6/20/25

(Chicago, IL) Despite having a successful, 4-2 homestand, the Seattle Mariners still hit the road coming off of a series loss which was the least of their concerns. Ten games in ten days on the three-city road trip would test the Mariners as they would be battling three playoff hopefuls over the next week and a half. With the team still treading water, the M’s would need to come back at 6-4 at worst on the road trip to really give fans a reason to be excited.

Before the team took the field, Luke Raley was activated off the IL and Rowdy Tellez would be designated for assignment. Losing a power bat like Tellez would not be ideal, but Raley’s return would be one worth monitoring as we approach July and eventually the trade deadline.

To begin the road trip, the Mariners would travel to take on the team with the best record in the National League in the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs offense has been incredible so far this season so the Mariners bats would have to heat up a bit while the pitching staff would have their hands full with a pretty potent lineup.

Mariners 9, Cubs 4 (Game One)

In what was a rarity for today’s era, the Mariners and Cubs would play all three day games in this series at historic Wrigley Field. In the opener, George Kirby would have the unenviable task of facing the Chicago lineup. For the Cubs, it would be a former Mariners and Bellevue native Matthew Boyd taking the ball in game one.

It turned out to be an action packed 1st inning. Cal Raleigh would start it off by sending his 28th home run of the season to center to give Seattle the 1-0 lead. Ian Happ responded by hitting his ninth of the season to leadoff the bottom of the 1st to tie the game. Chicago wasn’t done as Kyle Tucker then singled before coming home to score on Seiya Suzuki’s 19th double of the season. Kirby would finally record an out by getting Pete Crow-Armstrong to foul out and then struck out Dansby Swanson. Michael Busch clutched up with a two-out RBI single to give Chicago a 3-1 lead after just an inning of play.

The next couple of innings were quiet before the teams traded runs in the 4th and 5th. In the top of the 4th, Cal Raleigh would walk and steal second before Mitch Garver kept the inning alive with a two-out walk. Donovan Solano stayed red hot with a base hit to right to score Raleigh and make it 3-2. In the bottom of the 5th, the Cubs got that run back. Reese McGuire put together a nine-pitch at-bat and won it when he sent his third home run of the season to right center. Just like that the lead was back at two for the Cubs at 4-2.

Matthew Boyd would have to leave the game after catching a line drive right back at him from J.P. Crawford. Despite making the catch, the ball still hit Boyd’s shoulder ending in his early exit. The Chicago bullpen would not be able to pick up where the lefty left off. Ryan Pressly would be the first man out of the bullpen in the 6th and retired Julio Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh for a quick two outs. Randy Arozarena kept the inning alive with his 16th double of the season to bring Mitch Garver to the plate. In perhaps his best game as a Mariner, Garver brought this game back to even. A high fly ball just kept carrying all the way out for his second home run of the year. The two-run shot evened it back up at 4-4.

While the M’s left two runners in scoring position in the 6th, they would retake the lead in the 7th as their catchers continued to carry the offense. Caleb Thielbar entered as the lefty looked to quiet the Mariner bats and once again retired the first two batters he faced. A single to right by Julio Rodríguez extended the inning for Cal Raleigh and he extended his MLB lead in home runs. Cal crushed a fastball right down the middle and sent it out of Wrigley Field for a mammoth blast and his 29th homer of the year. The two-run shot also inserted Raleigh into the race for the MLB lead in runs batted in while giving the Mariners a 6-4 lead. It would also break the record of Johnny Bench for the most home runs hit by a catcher before the All-Star Break.

Eduard Bazardo, Carlos Vargas, Gabe Speier, and Matt Brash only allowed two base runners in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings combined while the Chicago bullpen continued to struggle. In the 9th, Génesis Cabrera retired J.P. Crawford and J-Rod for another quick two outs. Once again it wouldn’t stop the Mariners from finding a way to score. Singles by Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena put two on for Mitch Garver. Just like his first blast, Garver sent a skyrocket to center that carried out for his third of the season and second of the game. This turned out to be the knockout blow as Casey Legumina faced the minimum in the bottom of the 9th to give Seattle the game one win, 9-4.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Cubs

• Michael Busch- 3-4, 2 RBI
• Ian Happ- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Matthew Boyd (ND)- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Cubs 10, Mariners 7 (Game Two)

With high temperatures and plenty of wind, game two turned out to be a wild one with some scary moments mixed in. At the start though, Cade Horton would look to get the Cubs pitching staff back on track against Emerson Hancock and the Mariners.

