6/8/25

(Anaheim, CA) After about as bad of a nine-game homestand as one could imagine, the Seattle Mariners left T-Mobile Park for a six-game road trip with not too much travel involved. A three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels to begin the trip would give the M’s a shot at flushing the 3-6 homestand. With Seattle having success so far against the AL West, the team would look to continue the division success while climbing back up the standings.

Los Angeles has been about as streaky of a team as any other this season with some tremendous highs and extreme lows in 2025. The Halos looked to be coming out of a low coming into this series thanks to a series win over Boston earlier in the week. Before that, the Angels had been in a bad slump, losing seven of their previous eight before the trip to Fenway.

Angels 5, Mariners 4 (Game One)

For game one of the three-game series, Seattle would look to get Bryce Miller on track against a familiar foe. For Los Angeles, they would go with the veteran Kyle Hendricks, who was looking for his 100th career win in his first season with the Halos.

Both Miller and Hendricks faced the minimum through the first two innings in a scoreless contest. Hendricks retired the first two in the 3rd as well before Seattle extended the inning with a single from Ben Williamson. The rookie would then steal his second base of his career to get himself into scoring position. J.P. Crawford then chased a pitch down and away, but was able to pull it into right field for a base hit. Williamson came home to score and Seattle grabbed the first run of the series and a 1-0 lead.

Like most Seattle leads in the opener, it didn’t last long. After Bryce Miller also retired the first two Angels he faced in the home half of the 3rd, Chris Taylor would single and steal second to get a man in scoring position for the first time for the Angels. Zach Neto worked the count to 2-2 before pulling a base hit to left field. Randy Arozarena would make a throw to the plate, but Taylor slid around the tag to score, tying the game at 1-1.

Neither starter really had a crisp inning from that point on. In the 4th, singles by Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh were followed by a walk to Randy Arozarena to load the bases with nobody out. Luckily this wouldn’t be one of those missed opportunities the M’s are famous for. Rowdy Tellez hit a fly ball as far as he could to right without leaving the ballpark for a sacrifice fly to put Seattle back out in front. Leody Taveras also recorded a productive out with an RBI groundout to second. Seattle would strand Arozarena at third but a couple of solid ABs by Tellez and Taveras gave them the lead back, 3-1.

Once again, Miller had no trouble with the first two batters after getting the lead. Jorge Soler would keep the inning alive with a base hit to center to bring the tying run to the plate. In a picture-perfect example of the broadcaster’s jinx, as soon as Angie Mentink mentioned how good Bryce Miller was looking, the game was tied. Travis d’Arnaud launched a 413-foot blast to left center for just his second home run of the season. As quickly as the M’s had taken the lead it had disappeared as the game was back to even at 3-3.

Ben Williamson stayed hot to begin the 5th with his sixth double of the season finding the gap in right center. He remained at second base after a pop up by J.P. Crawford and a fly out off the bat of Jorge Polanco. The opportunity would not go to waste this time however as Julio Rodríguez came up clutch for the M’s. J-Rod drove a fly ball deep to center field that just stayed in the park despite Jo Adell’s glove going over the wall as he tried to make the leaping grab. Williamson came in easily as Julio held up at third with his third triple of the year. Once again, Seattle grabbed the lead back at 4-3.

This game was like a pendulum as the Angels answered every time the Mariners scored. In the bottom of the 5th, Jo Adell was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Chris Taylor then brought him home with an RBI double to tie the game back up just two batters into the inning. Nolan Schanuel then clutched up to give Los Angeles their first lead of the game with a single to right to bring home Adell. Bryce Miller would get out of the 5th but that would be his last inning of work as he struggled to protect the lead and the M’s fell behind for the first time in the game, trailing 5-4.

Jackson Kowar was the first reliever used by Dan Wilson and he looked to continue his great start to his Mariner career. After giving up a leadoff single to Travis d’Arnaud, Kowar struck out Luis Rengifo and got Jo Adell to fly out to Julio in center for a quick couple of outs. Then came a stressful moment as Chris Taylor drove a fly ball to deep center field. Julio Rodríguez once again would save the day, perfectly timing his jump to rob the former Mariner of a home run. The massive catch ended the inning and added another play to Julio’s highlight reel while keeping the Mariners deficit at one.

Neither offense did much of anything and the game went to the 9th with the M’s still trailing by one. Future Hall of Fame closer Kenley Jansen came in to close things out for the Angels and he did just that very quickly. Jansen struck out Cole Young before Miles Mastrobuoni flew out and J.P. Crawford grounded out to third to end the game. This time it was the Mariners pitching that let down the offense as Seattle dropped the opener to Los Angeles, 5-4.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Angels

• Travis d’Arnaud- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Chris Taylor- 2-3, 2B, RBI, 2 R, SB
• Kyle Hendricks (W, 3-6)- 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Angels 8, Mariners 6 (Game Two)

Looking to bounce back from a disappointing opener, the Seattle Mariners would have veteran Luis Castillo on the mound for game two, looking to play stopper and end the four-game losing streak. Jack Kochanowicz would take the ball for Los Angeles, facing the same team he made his MLB debut against last season.

