{"id":337658,"date":"2026-07-12T14:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T14:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337658\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T14:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T14:58:13","slug":"mariners-arent-finding-key-hits-on-florida-road-swing-to-the-benefit-of-rays-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/337658\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariners aren’t finding key hits on Florida road swing, to the benefit of Rays – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a seven-game homestand that will end Sunday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Tampa Bay Rays have been getting contributions up and down the lineup.<\/p>\n

It was former Seattle draft pick Ben Williamson\u2019s turn on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The utility infielder, dealt in February by the Mariners to the Rays in a three-team trade, crafted his first career four-hit game in a 6-1 Tampa Bay win, notching a double, RBI, run and a stolen base.<\/p>\n

Williamson, 25, said there was no chip on his shoulder against the American League West club that selected him out of the College of William & Mary.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, just got a couple of lucky knocks that found holes,\u201d said Williamson, a second-round draft pick in 2023. \u201cI was just committed to an approach each at-bat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AL East-leading Rays, who are 4-2 on their homestand, doubled up the M\u2019s 12-6 in hits. For the fourth straight contest, the Mariners could not produce a hit \u2014 0-for-6 \u2014 with runners in scoring position.<\/p>\n

They are 2-for-38 in the scenario through their 0-5 trip in the Sunshine State against the Miami Marlins and the Rays, including going hitless in the past 25 at-bats.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019re finding barrels but just not turning them into hits and runs,\u201d said Seattle manager Dan Wilson. \u201cThere\u2019s no question that guys are frustrated by it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right-hander Logan Gilbert became the fifth Mariners pitcher to reach 1,000 career strikeouts, but the club matched its worst losing streak this season by dropping its fifth straight game.<\/p>\n

The home team in the matchup won for the ninth straight time dating to 2024.<\/p>\n

The home organization inducted former third baseman Evan Longoria, 40, into the Tampa Bay Rays Hall of Fame before Saturday\u2019s matinee game and will retire his No. 3 before Sunday\u2019s series finale.<\/p>\n

Longoria hit .270 with 261 homers and 892 RBIs in a decade playing in the dome by the bay (2008-17). He etched his name into franchise history on Sept. 28, 2011, when he lined a walk-off homer over the low left-field fence down the foul line in Game 162 to beat the New York Yankees in 12 innings, 8-7.<\/p>\n

That dramatic shot by the three-time All-Star and 2008 AL Rookie of the Year clinched the league\u2019s wild-card spot just moments after the Baltimore Orioles topped the Boston Red Sox to make the Tampa Bay contest a meaningful game for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sunday\u2019s starting pitcher for the Rays, left-hander Ian Seymour (6-1, 4.11 ERA), was inserted into the rotation by manager Kevin Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder last month and has made four starts in his past six outings.<\/p>\n

Seymour, who has appeared in 32 games this season, is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA in five starts and will make his debut against Seattle.<\/p>\n

The M\u2019s will send out right-hander Emerson Hancock (6-4, 3.23 ERA) for his 18th start and hope his last outing is indicative of how the second half of the season will unfold.<\/p>\n

After going 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA in five June starts, Hancock fired seven innings of two-hit ball in beating the visiting Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 last Sunday. He struck out five and walked two.<\/p>\n

Hancock has no record and a 6.00 ERA in two relief outings totaling three frames against the Rays.<\/p>\n

The Mariners will continue to be without star center fielder Julio Rodriguez (concussion), as he is expected to rehab in Seattle through the All-Star break. <\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During a seven-game homestand that will end Sunday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners in St. Petersburg, Fla., the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-337658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}