6/9/25

(Phoenix, AZ) With the season long five-game losing streak in the rearview mirror, the Seattle Mariners entered their three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks looking to get back on track and show that they can be a player in the AL West. Falling back of the Houston Astros and with the Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers closing in, Seattle looked to get back to what has made them so dangerous, strong pitching and hitting the long ball.

Arizona had a tough year in 2024 after making it to the World Series in 2023. The D-Backs started off this season hot but have cooled substantially and turned into a very streaky team that has solidified themselves as the #4 team in the loaded NL West. A couple of big months await the Snakes to decide what to do at the Trade Deadline.

Fortunately for Arizona, they would have one of their most reliable starters on the mound in game one as Merrill Kelly has taken over the ace role with Corbin Burnes having Tommy John surgery. Emerson Hancock would go for Seattle, as the young right-hander looked to continue to give the offense a chance to win with his minimal damage approach and results.

Diamondbacks 8, Mariners 4 (11 Innings) (Game One)

Seattle was killed in the 1st inning when Julio Rodríguez was picked off at first base. Emerson Hancock would then face Corbin Carroll to begin the home half but the first pitch resulted in trouble. It wasn’t a bad miss by Hancock as he threw a fastball on the outside corner, but Carroll went with it, driving the ball down the left field line. It had enough to get out for Carroll’s 19th home run of the season and gave Arizona a quick 1-0 lead.

Runners would be on base for Seattle in each of the first three innings, but nothing came of any of them. Emerson Hancock looked good in the 2nd through 4th innings but ran into some more trouble in the bottom of the 5th. Alek Thomas would begin the inning with a single and moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jose Herrera. He remained at second after a pop out by Corbin Carroll. With two outs, a former Mariner continued to haunt his former team from a notorious 2016 trade. Ketel Marte smacked a single back up the middle to bring home Thomas and extend the Diamondbacks lead to 2-0.

Seattle would put two men on with nobody out in the 6th but couldn’t turn it into any offense. A bases loaded jam for Arizona in the bottom half of the inning was wasted for the Snakes as well. Randy Arozarena’s leadoff double in the 7th was left stranded at third and the game was turning into a bunch of wasted opportunities for both teams.

The Diamondbacks wouldn’t waste their opportunity in the bottom of the 7th and opened things up against the Mariner bullpen. Casey Legumina walked Geraldo Perdomo to start the inning. Josh Naylor then sent a line drive the other way into the left field corner for his 15th double, driving in Perdomo and making it 3-0 with still nobody out. Two batters later, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. smoked a single to center to bring home Naylor and it looked like that would be the knockout blow as the lead was up to 4-0.

4-0 was still the score going into the 9th when Arizona closer Justin Martinez came in to pitch. He would make quick work of Jorge Polanco and Randy Arozarena, getting them both to strikeout. He would not be able to get Dylan Moore who extended the game with a two-out walk before things got bizarre. Martinez missed on a fastball to Donovan Solano to fall behind 2-1 but was immediately in pain. He signaled to the dugout and pulled himself from the game with elbow tightness.

Jeff Brigham would have to come in and inherit a 2-1 count on Solano but evened the count at 2-2 putting the Mariners down to their last strike. Solano then singled to drive in Moore and keep the game alive at 4-1. He would take second on fielder’s indifference before scoring on a Cole Young RBI single, making it 4-2 and bringing the tying run to the plate. Dominic Canzone was called up after the M’s DFA’d Leody Taveras and got to face his former team. The result felt like something out of a movie. Canzone obliterated a fastball 450-feet for a dramatic, game-tying two-run home run. His first of the year brought the Mariners all the way back and tied the game at 4-4. Singles from J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez were stranded however but Andrés Muñoz threw a scoreless 9th to send the game to extra innings.

Seattle couldn’t move along their automatic runner in the 10th which gave the D-Backs a chance to walk it off against Carlos Vargas in the home half. Ildemaro Vargas ran for Eugenio Suárez as the automatic runner and moved up to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tim Tawa for the first out. Seattle would intentionally walk Pavin Smith to face Alek Thomas. The speedster smoked a grounder to second but Cole Young made a diving stop and immediately made the throw home. It wasn’t a good throw but Cal Raleigh would snag it and force Vargas out of the basepath for a second out. Jose Herrera would then go down looking to extend the game into an 11th inning.

Once again, the M’s couldn’t even get the automatic runner to third, giving Arizona another shot. Vargas stayed in the game and struck out Corbin Carroll to start the inning. He would then walk Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo to load the bases with the dangerous Josh Naylor coming to the plate. He left no doubt in this one as Naylor crushed a walk-off grand slam to right center for his eighth home run of the season. The comeback bid didn’t lead to a win as Arizona ended up getting the last laugh and the 8-4 victory.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Diamondbacks

• Josh Naylor- 3-5, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Lourdes Gurriel Jr.- 2-3, RBI, BB
• Merrill Kelly (ND)- 6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

Roster Moves

• SP Bryce Miller placed on 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation retroactive to June 7th
• SP Logan Evans recalled from Triple-A Tacoma

What’s Next

Seattle (33-32) made a fantastic comeback but once again drop the opening game of the series. The Mariners are now 8-14 in the opening game of the series this season. Both Houston and Texas were off on Monday while the Angels defeated the A’s 7-4. The Astros now sit three games up on the Mariners in the AL West while the Angels now sit in third at five games back. The Rangers and Athletics round out the division, 5 1/2 and 11 1/2 games back respectively.

After the game last night, Dan Wilson announced that Bryce Miller would be going back on the IL after just one start since returning from his first IL stint. Logan Evans will make his return to the MLB roster and make the start in game two. Evans (3-1, 2.83 ERA) was very strong in his initial MLB stint and had his best outing right before being sent down when he went eight innings of one-run ball against Washington. For Arizona, Brandon Pfaadt will look to wrap up the series early in game two. Pfaadt (7-4, 5.51 ERA) was a breakout star in the D-Backs run to the World Series in 2023 but has not been nearly as good in the regular season in any of his three years in the big leagues. The young right-hander has been roughed up in his last two outings, allowing a total of 14 runs in just three innings against Washington and Atlanta. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm on Tuesday.

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