Mariners batter former prospect and Reds for 17 runs

Mariners 17, Reds 6 at Goodyear Ballpark

Notable

The Mariners made the reunion a miserable experience for Brandon Williamson. The young left-handed pitching prospect, who was part of the trade package sent to Cincinnati last spring in exchange for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez, got roughed up by his old organization.

The Mariners rocked Williamson for nine runs on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings, including homers from Sam Haggerty and Tom Murphy.

It was a dominant offensive performance for the Mariners, tallying 17 hits, including five homers. All nine of the Mariners starters in the batting order registered at least one hit with five players notching multi-hit games.

Of the five homers, Teoscar Hernandez’s was the most impressive. He hit a mammoth homer over the batter’s eye in center field.

“He absolutely murdered that ball,” manager Scott Servais said. “He’s got big time power. It’s getting consistent with his timing and it was there tonight.”

Mariners pitchers weren’t dominant either, giving up six runs on 12 hits while also getting minimal help from the defense.

Player of the game

Julio Rodriguez provided a reminder of his supreme talent and importance to the Mariners. The young superstar came to the plate four times and reached base four times. He led off the game with a walk. In the second inning, he doubled down the third-base line. In the third inning, he ripped another double down the line to score a run. In the fourth inning, he sent a line drive over the wall in right field for a two-run homer.

Quotable

“Guys are really getting locked in. We had a hitters meeting, which of course any time you have a meeting and you have this kind of results, now they are going to joke about it. Whatever. I’m really excited about what I saw offensively. If we come out swinging the bats like that early in the year, we are going to be pretty fun to watch.” — Servais

On tap

The Mariners return to Peoria Stadium on Friday night to host the Oakland A’s. Right-hander Luis Castillo will make his final start of the Cactus League season in preparation for his start on opening day at T-Mobile Park. Also scheduled to pitch for the Mariners are right-handers Diego Castillo, Matt Festa, Penn Murfee and Trevor Gott. Oakland will start hard-throwing right-hander Mason Miller, who is the A’s No. 5 prospect in their organization. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. The game will be televised on Root Sports with a live radio broadcast on Seattle Sports 710-AM and mariners.com

Box score