5/4/25

(Arlington, TX) It was a short homestand for the Seattle Mariners but it saw them go an impressive 4-1 including carrying a four-game winning streak into a six-game road trip. A red-hot offense continued to make up for a plague on injuries and the Mariners would need the offense to continue to carry the load while waiting for the pitching reinforcements.

All six games of the road trip would be against AL West teams, who Seattle was 9-3 against entering the three-game series against the Texas Rangers starting on Friday. After sweeping the Rangers in Seattle, the Mariners looked to capitalize on a struggling Texas offense while attempting to build upon their lead in the AL West.

Mariners 13, Rangers 1 (Game One, May 2nd)

In the opening game of the three-game series, the most consistent Mariners starter in 2025 got the nod as Bryan Woo returned to the scene of his MLB debut, taking on another young upstart in Jack Leiter for Texas.

Seattle missed out on a scoring opportunity in the 1st while a phenomenal catch by Ben Williamson helped Woo spin a 1-2-3 1st. Things would then stay very quiet until the top of the 4th when the game’s first run was scored. Leading off the inning, Cal Raleigh would end up separating himself atop the home run leaderboard with a big night. Raleigh got a hanging slider on the first pitch and hammered it down the right field line. The 432-foot blast stayed fair and was Raleigh’s 11th home run of the season, giving the Mariners a 1-0 lead.

Woo sat down the first 12 batters he faced and Seattle broke the game open a bit in the 5th. Rhylan Thomas led off the inning with his first major league hit and it was a bloop double to get into scoring position. Jorge Polanco then drew a one-out walk to put another runner on before Julio Rodríguez loaded the bases with a single. In stepped Cal Raleigh and he fell behind 0-2 before evening up the count. Cal chased a curveball well below the zone but golfed it on a line out to right. It had enough to get out for a grand slam and Raleigh’s second home run of the game and league leading 12th of the season. All of a sudden the M’s had breathing room with a 5-0 lead.

The offense still wasn’t done in the 5th as they chased Jack Leiter before the inning ended. After a Randy Arozarena double, Texas brought in Jacob Latz as the first reliever out of their bullpen. Rowdy Tellez would send a base hit back up the middle to welcome Latz to the game and Arozarena came into score to make it 6-0. Seattle kept it rolling with a base hit by Miles Mastrobuoni to bring up Ben Williamson. The rookie hammered one the other way to right center, just missing clearing the fence. Instead, it was an RBI double for Williamson as his third two-bagger of the season. Rhylan Thomas then recorded his first RBI with a sacrifice fly to give Seattle a comfortable 8-0 lead.

Texas broke up Bryan Woo’s perfect game bid in the bottom of the 5th with a single by Jonah Heim. However, the shutout lived and Seattle would end up turning this one into a laugher. In the 6th, Mitch Garver drew a walk to bring Julio Rodríguez to the plate. Julio would battle with a 3-2 count and on the eighth pitch of the AB, won the battle. J-Rod smashed one with an exit velocity 108.8-mph out to center for his fifth home run of the season. The two-run blast gave the M’s double digits with a 10-0 lead.

Bryan Woo continued to be absolutely brilliant in 2025 with another strong outing. Dan Wilson decided to pull Woo a little bit early due to the large lead and Woo had already lost the no-hitter. It was a very dominant outing for the right-hander as Woo went 6 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit with eight strikeouts and no walks. A dominant outing for Woo continued to see his stock rise with another show stealing performance.

For the second time in a week, the Mariners would face a position player pitching as backup catcher Tucker Barnhart had to pitch the last two innings for the Texas Rangers. He would pitch a scoreless 8th despite hitting Cal Raleigh in a funny moment between the two catchers. Seattle would get a few more runs in the 9th off of Barnhart however. Rowdy Tellez, Miles Mastrobuoni, and Ben Williamson all singled to load the bases. Rhylan Thomas drove in a run with a groundout before J.P. Crawford hit his third double to drive in two more. Seattle was three outs away from a series opening win with a 13-0 lead.

Troy Taylor looked to wrap things up and got a couple of quick outs as he retired Blaine Crim and Leody Taveras for two quick outs. The shutout would then disappear as Josh Smith blasted his third home run of the season to get the Rangers on the board. Wyatt Langford then singled to keep the game going. Tucker Barnhart looked to show his two-way position skills but struck out looking instead. It was a dominant outing as the Mariners blew out the Rangers in game one, 13-1.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Rangers

• Josh Smith- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Jack Leiter (L, 2-1)- 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Mariners 2, Rangers 1 (Game Two, May 3rd)

Game two on Saturday featured a couple of veterans on the mound for both Seattle and Texas. Luis Castillo would look to build off of a good start at home against Miami in which he only allowed one hit. Patrick Corbin would try to continue to reinvent himself in his fifth start as a Texas Ranger.

As J.P. Crawford dug in to begin the game, a lefty-on-lefty matchup actually favored the Mariner shortstop who has been very good against lefties. On the first pitch of the game, Corbin threw a sinker in the middle of the plate and Crawford was all over. J.P. sent a blast out to right field for his third home run of the season. It was Seattle’s fourth leadoff home run of the season and first for Crawford as Seattle jumped out to a 1-0 lead. An inning ending double play killed a bases loaded threat and didn’t allow the M’s to add on.

Texas would threaten for the first time against Luis Castillo in the bottom of the 3rd. Josh Jung reached with a one out single before Dustin Harris drew a walk to put two men on. Josh Smith hit a grounder to Leo Rivas at second but Seattle couldn’t turn two as Smith beat out the throw to first to put runners on the corners with two outs for Wyatt Langford coming to the plate. One of the few hot hitters for Texas, Langford pulled a grounder to third and Ben Williamson made the routine play to end the inning, preserving the Mariners 1-0 lead.

