzs said. This is his final year before retirement and his 41st with the Mariners. 

Seattle’s radio broadast has an amazing hype sequence for introducing the home team’s starting lineup featuring recorded calls of thrilling exploits – each player gets a personal highlight call of long home runs, amazing line drives for walk off wins, stunning defensive plays.  

Immediately in the Seattle half of the opening frame the Mariners leaped ahead, creating new intro material. 

“Gone and goodbye baseball,” Rizzs called Josh Naylor’s first home run (foreshadowing), with Julio Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh on base. Naylor went yard again in the third with Raleigh on the pond again.

In the eighth, the M’s were up 6-2 and George Kirby was twirling. After getting the first out, a pinch-hitter reached base and the Mariners manager started to make a move. 

“Here comes Danny Wilson out of the dugout and George Kirby’s going to come out of this ballgame to rousing applause from the crowd here at T-Mobile Park,” Rizzs called. “Right now that crowd comes to their feet. This is going to be it for George Kirby. He’s been brilliant. No! He’s going to stay in the ballgame. He’s going to leave him in. Danny looked into the eyes of George Kirby and he saw the flames shooting out and George says ‘I want to stay in for one more out here in the eighth inning. I want to go eight ,’ and Danny says, ‘OK, Tiger! Go get ‘em.’” 

Kirby had not walked a single Astros player to that point. He proceeded to walk Jose Altuve and his outing was over. 

“You’re going to see now on the radio this standing ovation,” Rizzs said.  

Mopped Up

Graphic courtesy @Mariners

I’ve heard Rizzs toss out these constructions a couple times. Seeing on the radio. Watching the radio. You’ve got the picture. 

It’s beautiful and the exact point of this project. 

That score stood up and the Mariners had their own four-game sweep. Six series that ended with all W’s for one of the teams and two of those sets were extraordinary four-game winners. 

The Astros have their own streak, an eight-game losing skid.

Now, the Padres and the Mariners – the two four-tilt sweepers – meet each other. Somebody will extend their winning streak and one must end. Maybe Rizzs will have a chance to tell us what back-to-back series sweeps are called.  

Push Brooms? Mega Sweeps? Whisks & Rewards? 

We need to workshop this some more.