Gamel's sparkling D highlighted by circus catch

SEATTLE -- Mariners right fielder Ben Gamel did his part defensively in a 5-3 loss to the Orioles at Safeco Field on Tuesday night, first making a strong throw to cut down a runner at the plate and then making a pair of sensational diving catches.
"Ben, he's always diving all over the place," said manager Scott Servais. "He plays hard every night he's out there he's trying to do everything he can to get to balls and he has a flair for the dramatic catch. He has had a few of those since he's been here. Kind of throws his body against anything to catch the ball. A couple key outs he got for us in right field tonight."
With two out out and two on in the second, the right fielder charged in and snagged a liner on a hop before firing a strike to catcher David Freitas.
The throw beat Chris Davis to the plate and Freitas was able to get the tag down right in time for the bang-bang play to preserve what was a 1-0 Mariners lead.

"I knew who was running," Gamel said. "I had Chris Davis on second so I knew I'd have a chance to get him at home, and I just came up and tried to make an accurate throw."
Then, with a runner on second in the fifth inning, Gamel sprinted to his left and dove full-extension to snag an Austin Wynns fly ball down the right-field line. Gamel covered 74 feet on the play, per Statcast™.

"Generally balls like that they tend to push back into play and it just kept pushing the other way," Gamel said. "So I felt like I had a play on it, had a shot."
The Mariners' lead was erased by a Renato Núñez solo shot early in the seventh inning, but Gamel kept up his glove work in right. Later in the inning, Gamel made his second diving grab of the game, covering 35 feet in 3.2 seconds to rob Wynns for a second time. The ball had a catch probability of 71 percent, earning Gamel a three-star catch.

"I was in a little shallower and got a good jump off the bat, so I gave it a whirl," Gamel said.