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Robinson Cano Overcomes Injury, Helps Seattle Mariners Sweep Philadelphia Phillies

By Ryan DeVault
Published on: 09:18 PST, May 10, 2017

Robinson Cano’s injury didn’t stop him from leading the Seattle Mariners past the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday (May 10). The latest episode of The Cano Show saw the All-Star second baseman go 4-for-5 with a walk, scoring two runs, and driving in three more as the Mariners beat the Phillies 11-6. Cano suffered a quad strain against the Phillies on Tuesday night (May 9) but refused to sit out for a day of rest. Sparked by Cano’s contributions on offense, the Mariners finished a series sweep of the Phillies.

After coming through with a first-inning single, Cano launched a two-run homer deep into the left-field seats in the third inning. The opposite field homer put the Mariners up 3-0 at the time and marked the second of four hits that Cano would post on the day. For the season, Cano now has eight home runs, 28 RBIs, and a 0.296 batting average. Those numbers could hint that he is about to make the American League All-Star team again this summer.

Robinson Cano wasn’t the only Seattle Mariners hitter to play well on Wednesday, as outfielder Ben Gamel had two hits, two walks, and two runs scored. He now has an impressive 0.373 batting average and 1.063 OPS for the season. Outfielder Guillermo Heredia also had two hits for the Mariners, raising his batting average on the season to 0.313 over 83 at-bats. Gamel and Heredia have filled in nicely for the Mariners, lessening the blows of Leonys Martin struggling and Mitch Haniger getting injured in April.

In the updated MLB standings, the Seattle Mariners finally have a 0.500 record on the season. The team is now 17-17 after sweeping the Phillies, putting the team alone in second place in the American League West. The Mariners are on a four-game winning streak but trail the Houston Astros (22-11) by five-and-a-half games in the division. This could lead to some very interesting games between the Astros and Mariners later in the 2017 MLB season if the teams remain the first and second place holders in the division.

This is the third-straight series that the Mariners have won, all coming in the month of May. The team has compiled a 6-2 record against the Phillies, Los Angeles Angels, and Texas Rangers since the calendar flipped from April. That’s exactly what the Mariners needed to do after a slow start, and it has the fans excited again. While there are even more injuries to overcome now, with starting pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma getting added to the 10-day disabled list, the Mariners are showing a lot of heart on the field.

All of the negative news in regard to injuries could be why Robinson Cano decided to tough out the game on Wednesday. There had been some premature reports by Yahoo! Sports that Cano could be heading to the disabled list, but he wouldn’t let Mariners manager Scott Servais take him out of the lineup. Playing in an interleague series without Nelson Cruz, who is normally the designated hitter for the team, it would have been difficult for the team to win without Cano in the lineup. He stepped up in a big way for the team, and that’s not something fans will forget.

Following the sweep of the Phillies, the Mariners now travel to Canada for a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. This is another team that has been struggling this season, posting a 12-21 record through the first chunk of the regular season schedule. The Blue Jays actually have the worst record in the American League, and it’s something that the Mariners need to take advantage of to continue this successful road trip. Game 1 of the series takes place at 7:07 p.m. PT on Thursday night (May 11) and the Seattle Mariners will have Chase De Jong on the mound against Marco Estrada.

[Featured Image by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images]

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