Victor Robles, the Seattle Mariners’ sparkplug, had to leave Sunday’s game early due to a leg injury, perhaps jeopardizing their season. The Mariners’ final postseason push seemed unthinkable without Robles, but the outfielder was available and in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.
Robles’ injury concerns increased after he was hit in the hand with a 91.7 mph fastball from Luis Gil. Fortunately, he was well, stayed in the game, and even admitted to Gil that he knew it wasn’t on purpose.
Two of the next three players after Robles took walks, loading the bases with one out for Luke Raley, one of the team’s finest left-handed hitters. Seattle had an opportunity to level the game or possibly take the lead with an extra-base hit after falling behind 2-0. Unfortunately, Raley popped out, leaving Seattle with the possibility of failing to score a run despite having the leadoff man on and the bases loaded with one out.
That’s when Robles, the sparkplug, decided to take action. Trying to catch Gil and the Yankees napping, he attempted to steal home but was thrown out, bringing the inning to a close. It was a very dangerous decision that could not have turned out any worse.
First and foremost, Robles’ attempt to provide a spark makes a lot of. Seattle has been starving for offense for nearly the entire season; the Mariners were already down and had low chances of making the playoffs entering the game. The problem is that this particular judgment was poor, and it cost the Mariners dearly.
It was blatantly obvious throughout the inning that Gil lacked command of his pitches. He struck Robles with a pitch and walked two more. He even worked a 3-2 count on Victor Robles, whom he retired for the first out of the inning. He had thrown a lot of pitches and was on the edge of walking his third batter of the inning, resulting in a run. Robles let him get away with it without forcing him to throw a strike to Justin Turner, a guy who has consistently delivered in key situations throughout his career.
I’m all for trying to make something happen, but there’s a time and place for that type of activity. Robles tries that when
