6/4/25

(Seattle, WA) After a lackluster performance in the opening game of their three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners would be put in a corner. They needed to win the final two games of the series to not only take the series, but secure a winning homestand which has not been easy for the M’s as of late.

With the lineup coming back down to earth after a great stretch in April and into May, along with series bullpen issues on the homestand, fans have started to get the same feeling that they did last June when the Mariners quickly blew a 10-game lead in the AL West at a historic rate. Now this year’s AL West still feels wide open, but Seattle needed to try to build some momentum before going on the road.

Orioles 3, Mariners 2 (Game Two)

Two starters that have been pretty good this season outside of a couple of clunkers each took the mound for the middle game of the series on Wednesday night. Lefty hurler Cade Povich would take the ball for Baltimore after struggling a little bit in the month of May. For Seattle, Emerson Hancock would look to continue to erase the disastrous season debut that has inflated his ERA since.

Both pitchers rolled through three innings with Hancock leaving a couple in scoring position in the 3rd. Seattle seemed to feed off Hancock striking out the side in the top of the 4th as Cal Raleigh would hit his 11th double of the season to begin the home half of the inning. Julio Rodríguez then singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Randy Arozarena hit a deep fly ball to center that was caught on the warning track by Colton Cowser. Raleigh came home to score but a double play limited the damage as Seattle settled for the 1-0 lead.

It looked as though Emerson Hancock would continue to dominate in the 6th after a diving catch by Randy Arozarena took away a leadoff single from Dylan Carlson. Hancock then struck out Jackson Holliday before an Oregon native crashed the party. Adley Rutschman continued to torcher the Mariners in this series as he hammered a no-doubter to right center. Rutschman’s sixth home run of the season evened things back up at 1-1.

Free bases hurt both teams and Cade Povich was the victim in the bottom of the 6th. After hitting Ben Williamson to begin the inning, Povich would then walk J.P. Crawford to put two on with nobody out. Cal Raleigh would give Seattle the lead with a base hit down the left field line. Williamson would score, but Raleigh was thrown out at second trying to extend his hit into a double. Julio Rodríguez would then hit a sharp grounder to short and Gunnar Henderson threw out Crawford at the plate after a Baltimore challenged overturned the original safe call. Once again, the Mariners had to settle for just a run and took a 2-1 lead.

Emerson Hancock’s day would come to an end in the 6th. Hancock really pitched well and faced minimal trouble throughout the game. The one home run given up to Rutschman was one of just two hits he allowed with only two walks and five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Hancock only allowed one run this time out and his continued success has raised some questions on how the Mariners handle their pitching depth at the deadline.

Gabe Speier would come back out for the 7th and he would strikeout Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser with a walk to Ramón Urías mixed in. Carlos Vargas would then take over but once again walks would come back to haunt the Mariners. Vargas walked Coby Mayo to put two men on for Heston Kjerstad. The at-bat started off great for Vargas as he got ahead 0-2 rather quickly. However, Kjerstad would hit a soft line drive down the right field line that just stayed fair and got into the corner. O’Hearn and Cowser both scored as Kjerstad reached third with his second triple of the season. Another blow lead by the bullpen put pressure on the Mariners as they trailed 3-2.

A double play in the 9th kept the deficit at one for the Mariners heading into the home half. For the second day in a row, Félix Bautista came on to close things out for the Orioles but ran into some trouble this time. A one-out single by Randy Arozarena was followed by a walk to Mitch Garver to put the tying run in scoring position and the winning run at first. Leody Taveras battled but popped out to second to send the Mariners to their last chance. Rowdy Tellez came to the plate with Miles Mastrobuoni coming in to run for Garver at first. Tellez would hit one that looked good off the bat to center field, but T-Mobile Park would hold it. Colton Cowser would make the catch to put the game away. A lack of offense and a struggling bullpen did the Mariners in once again as they dropped game two to Baltimore, 3-2.

Notable Performances

Orioles

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 2-4, 2B, RBI, R
• Randy Arozarena- 1-3, RBI
• Emerson Hancock (ND)- 5.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

What’s Next

Seattle (32-28) continues to stumble and have now lost three of their last four series and will try to avoid being swept for the second time this season. Fortunately for the Mariners, every other team in the AL West also lost on Wednesday which kept the division standings the same, with the M’s trailing Houston by just half of a game.

Baltimore’s hot streak has made this series much more challenging than many expected but in the finale the Mariners will send their most consistent starter to the mound. Bryan Woo (5-2, 2.82 ERA) has been extremely steady since last season and will look to fix some mistakes from his last start. Woo only allowed three runs against Minnesota his last time out, but a couple of home runs cost Woo a scoreless start. For Baltimore, Zach Eflin (4-2, 4.46 ERA) will take the ball in his eighth start of the year. After missing most of April with a lat strain, Eflin has had mixed results since his return. In his good outings against the Angels and White Sox, Eflin has allowed two runs on nine hits in 12 innings with no home runs allowed and 11 strikeouts. However, in 10 1/3 innings against the Nationals and Red Sox, the veteran allowed 13 runs on 15 hits with seven home runs allowed an only five strikeouts.

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