It is indisputable that singer-songwriter Donovan had a prestigious career in the 1960s, even if I don’t particularly enjoy his music. However, Donovan lost his relevance in the music industry when punk emerged, and he was no longer truly needed. He did, however, have one more flourish, making a comeback in 1994 to release the album Sutras, which he co-wrote with Rick Rubin. Although it wasn’t enough to leave an impression, his admirers were grateful.
It’s comparable to Donovan Solano’s tenure with the Mariners, when he was acquired following a stellar career but is now almost useless. We finally connected on a pitch to cause damage today, which was our Donovan’s Sutras moment. As a small homage to the real Donovanheads, you never imagined seeing him smash a ball like this again.
But fun as that is for the Donovan fans, like Sutras, that home run wasn’t really relevant. As you can see in the score bug, it was the Mariners’ second run of the day, but that was all the team would end up getting as they were swept by the Diamondbacks on the heels of losing two of three in Anaheim.
The Mariners scored their other run in the first inning, when Jorge Polanco hit a flare into right field while batting from the right side. Given his limited ability to hit righty so far this year, it was an encouraging sign.
As was his presence in the field, playing second base for the whole game, even making a pair of nice plays on back-to-back chances that kept a leadoff double from scoring in the third. The only other noteworthy performance was Julio’s three hit day, which included two doubles, one to right-center and the other into the left-field corner. Extra base hits have been rare to see from Julio lately, so for getting two in the same game, he gets today’s Sun Hat Award. Cal Raleigh was in the running for a second when he legged out an exceedingly rare-for-him infield hit, but he overplayed his hand and was thrown out trying to steal second.
In his excellent first five innings, Bryan Woo never needed to employ more than thirteen pitches to get three outs. However, he was somewhat fortunate to hit balls in play that Woo hit a little better than normal. When he was forced to face the lineup for the third time in the sixth inning, that issue eventually caught up with him. Woo ended up loading the bases after Corbin Carroll led off with a 111 mph single (although, to be fair, the pitch that loaded the bases came on a 3-2 fastball that was in the zone but called a strike). He fell behind 1-0 after being pressured on another pitch that was in the zone while facing Eugenio Suárez.
He next resorted to his slider, which had been playing really well for the majority of the afternoon, including a nasty swing that got Josh Naylor at strike three in the fourth. However, he left this slider in the center, and everyone who reads Lookout Landing is aware that Geno shouldn’t be mistaken.
With one swing, Geno flipped the D-Backs’ two-run deficit into a two-run lead. A shaken Woo gave up another solo shot to Pavin Smith and was pulled after he eventually made it out of the sixth inning. That put the score at 5-2, where it would stay through some acceptable if unspectacular outings from Brash, Speier, and Vargas, and some scuffling from the lineup. Technically it’s the Mariners who get an off day tomorrow, but I can’t help but feel it’s all of us who really need the time off.
