7/2/25

(Seattle, WA) A split in the first two games of the four-game series between the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals put a lot of emphasis on game three for both teams to try to win the series. For two teams that are not in a very good spot in terms of security in making the playoffs, both need every series they can get and a potential tiebreaker could be very important as well.

In the third game of the series, two pitchers who had been solid this season would take the mound, both coming off not their best starts ever. Noah Cameron would look to continue his fantastic rookie campaign while Logan Gilbert would try to eat some innings to get the Mariners bullpen some extra rest.

Mariners 3, Royals 2 (Game Three)

Logan Gilbert got into some hot water in the top of the 1st and couldn’t escape the trouble. A one-out single by Bobby Witt Jr. turned into a double when the speedy shortstop swiped second for his 23rd stolen base of the year. Vinnie Pasquantino walked, and then Gilbert got an important second out on a fly out by the red-hot Maikel Garcia. However, veteran and Mariner killer Salvador Perez came up with another clutch hit against Seattle. A base hit to left brought home Witt and gave the Royals the 1-0 lead.

That was it in terms of offense against the starting pitchers in this game. While Logan Gilbert and Noah Cameron allowed a total of just one run, neither went deep into the ballgame. Both went just 4 2/3 innings and Cameron is still utilizing a low pitch count so his four hits and one walk with five strikeout day only ended due to the Royals trying to save his arm. Logan Gilbert had a lot of long at-bats and allowed just the one run on three hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. It would largely be a bullpen game as both starters gave their offenses a chance to win.

John Schreiber got out of a jam in the 5th and stayed out for the bottom of the 6th after Gabe Speier pitched a quick and clean top half. Leading off the bottom of the 6th, Randy Arozarena continued his best series as a Mariner since being acquired at last season’s deadline. For the fourth time in this series Arozarena would send a blast out to center for his 12th home run of the season. The solo shot tied the game at 1-1 while Arozarena’s energy boosted the team and the crowd.

While Seattle couldn’t do anything else in the 6th, Carlos Vargas set them up to take a lead with a scoreless top of the 7th. Ángel Zerpa would allow a leadoff double off the bat of Ben Williamson for his 10th double of the season on the first pitch of the inning. Cole Young also reached on a fielder’s choice to put runners on first and second with nobody out. J.P. Crawford moved the runners up with a sacrifice bunt which brought Steven Cruz into the game. He couldn’t escape as Julio Rodríguez reached on an infield single that brought home Williamson to make it 2-1. Randy Arozarena added another run with a sacrifice fly to center to make it 3-1 going into the 8th.

Flawless so far this season, Matt Brash looked to keep his ERA at 0.00 but back-to-back singles by Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino put that in jeopardy. Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to put runners on the corners with one out. Salvador Perez ended Brash’s run of dominance with a single to center to bring home Witt and make it 3-2. Brash would avoid blowing the lead completely with a strikeout of Jac Caglianone and a groundout by Drew Waters to end the inning and keep the Mariner lead intact.

Andrés Muñoz had no breathing room as he came on for the 9th and got some soft contact right away. A pop up to second by Freddy Fermin and a flyout to left by Kyle Isbel put the Mariners an out away from a huge game three win. Jonathan India could not solve Muñoz as he went down swinging at a slider for strike three to put this game to bed. Seattle’s bullpen outlasted Kansas City’s and that resulted in a 3-2 win for the Mariners.

Notable Performances

Royals

Mariners

• Randy Arozarena- 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Julio Rodríguez- 1-4, RBI
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 4.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO

Roster Moves

• Mariners select contract of LHP Joe Jacques from Triple-A Tacoma. SP Emerson Hancock optioned to Triple-A.
• SP Logan Evans recalled on Thursday from Triple-A Tacoma. LHP Joe Jacques optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

What’s Next

It was a big win for Seattle (45-41) on Wednesday night, giving the Mariners a shot to win the series in the finale on Thursday night. However, Houston also took care of business with a 5-3 win over Colorado as well as Texas shutting out Baltimore 6-0. Los Angeles would fall to Atlanta 8-3 and the Athletics dropped one to Tampa Bay 6-5. Houston still sits atop the division with a seven-game lead over the Mariners and 9 1/2 ahead of both Texas and Los Angeles. The A’s are 17 1/2 games out. Seattle still holds the final AL Wild Card spot, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers and Angels.

In the series finale on Thursday at 7:10pm, we will get a veteran vs. rookie matchup to decide it Seattle takes the series or if it will be a split. For Kansas City, Seth Lugo (5-5, 2.74 ERA) will look to force the split in his first start in July. Lugo had a great month of June with an ERA of 1.26 in 28 2/3 innings last month. Logan Evans (3-2, 3.38 ERA) will return to the big league club to make the start for Seattle. Evans has been very solid in a handful of starts for the M’s this season but had a tough outing in his last spot start in Arizona on June 10th.

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