Once again things started on a high note for Seattle. In the 1st, Jorge Polanco and Julio Rodríguez both singled with one out to put a couple of runners on for Cal Raleigh. On pace to put up the greatest offensive season ever by a catcher, Raleigh kept on track in this plate appearance. The Big Dumper hammered a sinker in the middle of the plate to right center for his MLB leading 25th home run of the season. The three-run blast gave La Piedra a 3-0 lead before he ever took the mound.

The good vibes continued in the 2nd which was led off by Cole Young’s first major league double. J.P. Crawford would bring home the rookie with an RBI single to right field to give the M’s the 4-0 lead. However, the Angels brought the power in the bottom of the 2nd to get back in the game. Chris Taylor was supposed to have the night off but was called into duty when Jorge Soler had to leave the game after the 1st and Taylor made the most of his opportunity with his first home run of the season. Three batters later, Jo Adell launched his 10th of the year and the two solo bombs cut the Mariner lead in half as they just led 4-2.

Things really turned sour for Seattle in the 3rd. Julio stayed hot with a single to center and his 11th stolen base of the year. After Cal Raleigh went down on strikes, J-Rod tried to swipe third as well. As Julio was stealing, Randy Arozarena smoked a line drive that hit Julio right in the ankle, causing Julio to be out. Even worse, J-Rod was in some serious pain and couldn’t walk without a limp and had to be helped back to the dugout. X-rays came back negative but Julio had to leave the game in what ended up being the turning point of this one.

Seattle’s defense completely fell apart in the bottom of the 3rd and the lead completely evaporated. A leadoff single by Zach Neto turned into a double as the ball was misplayed by Leody Taveras, who took over in center for the injured Julio Rodríguez. Luis Castillo would then get Nolan Schanuel to pop out to third before striking out Mike Trout for the second out. Taylor Ward would hit a tapper back in front of home plate that was fielded by Cal Raleigh. A low throw couldn’t be handled by Rowdy Tellez at first, allowing Neto to score on another error and making the score 4-3. Chris Taylor then drove a ball to right center field that went off the glove of a leaping Taveras, allowing the tying run to score on Taylor’s double. Two errors cost the Mariners two runs as the game was tied up 4-4.

Seattle managed to get runners on the corners in the 4th with one out thanks to a walk for Miles Mastrobuoni and a single from Ben Williamson. That chased Jack Kochanowicz and forced the Angels to go to their bullpen early. Connor Brogdon came in and struck out J.P. Crawford looking for a big second out. After Jorge Polanco walked to load the bases, the Halos escaped the jam as Leody Taveras flew out to Adell in center. A runner on third with less than two outs was stranded and the game remained tied.

It was untied rather quickly after that. Jo Adell continued to hit the ball hard against the Mariners as he went down and clobber a slider below the zone out to center field. The ball landed on the rocks at Angel Stadium for Adell’s 11th home run of the season and second of the game to give the Angels a 5-4 lead. A fantastic play by Ben Williamson minimized the damage for the Angels in the inning, but once again Seattle found themselves trailing in the middle innings.

That deficit grew in the bottom of the 5th as the Angels continued to stay locked in against La Piedra. Nolan Schanuel recorded his 13th double of the season to begin the inning before coming home on Taylor Ward’s 12th double of the year to make it 6-4. That would be the last run allowed by Castillo as his tough day ended after five innings in which he allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits with no walks and five strikeouts.

Héctor Neris was the next man up for the Angels in the 6th but Seattle would get to him a bit. Miles Mastrobuoni singled and stole second for his third stolen base of the year. Cole Young continued his nice day with a single to right to score Mastrobuoni, making it 6-5. Los Angeles answered back as Jackson Kowar had his first clunker with walks to Luis Rengifo and Jo Adell putting him in some hot water. After a wild pitch moved up the runners, Zach Neto singled to make it 7-5 as Rengifo scored.

Los Angeles got another run in the bottom of the 7th on an RBI single by Jo Adell to take an 8-5 lead into the 9th. Kenley Jansen once again came in looking for the save and got a quick first out off the bat of Leody Taveras. He wouldn’t have a clean outing however as Cal Raleigh extended his league lead in homers with his second of the game and 26th of the season out to right center to make it 8-6. That would be the last gasp for the M’s as both Randy Arozarena and Dylan Moore were retired. It was yet another series loss and a fifth loss in a row as the M’s dropped game two to the Angels, 8-6.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Angels

• Jo Adell- 3-3, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Chris Taylor- 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Jack Kochanowicz (ND)- 3.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

Mariners 3, Angels 2 (Game Three)

A season-long five game losing streak was all that was on the Seattle Mariners minds going into the finale on Sunday in Anaheim. George Kirby would be the guy on the mound looking to end the skid for the M’s. Former Mariner, Tyler Anderson would take the ball for the Angels who looked to complete the sweep of the Mariners and run their losing streak to six.