In the 4th, Seattle wasn’t so fortunate like they were in the 3rd. Corey Seager began the inning with a single to left before moving up to second on a groundout by Joc Pederson. Marcus Semien grounded out for a big out number two while Seager remained at second. Jonah Heim came through in the clutch with a base hit to right field. Samad Taylor couldn’t get the ball in in time as Seager scored to tie the game at 1-1.

Neither team could get anything against the veteran starters as the game remained tied at 1-1 as the game went to the bullpen. Matt Brash would make his first appearance since September 30th, 2023. The long recovery from Tommy John surgery saw an emotional return for one of the premier bullpen arms in baseball. Brash pitched a 1-2-3 inning thanks to a double play to keep the game 1-1 in his return.

With the game still tied heading into the 9th, Chris Martin would come in for the Rangers while Seattle went to their bench with Jorge Polanco hitting for Donovan Solano. Polanco would sent a fly ball to right field and a diving attempt from Adolis Garcia came up empty. Polanco had his fifth double of the season and moved to third on a groundout by Ben Williamson. Rowdy Tellez would pinch hit for Leo Rivas but quickly fell behind 0-2. A 1-2 cutter in the middle of the plate was a mistake by Martin and Tellez lined it back up the middle for a go-ahead base hit. Polanco came in and made it 2-1 in the 9th.

Andrés Muñoz made his first appearance since being named American League Reliever of the Month for April. Texas would get a one-out baserunner on a walk by Marcus Semien. Muñoz bounced back by getting Jonah Heim to groundout, but Semien moved to second as the potential tying run. Adolis García was the last chance for the Rangers but did not have a chance against Muñoz. He chased a slider in the dirt for the strikeout and the final out of the game. The eighth straight series win for the Mariners was complete as they took game two from the Rangers, 2-1.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Rangers

• Jonah Heim- 2-4, RBI
• Corey Seager- 1-4, R
• Patrick Corbin (ND)- 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Rangers 8, Mariners 1 (Game Three, May 4th)

Looking to move to 6-0 against the Rangers this season, the Seattle Mariners rookie Logan Evans would make his second career start and first road start after winning his debut last Sunday against Miami. Once again, Evans would face very tough competition as Jacob deGrom got the ball in the finale for the Rangers, trying to help Texas avoid a disastrous sweep.

Neither side scored in the first two innings but both got on the board in the 3rd. A one-out single by Leo Rivas led to him stealing his fourth base to get a runner into scoring position. J.P. Crawford hit a squibber for an infield single to put runners on the corners with one out. Jorge Polanco drove in a run on an RBI groundout and Seattle grabbed the initial 1-0 lead. They would leave the bases loaded however to leave the door open for the Rangers.

Texas kicked down that door in the home half of the inning. After Evans got Josh Jung to lineout to begin the inning, Texas loaded the bases for Corey Seager. A grounder into right field brought the Rangers back to life as Blake Crim and Josh Smith came into score to make it 2-1 Rangers. A great catch by J.P. Crawford retired Joc Pederson for a second out before Texas broke things open. Marcus Semien singled in another run before Jonah Heim walked to load the bases. Adolis García and Josh Jung both recorded singles that added three more runs for the Rangers as Texas took a commanding 6-1 lead.

That was the only bad inning for Logan Evans as he fought through five innings with only the 3rd resulting in runs for the Rangers. Texas would add on in the 8th thanks to Josh Smith. With a man on first, Smith tripled to right to bring in Josh Jung while also setting the table for Wyatt Langford. A sacrifice fly to center brought in Smith to make it 8-1. Seattle didn’t have much fight left as they went down quietly in the 9th as the Rangers avoided the sweep with the 8-1 victory.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Rangers

• Josh Smith- 4-5, 3B, RBI, 2 R
• Corey Seager- 2-5, 2 RBI, R
• Jacob deGrom (W, 2-1)- 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

What’s Next

Seattle (20-13) continues to dominate the AL West while owning the second best record in the American League behind only the Detroit Tigers. The Mariners also continue to hold first place in the division, two games ahead of the Athletics, three games ahead of the Houston Astors, four games ahead of the Texas Rangers, and seven games ahead of the struggling Los Angeles Angels.

That division lead could grow for the Mariners as they will complete their six-game road trip with their first ever trip to Sacramento to take on the Athletics. After moving from Oakland to Sacramento for at least a few seasons, the Athletics (19-16) were a trendy pick to be the surprise team in baseball this season. After getting off to a miserable start, the A’s have won four consecutive series but against weaker competition. Sutter Health Park has not been kind to the A’s as they enter the series with a 6-9 record at home, but have a -33 run differential in their new ballpark due to allowing 92 runs there.

There are quite a few different players we could look at for this spotlight, but with the start to the season Tyler Soderstrom has had, he forced our hand. After homering three times in the Mariners and Athletics four-game series to open the season, the young first baseman has continued to impress at the plate and had been the league leader in home runs for most of the month. While he hasn’t homered in 16 games, Soderstrom’s .872 OPS is still eyebrow raising. Anyone who had known who Soderstrom was never expected this start to the season. With plenty of other guys also producing, the lineup is really starting to click and if Soderstrom can get his power going again the Athletics will be a player in the AL West for a majority of the season.

• Game 1, Monday 7:05pm- Bryce Miller (2-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. Luis Severino (1-3, 3.30 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 7:05pm- Emerson Hancock (1-1, 6.62 ERA) vs. Jeffrey Springs (4-3, 4.98 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 12:35pm- Bryan Woo (4-1, 2.58 ERA) vs. Gunnar Hoglund (1-0, 1.50 ERA)

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