Mariners Stat of the Day: May 2021

MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Mariners this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.

• Mariners Stat of the Day: April 2021

May 31: Mariners 6, A's 5 -- Walton's first career home run
Donovan Walton waited 27 years for his moment on Monday, when he crushed his first big league homer during the fourth inning, a 388-foot shot off James Kaprielian that left his bat at 99.5 mph. It was just as eventful a scene for Walton's teammates, who leaped from the dugout to congratulate the sixth-year professional, one who has scrapped his way through the Minors and is widely praised for his relentless work ethic and positive attitude.

May 30: Mariners 4, Rangers 2 -- How sweep it is!
The Mariners had to play an extra game than the typical three per series, but they got their first sweep of the season to cap off a stellar weekend at T-Mobile Park. In doing so, Seattle reached .500 for the first time since May 17. The Mariners have also won 12 straight against Texas at T-Mobile Park dating back to July of 2019.

May 29: Mariners 3, Rangers 2 -- Dunn keeps dealing
Justin Dunn limited the Rangers to one run, extending an impressive streak that is now the longest in the American League and second longest in the Majors: 15 straight starts allowing three runs or fewer. That trails only San Diego's Dinelson Lamet.

May 28: Mariners 3, Rangers 2 -- Best in MLB in one-run games
The Mariners took the game down to the wire, with the tying run on second base and the go-ahead run on first in the ninth. But, thanks to Erik Swanson, Seattle held on and advanced to 11-5 in one-run games, which marks the best record in such games in the Majors this season.

May 27: Mariners 5, Rangers 0 -- Mayfield draws cheers
Jack Mayfield got his first dose of the T-Mobile Park faithful when he crushed a double during the seventh inning that added two insurance runs and sealed the series-opening win. It was his first double of the season and it came during his second game at T-Mobile Park as a Mariner after being claimed off waivers from the Angels last month, then joining the big league team on the road. It was his first home hit with Seattle, too.

May 26: Athletics 6, Mariners 3 -- Kelenic can't catch a break
Jarred Kelenic was tearing the cover off the baseball all series in Oakland, but he didn't exactly have the results to show for it beyond his second career big league homer in the opener. Seven of Kelenic's 13 batted balls in the series were classified as hard-hit (anything 95 mph or higher), but only three of them went for hits. His two on Wednesday were hit into a shift by shortstop Elvis Andrus and into a nice snag by former Gold Glove Award winner Matt Olson at first base. And the final play of the game -- a blooper into shallow left that Andrus impressively ran down -- had an .850 expected batting average.

May 25: Mariners 4, Athletics 3 -- Trouble with the curve
Logan Gilbert threw 35 combined sliders and curveballs in Tuesday's start against the A's, but only generated four combined called strikes and whiffs.

May 24: Mariners 4, Athletics 2 -- Young stars get it done
Jarred Kelenic and Kyle Lewis homered in the same game for the first time in the Mariners' win over the A's. Lewis had a two-run shot that cleared the first section of the left-field bleachers, while Kelenic hit one to the stairs in right field.

May 23: Padres 9, Mariners 2 -- Dunn notches 1st career hit, RBI
Justin Dunn didn't have much going in the way of run support, so he helped his own cause by roping a clutch, two-out double off Yu Darvish in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game. The last time Dunn registered a hit, you'd have to go all the way back to 2018, when he was in the Mets organization and had two for Double-A Binghamton.

May 22: Padres 6, Mariners 4 -- Sheffield's free passes
Starter Justus Sheffield couldn't keep the Padres off the basepaths as he walked a career-high five batters. The left-hander took the loss after allowing five earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts.

May 21: Padres 16, Mariners 1 -- Not Flexen’s night
Starting pitcher Chris Flexen lasted 1 2/3 innings, the shortest start of his career. He allowed eight earned runs, his most in any outing.

May 19: Tigers 6, Mariners 2 -- Seager sets T-Mobile Park HR mark
With his first-inning two-run homer, Kyle Seager broke a tie with Nelson Cruz and Raúl Ibañez for the most career home runs at T-Mobile Park, increasing his total to 84. Seager's blast left the bat at 107.7 mph and traveled 420 feet, per Statcast, and it was also the first hit for Seattle after it was no-hit by Detroit's Spencer Turnbull the day before.

May 18: Tigers 5, Mariners 0 -- Dunn K's a career-high 9
On a night they were no-hit, Justin Dunn's best performance of the season proved to be a silver lining. The much-improved stuff that he's flashed all season culminated with a career-high nine strikeouts over a season-high-tying 5 2/3 innings.

May 17: Tigers 4, Mariners 1 -- Kelenic's first career single
For how loud his first big league hit was -- a booming homer that sparked Seattle's offense in a big win on Friday -- Jarred Kelenic hadn't had a base hit through his first four games. That streak snapped when MLB Pipeline's No. 4 overall prospect roped a first-inning single that caromed off Detroit second baseman Jonathan Schoop's glove and allowed Kelenic to reach. That also snapped two straight 0-for-5 days for the prized outfielder.

May 16: Mariners 3, Cleveland 2 -- Cy Young winner? Big deal.
Some gritty at-bats and performances on the mound on Sunday helped lift Seattle to a big-time win over Cleveland, and one that had a statement feel to it given the opposing pitcher. That would be Shane Bieber, who was held to his shortest start of 2021 (4 2/3 innings) and walked a career-high-tying four. It was notable that it gave Seattle a much-needed series win, but it was also the first time that the Mariners had defeated a defending Cy Young Award winner since Opening Day in 2018, when Félix Hernández outdueled Corey Kluber.