In game two, Seattle wouldn’t be able to do any damage in the 1st but Chicago would start hot yet again. For the second time in as many games, Ian Happ led off the bottom of the 1st with a solo home run, his 10th of the season to give the Cubs the first run of the game. The very next batter in Kyle Tucker followed suit as he blasted his 14th of the season. Just three pitches into his day and Hancock was already off to a tough start with the Mariners trailing 2-0.

Seattle got on the board in the 2nd thanks to an RBI single by Luke Raley but an out at the plate and a double play minimized the damage. In the bottom of the inning, Hancock continued to struggle after issuing a leadoff walk to Michael Busch and a double to Carson Kelly. He would then record an out as Nico Hoerner grounded out to J.P. Crawford, but Busch came into score to make it 3-1. Vidal Bruján would then reach via another walk to turn the lineup card over to Ian Happ. He continued to dominate Mariner pitching as he drove a 2-2 slider out to center. The wind didn’t need to help it as it got out for Happ’s second homer of the game and 11th of the season, giving the Cubs a 6-1 lead.

The wind would give the Cubs outfield some serious problems, but the Mariners couldn’t cash in on the free bases early. In the bottom of the 3rd, things continued to get out of hand for Emerson Hancock. A double for Pete Crow-Armstrong began the inning before Dansby Swanson also reached via a walk. In stepped Michael Busch and the ball continued to fly out of Wrigley. A fly ball to right had just enough to carry out for another three-run home run for the Cubs and the 12th of the season for Busch. Chicago just could not be stopped as they opened up a 9-1 lead after three.

Credit to the Mariners, the team never gave up and continued to look to scratch and claw their way back into the game. Another problem on a fly ball to Pete Crow-Armstrong in center put Jorge Polanco on second to begin the inning with his ninth double of the year. He would move up to third on a groundout by Randy Arozarena and then Luke Raley would get hit by a pitch. Donovan Solano stayed hot for the M’s, shooting one the other way to right field to bring in a run and move Raley over to third. Cole Young got the job done with a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Raley and make it 9-3.

Emerson Hancock would get through four innings as he pitched a 1-2-3 4th to keep the deficit at six. In the 5th, singles by J.P. Crawford and Jorge Polanco put runners on the corners with two outs. Randy Arozarena sent a grounder to Bruján at third, but the throw to first would be off target, allowing Crawford to score on the error and making the score 9-4. That would end Cade Horton’s day and bring on Drew Pomeranz but he couldn’t escape the threat. Luke Raley roped a single to right to bring in another run as Polanco scored. Solano followed with another single the other way and the Mariners were back in it, cutting their deficit to 9-6.

Finally, Chicago would get to the Mariner bullpen. Leading off the bottom of the 5th, Pete Crow-Armstrong would face Zach Pop and he made Pop pay for a mistake. A cutter right down the heart of the plate was hammered out to right field for a solo shot and PCA’s 21st homer of the year. It gave the Cubs double digits in the runs column and extended their lead back out to 10-6.

A couple of scary moments occurred due to the heat in the later stages of the game. First, home plate umpire Chad Whitson had to leave the game as he suffered from what was believed to be heat stroke and had to be replaced by Dexter Kelley. Then in the 8th, Trent Thornton issued a walk to Vidal Bruján before he started squatting behind the pitcher’s mound. After being checked by medical staff, Thornton began to stumble and had to be helped off the field, also due to heat exhaustion. Both were said to be OK after the game.

With Seattle trailing by four going into the 9th, Daniel Palencia would come in looking for the final three outs for Chicago. He wouldn’t have an easy, breezy inning as Cal Raleigh did Big Dumper things. After homering twice from the right side of the plate in the opener, Raleigh showed off the power from the left side, launching his 30th homer of the year to right. That broke the record for most home runs hit by a switch hitter before the All-Star Break in MLB history. It would not light a spark however as Palencia retired three of the next four to put the middle game away. Seattle never rolled over but couldn’t come all the way back as they dropped game two to the Cubs, 10-7.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Cubs

• Ian Happ- 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Michael Busch- 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB
• Cade Horton (ND)- 4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Mariners 14, Cubs 6 (Game Three)

Somehow, the finale would turn out to be the wildest day of the entire series as the Seattle Mariners and Chicago Cubs met in the rubber game of their three-game series. Logan Gilbert would make his second start since coming off the IL for the M’s while Colin Rea would take the ball for the home team.

Seattle started off hot with a leadoff single to begin the game for J.P. Crawford. Two batters later, Cal Raleigh continued his destruction of the Chicago pitching staff. A first pitch fastball in the middle of the plate was ambushed as Raleigh hit his 31st home run of the season out to center. He continued to pull away with the MLB lead in home runs while also giving the Mariners a 2-0 lead.