Just like in the first two games of the series, Seattle grabbed the first run of the game. A walk by J.P. Crawford began the game but he was erased when Julio Rodríguez hit into a fielder’s choice. J-Rod would then get to show off that his ankle is just fine as Randy Arozarena smoked a line drive to the right field corner. Julio flew around the bases and scored with ease on Arozarena’s 12th double of the season. Three batters in, and Seattle had grabbed a 1-0 lead.

George Kirby was completely dominant the first time through the Angels order. Not a single batter reached for the Angels in the first three innings as Kirby struck out six of the first nine batters he faced. He would lose the perfect game in the bottom of the 4th on a two-out single by Mike Trout. Then all of a sudden, he lost the lead. Three pitches after the hit by Trout, Taylor Ward crushed a no-doubter to left for his 18th home run of the year. Out of the blue, all of the good vibes were gone as the Angels grabbed the lead 2-1.

Seattle had wasted a scoring opportunity in the 4th but the 5th was a different story. Singles by Randy Arozarena and Mitch Garver put runners on the corners with one out. After having runners on second and third with one out in the previous inning and coming up empty, things looked very repetitive for the M’s as Dylan Moore struck out for the second out of the inning. Jorge Polanco then came to the plate batting right-handed which was a story in itself. The result of the at-bat was even better as Polanco flipped a single to center to bring home Arozarena and tie the game at 2-2. Donovan Solano then had his biggest moment as a Mariner with a base hit to center to bring home Garver. Back-to-back two-out, RBI singles had give the Mariners and Kirby back the lead at 3-2.

The two hits in the 4th were all the Angels could muster against George Kirby. After a really rough first three outings of the year, George Kirby looked like his old self in Anaheim. Actually, he did something he had never done before. With strikeouts of Mike Trout and Taylor Ward in the 7th, Kirby set a new career high for strikeouts in a game with 14. A line out to J.P. Crawford ended George’s day after seven innings. Just two hits and two runs were allowed while he struck out 14 and did not walk a single batter. It was the kind of performance that could get Kirby back on track.

Matt Brash had no issues in the 8th which set the table for Andrés Muñoz to pitch the 9th. With blown saves in his last two appearances, Muñoz was pitching for the first time in a week and gave up a leadoff walk to Jorge Soler to put the tying run on and bring the winning run to the plate. Muñoz then locked in and sat down Zach Neto looking before a sliding catch in right by Miles Mastrobuoni took a hit away from Nolan Schanuel. In stepped Mike Trout who has homered more against the Mariners than anyone else in history. It wouldn’t work out this time. Muñoz got Trout to chase a slider for strike three to close out the game and put an end to the five-game skid. While it was a series loss, Seattle avoided being swept in consecutive series with a 3-2 win over the Angels.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Angels

• Taylor Ward- 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Mike Trout- 1-4, R
• Tyler Anderson (L, 2-3)- 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

What’s Next

Fortunately, the five-game losing streak is over for the Seattle Mariners (33-31), but the team has a lot of work to do if they want to undo the damage of the past month or so of rough baseball. Houston took two out of three from Cleveland over the weekend while Texas took two out of three from Washington and the Athletics took two of three from Baltimore. Seattle was the only AL West team to lose their series this weekend and now sit 2 1/2 back of Houston while the Angels and Rangers both stand 5 1/2 games back of the Astros. The A’s bring up the rear in the AL West, 11 games back.

From one streaky team to another for the M’s to end the road trip as they will travel to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks (31-34) for another three-game set. A member of the stacked NL West, Arizona started the season on a high note, but have fallen to 7 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and into fourth place in the division. Arizona won had a four-game winning streak snapped this weekend when they were swept by Cincinnati and are 5-12 since May 20th.

There are so many players we good spotlight such as former Mariners Eugenio Suarez and Ketel Marte. However, we will focus on Seattle native and former NL Rookie of the Year, Corbin Carroll. After a nightmare of a sophomore season in 2024, Carroll has bounced back and looks as good as ever for the Snakes as he is currently tied for the team lead with Suarez in homers with 18 and second behind Geno in runs batted in with 40. His stolen bases are down but he still has plenty of speed and his power numbers are up with his slugging percentage at .565 and his OPS at .904. An all-around franchise player, Carroll is Arizona’s J-Rod and his off to a phenomenal start in June with two homers, a double, and five runs batted in already this month.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- Emerson Hancock (2-2, 5.19 ERA) vs. Merrill Kelly (6-2, 3.43 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- Bryan Woo (5-3, 3.07 ERA) vs. Brandon Pfaadt (7-4, 5.51 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 12:40pm- Bryce Miller (2-5, 5.73 ERA) vs. Eduardo Rodríguez (1-3, 6.70 ERA)

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