May 15: Mariners 7, Indians 3 -- Haniger joins Acuña up top
Mitch Haniger's first-inning homer was his 12th of the season, which pushed him into a tie with Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. for the MLB lead. At 438 feet, it was Haniger's longest at T-Mobile Park and also his longest since 2018.

May 14: Mariners 7, Indians 3 -- Kelenic in Rickey territory
By crushing his first big league homer and adding two hustle doubles on Friday, Jarred Kelenic became the youngest American League player since Rickey Henderson on Sept. 7, 1979, to log three extra-base hits in the leadoff spot. Kelenic was 21 years, 302 days old on Friday. Only the Cubs' Starlin Castro (Sept. 12, 2011) and the Braves' Ronald Acuña Jr. (May 20, 2019) did so at a younger age in the National League since Rickey's feat.

May 13: Cleveland 4, Mariners 2 -- 1st-round picks in The Show
With the callup of Logan Gilbert on Thursday, the Mariners now have each of their first picks from the 2016-18 Drafts on the active roster. Gilbert joined Evan White ('17) and Kyle Lewis ('18). That makes Seattle the only team currently with all three first selections in those Drafts on its active roster.

May 12: Dodgers 7, Mariners 1 -- Bullpen labors in 'L' streak
The Mariners' bullpen that had been so dominant over the first five weeks of the season has hit a skid during the team's four-game losing streak. In that span, Seattle's relievers have given 19 earned runs and 25 hits in 14 2/3 innings (11.66 ERA) after posting an MLB-best 2.68 ERA through their first 31 games up to that point.

May 11: Dodgers 6, Mariners 4 -- Kikuchi fans 11 and No. 200
Yusei Kikuchi struck out 11 hitters at Dodger Stadium to set a new a career-high. He also recorded his 200th career strikeout in a three-pitch at-bat against starting pitcher Walker Buehler to start the bottom of the third.

May 9: Rangers 10, Mariners 2 -- Offense finding its footing
Though it didn't generate as much run production as the first two games of the series, Seattle strung together 10 more hits on Sunday -- a promising sign after its collective 2021 struggles culminated with being no-hit by Baltimore's John Means on Wednesday. Sunday's output brought the Mariners' hit total for the series to 31, by far their most in any three-game series this season. It's also the first time the Mariners had three straight games of 10 or more hits since June 9-12, 2019.

May 8: Rangers 9, Mariners 8 -- White's second-deck homer
Evan White might take the cake within the Mariners' lineup when it comes to hard-hit potential. But that skill had largely eluded Seattle's first baseman all season -- until Saturday. White lifted a first-pitch slider from Kohei Arihara and crushed it into the second deck at Globe Life Field, marking his second homer of the year and first since April 16. It wasn't White's hardest-hit ball or his longest, but it was notable nonetheless given his continued struggles at the plate. He rounded the bases in a brisk 21.50 seconds, saying after, "I haven’t been on base in such a long time, I forgot what it was like to touch the base, so I want to touch them as quick as possible."

May 7: Mariners 5, Rangers 4 -- Let 'em on, then pick 'em off
Chris Flexen recorded two pickoffs in the game, nabbing Adolis García both times. Flexen became the first Seattle right-hander to achieve the feat since Félix Hernández on Aug. 26, 2016.

May 5: Orioles 6, Mariners 0 -- Haggerty denies perfecto
The only thing that kept John Means from putting together the Majors' first perfect game since Félix Hernández did so on the same mound on Aug. 15, 2012, was Sam Haggerty's hustle -- and on an out, to boot.

Haggerty struck out swinging against a curveball from Means in the third inning, but the wild pitch allowed the utility man to reach first base. It didn't seem monumental at the time, but that quirky play wound up making Means the first pitcher to throw a non-perfect no-hitter in which the opposing team did not reach base by a walk, a hit by pitch or an error. Essentially, it was the first perfect game denied by a dropped strike three.

May 4: Mariners 5, Orioles 2 -- Lewis ties Mr. Mariner
Kyle Lewis' 20th career homer was a big one -- a three-run shot in the critical eighth inning. It also further etched his name in Mariners record books, tying him with Alvin Davis for the fastest in franchise history to that mark at 88 games. Lewis and Davis have bonded since Lewis broke into the Majors, but they’ve grown even closer since Lewis joined Mr. Mariner as a fellow Rookie of the Year.

May 3: Orioles 5, Mariners 3 -- 21 straight scoreless innings
Though Anthony Misiewicz's uncharacteristic, tough-luck outing led to a loss to Baltimore, Seattle's relievers were mostly nails on a bullpen day that featured seven arms. Misiewicz carried the 'pen's shutout into the eighth inning, which extended a scoreless-innings streak of 21, dating back to the fifth inning on Saturday.

May 2: Mariners 2, Angels 0 -- Seattle wins when it matters most
The Mariners followed up a winning month in April by taking their first series in May, and against the division-rival Angels, to boot. They advanced to 5-2-2 in series this season, thanks to an undefeated run in rubber games that was extended to four following Sunday's tight tilt against Mike Trout and the Halos.

May 1: Angels 10, Mariners 5 -- Mills 37th Mariner born in WA
When he took the mound in the eighth inning against the Angels, Wyatt Mills became yet another local-born Mariners fan who wound up pitching for his childhood team. The former Gonzaga Bulldog and Spokane native is the 37th player in franchise history who was born in Washington state, and the first since Adrian Sampson in 2016.