Seattle Mariners at Milwaukee Brewers

The Mariners did not need a speech on Wednesday night. They needed a response. Just a day after suffering the worst loss in franchise history, Seattle opened its next game by sending all nine batters to the plate, scoring four runs in the first inning and three more in the second. Seven runs before the Brewers could settle in. Seven runs before there was any chance for the previous night to linger. And, eventually, a 7-5 win. “We needed that,” starter Logan Gilbert said. “It was pretty drastic yesterday. … So that was big. We needed that. Needed to come out hot.” That urgency was impossible to miss. Seattle entered Wednesday coming off a 22-0 loss, the kind of defeat that can force a team to answer questions about embarrassment, resilience and how quickly it can move on. Manager Dan Wilson spent his pregame availability talking about turning the page. Brendan Donovan put it even more simply afterward. “We had our teeth kicked in yesterday,” Donovan said. “So I guess it’s just how you respond.” Seattle responded immediately. Donovan singled to begin the game and helped set the tone for an offense that looked completely different from the night before. The Mariners forced Milwaukee starter Dustin May to work, took pitches outside the zone and capitalized when he came back over the plate. By the time the first inning ended, they had a four-run cushion. By the end of the second, May’s night was done, and Seattle had built a 7-0 lead. “That kind of a start there, to get the guys on base, I thought Taylor Ward picking up a two-RBI single was huge,” Wilson said. “Just up and down, you’re so much more balanced. I think \[Donovan\