Chicago had a nice response waiting as they got to Logan Gilbert in the 1st. While Logan would get a couple of fly outs to begin the inning, Seiya Suzuki would hit a screaming line drive that was high enough to get out for a solo shot. It was Suzuki’s 19th of the season and got the Cubs on the board, trailing 2-1.

Seattle had their own response as they struck back over the next few innings. In the top of the 2nd, Dominic Canzone drove a middle middle fastball out to left center for an opposite field home run and his second of the year. Then in the 4th, Donovan Solano cashed in on a hanging sweeper and smoked his second of the season out to left center. A couple solo shots had extended the Mariners lead out to 4-1.

After the Mariners added another run in the top of the 5th on an RBI single by Randy Arozarena, Chicago made their own move. Reese McGuire began the inning with his fourth home run of the season to make it 5-2. The Cubs weren’t done despite Logan Gilbert retiring the next two batters he faced. Kyle Tucker would single to keep the inning alive for Seiya Suzuki who did even more damage. Another line drive would get out for a two-run shot and Suzuki’s second of the game. Chicago was right back in it, cutting the Mariner lead to 5-4.

Seattle was ready to open their lead back up in the top of the 6th. It would be Dominic Canzone yet again to get things started. In a flashback to Jarred Kelenic’s memorable series in Chicago, Canzone sent a solo blast off the scoreboard in right field for his second of the game and third of the year. Singles by Miles Mastrobuoni and J.P. Crawford and a wild pitch set the table for Julio Rodríguez to drive in another run with a groundout to make it 7-4.

Things continued to build for the Seattle offense despite the bases empty and two outs. Mitch Garver drew a walk against former Mariner Chris Flexen to keep the inning alive and it ended up with another multi-home run game for the Mariners. Donovan Solano stayed scorching hot in the month of June with a two-run blast to left for his third home run of the year. Four different Mariners had multi=homer games in this series as the Mariners extended their lead to 9-4.

Chicago answered with a two-run shot by Kyle Tucker in the 7th to make it 9-6 before the Mariners landed the knockout blow. Seattle loaded the bases against Nate Pearson with singles by Miles Mastrobuoni and J.P. Crawford and a walk from Julio. Cole Young pinch hit for Jorge Polanco and came up with an RBI single to make it 10-6. A two-run double by Randy Arozarena and a two-run single for Donovan Solano turned out to be the knockout blows. Casey Legumina had a clean bottom of the 9th to put away the series 14-6. Seattle outscored Chicago 30-20 in a wildly high scoring series.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Cubs

• Seiya Suzuki- 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Kyle Tucker- 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Colin Rea (L, 4-3)- 5.1 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO

What’s Next

A successful start to their ten-game road trip, the Seattle Mariners (39-37) did not make up any ground in the AL West as Houston took two of three from the Angels in Anaheim. Texas also won two out of three in their series in Pittsburgh while the Athletics dropped two of three at home against Cleveland. Houston remains atop the AL West five game up on the Mariners and seven in front of the Rangers. The Angels drop to fourth, 7 1/2 games back while the A’s remain in last 14 games out. Seattle is now tied for the third and final Wild Card spot with Cleveland, who they own the tiebreaker over.

Now the Mariners will head north for a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins. It has been a struggle as of late for Minnesota (37-40) as they have fallen way back in the AL Central. In their last 15 games, the Twins are just 3-12 and are being outscored in those games by an average of 7-4 including allowing 9 or more runs six times in those 15 games. That streak has seen the Twins drop to 11 games back in the division, potentially forcing them to be sellers at the trade deadline. Seattle took two out of three from Minnesota in a wild series in Seattle in which the Twins came back to win in game one before the M’s walked them off in games two and three.

We highlighted Ty France the last time the Mariners and Twins played so now we will focus on a fascinating player to watch this summer in Byron Buxton. While the talent has never been questioned, Buxton has had issues staying healthy and has only played 100+ games twice in his 11-year career. This year has been very good for Buxton, who leads the team in batting average, home runs, and RBI and he has played in 60 of the Twins 77 games. With three and a half years on his contract, it is unlikely the Twins trade the uber athletic center fielder, but he is a name worth monitoring. June has already been a strong month for Buxton so the M’s have to be weary of the speedy slugger.

• Game 1, Monday 4:40pm- Bryan Woo (6-4, 3.12 ERA) vs. Bailey Ober (4-4, 4.54 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 4:40pm- Luis Castillo (4-5, 3.38 ERA) vs. Chris Paddack (3-6, 4.48 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 4:40pm- George Kirby (1-3, 6.16 ERA) vs. Joe Ryan (7-3, 3.06 ERA)
• Game 4, Thursday 10:10am- Emerson Hancock (3-3, 5.43 ERA) vs. Simeon Woods Richardson (2-4, 5.06 ERA)

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