Sean Murphy wins the MVP in the Seattle Mariners victory

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 23: Jake Diekman # 35 of the Oakland Athletics pitches in the seventh inning of the game against the Seattle Mariners. (Photo by Alika Jenner / Getty Images)

The Seattle Mariners won 4-3 against the Oakland Athletics last night, but the player of the game isn’t going to a Mariner. Last night’s MVP award goes to A-catcher Sean Murphy and runner-up for the MVP goes to Jake Diekman.

Thanks to their battery in the seventh inning, it gave the Seattle Mariners a head start late in the game and it turned out to be just enough.

The wild pitch festival on the 7th gave the Seattle Mariners the lead

Wild pitches? Or matched balls? Still, something I, as a former catcher, can never really figure out. Regardless, wasn’t the 7th inning two outs so kind to Oakland, or was it a lack of focus?

After Jake Diekman took Luis Torrens to the ground on two pitches, knocked out Jarred Kelenic on three ropes, and Dylan Moore scored a 0-2, the inning seemed to be over.

But D-Moore managed to hit infield single on a check swing. Dylan Moore took advantage of Diekman’s high leg kick and easily stole second base. After that, Diekman threw a ball in the dirt and Sean Murphy was unable to keep it in front, pushing Moore into third place.

And then the Athletics Reliever threw another ball in the dirt on a 3-0 pitch against Shed Long Jr. This time Sean Murphy got lazy and tried to pluck it with his glove. This mistake led to another wild pitch (supposed to be a pass ball) that landed Dylan Moore on home plate.

All jokes aside, there have been some great performances from the Seattle Mariners

Obviously the MVP goes to the 7th inning battery, but there were a couple of Mariner that kept us in that close ball game. First of all, kudos to Yusei Kikuchi for six innings and only three runs. He also canceled a career high of 12 strokes yesterday.

Yusei Kikuchi sets a new career high with 12 strikeouts in one game.

He is the first #Mariners pitcher with 12+ strikeouts in a game since James Paxton on May 2, 2018 (16K).

– Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) July 24, 2021

Also kudos to the Seattle Mariners who catch Cal Raleigh. He hit his first MLB home run in the second inning and drove in two runs to give the team an early lead over a tough opposing pitcher.

Raleigh also showed his arm again by knocking out Ramon Laureano, who was trying to steal second base in the second inning.

And right after Raleigh’s homer, Luis Torrens also took Frankie Montas deep. He hit a low-line drive over the right field wall for his 12th of the year.

The final tip of the cap goes to the almighty bullpen of the Seattle Mariners. Erik Swanson got into the 7th inning and got into trouble, but Paul Sewald saved him. Sewald also hit a clean 8th inning, hitting two.

And then he handed it over to Kendall Graveman in 9th place to seal the Seattle Mariners victory. Yesterday’s win was a big win for the team, which made the series an even one-on-one.

The Seattle Mariners compete against the athletics for two more games before hosting the Astros for three games. Logan Gilbert wins the hill tonight against Chris Bassitt, a 2021 All-Star.