The Seattle Mariners have set a new MLB record by homering in their 15th consecutive game to start the season. The record-breaking home run was hit by Dee Gordon in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals.
All the dingers!
The @Mariners have the record to themselves. pic.twitter.com/odHTSjWKYl
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) April 11, 2019
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The Mariners won the game in extra innings, and despite their anticipated rebuild, improve to a 13-2 record, first place in the AL West. This is thanks in part to this historic home run streak which has landed the team five players in the top 11 for the American League.
While the team made a flurry of moves this offseason with the notion to build a contender for 2021, some of their acquisitions are paying early dividends. Jay Bruce, acquired from the New York Mets, currently leads the team with seven home runs. Edwin Encarnacion, acquired from the Cleveland Indians, and Tim Beckham, acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, each have four home runs.
With Gordon’s home run, 11 different Mariners have now hit at least one home run this season.
Outlook
The Mariners have been on an impressive run thus far, although it is still too early to tell if the team will be a serious contender in 2019. They have reaped the fortunes of an easy April schedule featuring teams that either project to be subpar or are off to slow starts.
So far, they have played the Oakland A’s, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Chicago White Sox, and now the Royals. Entering play Thursday, these teams have a collective record of 15-33. Only the Angels (7-6) and A’s (9-8) have winning records out of that group.
It will be interesting to see if the Mariners can keep this offensive production going once they face teams that are playing much better than their current competition. While a team’s play in April is an important step to having a good year, the final record does not always reflect the start of the season.
Take last season for reference — the Mets started last season 11-1 although they finished 77-95. Meanwhile, the Rays started 3-9, but they won 90 games.
Only time will tell how the rest of this season plays out, but no matter what, the 2019 Seattle Mariners have already etched their names into the records of baseball lore.
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