The Mariners won again Wednesday night to improve to 12-2. Wednesday's game, like every one the Mariners have played this season, featured a Seattle home run. It was Mitch Haniger doing damage:
A home run by Mitch Haniger gives the @Mariners the lead in the 9th inning. It also means 14 games to start the season with an HR. Join us for the finish on @ROOTSPORTS_NW #WHEREiROOT #TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/WTqCEn4YVN
— ROOT SPORTS™ | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) April 11, 2019
Hangier's homer made it 14 consecutive games with a home run for the Mariners, tying the MLB record for a team to start the season. Seattle wasted no time breaking the record as Dee Gordon led off Thursday's game in Kansas City by going deep:
Put it in the record books—the Mariners have hit a home run in 1️⃣5️⃣ straight games to start the season. 💥 pic.twitter.com/tIAHp1lZNC
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) April 11, 2019
The Mariners lead the majors in home runs with. Yes, they've played 15 games, but the Athletics have played 16 and several teams have played 13. Plus, the Mariners also entered Thursday with a league-leading .558 slugging percentage. The Mariners' 7.86 runs per game is also tops by a wide margin.
It has been a group effort. Jay Bruce has seven homers, but Dan Vogelbach has five (in just 26 at-bats, compared to Bruce's 49). Edwin Encarnacion, Domingo Santana and Tim Beckham have four apiece. Ryon Healy and Haniger have three, while Omar Narvaez has two.
Gordon's homer was his first of his season (and just his 16th in 866 career MLB games) and gave the Mariners a new spot in the record books:
Most consecutive games with homer to start season
(source: baseball-reference.com play index)
- 2019 Mariners, 15 games
- 2002 Indians, 14 games
- 2017 Tigers, 13
- 1954 Cubs, 13
- 2013 Mets, 12
2007 Devil Rays, 12
2001 Diamondbacks, 12
1997 Rockies, 12
1986 Reds, 12
We'll see how long the 2019 Mariners can keep up the homers and the wins.
