6/18/25

(Seattle, WA) For the final time in 2025, the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox faced off in the rubber game of the three-game series in Seattle. With the two teams neck and neck in the Wild Card race, the season series was also to be decided, with the M’s holding the 3-2 advantage going into the finale. It was a big opportunity for the Mariners to own the tiebreaker over Boston and finish the homestand with a 5-1 record.

Runs were expected to be at a premium on Wednesday afternoon with two stud pitchers on the mound. For Boston, their big offseason acquisition in Garrett Crochet would take the mound, looking to get some payback against the Mariners who beat him back in April. For Seattle, it would be the veteran of the staff Luis Castillo looking to build off of a strong start against Cleveland his last time out.

Red Sox 3, Mariners 1 (Game Three)

Both teams would get a runner on in the 1st, but Roman Anthony was stranded after being hit by a pitch while the Mariners couldn’t cash in on Cal Raleigh’s two-out double. Boston would put the first run on the board in the 2nd. Luis Castillo looked to get ahead with a first pitch fastball to Marcelo Mayer, but the rookie was prepared for it. Mayer sent his fourth home run of the season out to right field to grab the Red Sox the 1-0 lead.

Seattle caught a bit of a break in the home half that helped them respond to Boston’s run. Randy Arozarena sent a fly ball deep to left field that went off the glove of Jarren Duran. It was ruled a hit and Arozarena’s 15th double of the season to put the tying run in scoring position. Mitch Garver moved him over with a sacrifice fly to center to bring Donovan Solano to the plate with a chance to tie it. While Solano would single to left, he wouldn’t drive in the run. A wild pitch during the at-bat allowed Arozarena to score, tying the game up at 1-1.

Luis Castillo would retire Romy Gonzalez to begin the 4th before getting in some more trouble. A walk to Marcelo Mayer put him on for the second time in as many at-bats and brought veteran Trevor Story to the plate. Story would chase two pitches, but the second one below the zone was driven out to center field. The ball just had enough to get out for Story’s 10th home run of the year. The two-run blast put Boston back in front, 3-1.

Castillo and Crochet were both incredible for most of their outings. After Story’s homer, each team only had one runner get in scoring position against the opposing starter and the game stayed tight. Crochet outshined Castillo with his seven innings of six hit, one run ball with no walks and eight strikeouts. Outside of the homers, Castillo pitched well again as he went six innings and allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Seattle would have to get it done against the Boston bullpen but closer Aroldis Chapman was used for the 8th leaving the 9th to Greg Weissert. After getting Jorge Polanco to groundout, Weisser would allow the tying run to come to the plate by walking Randy Arozarena. Dominic Canzone would hit for Mitch Garver and fell behind 0-2 on a controversial check swing. Canzone would then roll a grounder to short for a routine 6-3 double play to end the game and the series. Seattle couldn’t string hits together against Boston and dropped the finale and the series 3-1.

Notable Performances

Red Sox

Mariners

• Luis Castillo (L, 4-5)- 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
• Randy Arozarena- 1-3, 2B, R, BB
• Cal Raleigh- 1-4, 2B

What’s Next

While it didn’t end on a high note, the Seattle Mariners (37-36) do complete their six-game homestand with a 4-2 record after the big sweep of Cleveland. They did drop an extra game back of Houston and now sit 5 1/2 out of the division. Los Angeles has moved back into third, 6 1/2 games out while Texas stands seven games back. The Athletics round out the division, 14 games behind the Astros.

Seattle will now embark on a long 10-game road trip against some tough competition and three teams with playoff aspirations. First up, the Mariners will visit one of the best teams in baseball in 2025 as they visit the Chicago Cubs (45-28) for a three-game series. Chicago leads the NL Central by 6 1/2 games over both Milwaukee and Cincinnati and now own the best record in the National League. They have been driven by their offense which has scored the second most runs in baseball, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. The pitching has also been a pleasant surprise, given their ace Justin Steele is out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April.

For this player spotlight we will focus on a National League MVP candidate, and no it is not Kyle Tucker who the Cubs acquired from the Astros in the offseason. One of the brightest young stars in the game, Pete Crow-Armstrong has emerged as a truly special talent in center field for the Cubs. With a slugging percentage of .550 and blazing speed (23 stolen bases) there is truly nothing that PCA can’t do on the baseball field. He has also seemed to emerge as a leader on a team with plenty of other veterans as well. Arguably the best defensive center fielder in the NL, PCA adds in power as well, leading the Cubs with 19 home runs this season. While June has been his worst month of the season, it still has added fuel to the fire that PCA should be in the MVP conversation as long as the Cubs remain towards the top of the National League standings. Buckle up Mariner fans, because we will get to watch a one-of-a-kind talent take the field at Wrigley this weekend.

• Game 1, Friday 11:40am- George Kirby (1-3, 5.96 ERA) vs. Cade Horton (3-1, 3.47 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 11:20am- Emerson Hancock (3-2, 4.48 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (6-3, 2.79 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 11:20am- Logan Gilbert (1-2, 2.55 ERA) vs. Colin Rea (4-2, 3.84 ERA)

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