Game stats: 1-3, HR, 2 RBIs, R, IBB

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At bat 1 (Bottom of first): 5 pitch groundout to pitcher

Starting off the game with no one on vs Castillo, Yordan began the at bat by hard fouling off a fastball outside, before a bad miss at a slider away put him down 0-2. Seemingly unfazed, Yordan battled back, taking back to back fastballs (one inside, one away) to even the count before hitting a weak dribbler right to Castillo off a low offspeed. Not exactly the outcome he was looking for, but he did do a good job recognizing Castillo's fastball and battling back, which gives me hope for his next at bats.

At bat 2 (Bottom of fourth): 4 pitch flyout to left

Yordan started the at bat by taking back to back low offspeed pitches for balls to put him in ahead 2-0. Then Castillo threw the same pitch, except slightly higher in the zone, invoking a late swing and miss from Yordan. After 3 straight offspeeds down and away, Castillo threw a heater high in the zone and Yordan swung late but hard, hitting a shallow fly ball for the first out of the inning.

At bat 3 (Bottom of sixth): 2 pitch home run to left, 2 RBIs, R

After a 2 out single by Pena, Yordan got a chance to come up with runners on and one last chance against Castillo. Yordan started the at bat by hard fouling a fastball outside for a strike, but you could see he was seeing the pitch extremely well and had a grasp on its spin. The worst thing Castillo could do here was throw the same pitch to him again, but he did, and Yordan was sitting all over it. He absolutely destroyed the lazy outside heat Castillo threw, manhandling it into the Crawford boxes for a 2 run home run to retake the lead. I can't help but point out the similarities to his home run yesterday, where he fouled off the first pitch and then sat dead-red on the heater. It definitely will be interesting to see how the Mariners staff pitches to him in game 3, as he patiently waited on offspeed pitches in game 1 and pivoted to walloping fastballs in game 2.

At bat 4 (Bottom of eighth): Intentional walk

Coming up in a big spot (runner on and two outs in a one run game) the Mariners chose to intentionally walk Yordan, instead choosing to pitch to Alex Bregman behind him. While it was a nice move in theory, it immediately backfired, as Bregman laced a single into right to score Peña, providing a much needed insurance run.

Game stats: 1-3, HR, 2 RBIs, R, IBB

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At bat 1 (Bottom of first): 5 pitch groundout to pitcher

Starting off the game with no one on vs Castillo, Yordan began the at bat by hard fouling off a fastball outside, before a bad miss at a slider away put him down 0-2. Seemingly unfazed, Yordan battled back, taking back to back fastballs (one inside, one away) to even the count before hitting a weak dribbler right to Castillo off a low offspeed. Not exactly the outcome he was looking for, but he did do a good job recognizing Castillo's fastball and battling back, which gives me hope for his next at bats.

At bat 2 (Bottom of fourth): 4 pitch flyout to left

Yordan started the at bat by taking back to back low offspeed pitches for balls to put him in ahead 2-0. Then Castillo threw the same pitch, except slightly higher in the zone, invoking a late swing and miss from Yordan. After 3 straight offspeeds down and away, Castillo threw a heater high in the zone and Yordan swung late but hard, hitting a shallow fly ball for the first out of the inning.

At bat 3 (Bottom of sixth): 2 pitch home run to left, 2 RBIs, R

After a 2 out single by Pena, Yordan got a chance to come up with runners on and one last chance against Castillo. Yordan started the at bat by hard fouling a fastball outside for a strike, but you could see he was seeing the pitch extremely well and had a grasp on its spin. The worst thing Castillo could do here was throw the same pitch to him again, but he did, and Yordan was sitting all over it. He absolutely destroyed the lazy outside heat Castillo threw, manhandling it into the Crawford boxes for a 2 run home run to retake the lead. I can't help but point out the similarities to his home run yesterday, where he fouled off the first pitch and then sat dead-red on the heater. It definitely will be interesting to see how the Mariners staff pitches to him in game 3, as he patiently waited on offspeed pitches in game 1 and pivoted to walloping fastballs in game 2.

At bat 4 (Bottom of eighth): Intentional walk

Coming up in a big spot (runner on and two outs in a one run game) the Mariners chose to intentionally walk Yordan, instead choosing to pitch to Alex Bregman behind him. While it was a nice move in theory, it immediately backfired, as Bregman laced a single into right to score Peña, providing a much needed insurance run.