7/10/25

(New York, NY) Six games on the road is all that stood between the Seattle Mariners and the All-Star Break, but it would be arguably the team’s toughest six-game stretch so far this season. Starting off the road trip, the M’s would head to the Bronx for their final three-game series with the New York Yankees in the regular season.

After dropping two out of three to New York in Seattle back in May, the Mariners would hope to serve up a little payback in what would be a pretty talked about series across the baseball world. The two frontrunners for the American League MVP and the two leaders in home runs in all of baseball would share the field as Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge faced off with the spotlight firmly on them. The battle could also play a big factor in the standings as both teams battle for playoff positioning.

Yankees 10, Mariners 3 (Game One)

Game one of the three-game set would feature a solid pitching matchup, but would end up plagued by rain. Logan Gilbert would get the ball for Seattle as the Opening Day starter faced off against a very tough lineup. For New York, Will Warren made the start facing the Mariners for the second time this season.

Gilbert and Warren were dominant early on as there were only a total of three hits in the first four innings of play. One came from the Yankees off the bat of Cody Bellinger while Seattle’s two hits came from J.P. Crawford and Cole Young.

In the top of the 5th, the Mariners put together the first threat of the game. Luke Raley singled to begin the inning and he was erased on a fielder’s choice hit by Dominic Canzone. Ben Williamson would single to put runners on first and second with just the one out as rain started pouring down in the Bronx. After Cole Young hit into a fielder’s choice to put runners on the corners with two outs, the umpire crew called for the tarps and the game entered a rain delay. While the delay only lasted 35 minutes, both pitchers came back out and Warren got out of the jam as J.P. Crawford grounded out to first to end the inning.

Logan Gilbert looked completely different after the delay and was clearly affected by the long break. A single by Paul Goldschmidt was followed by an Austin Wells walk to put two on with one out. Gilbert would get Anthony Volpe to hit into a 6-4 fielder’s choice for a second out but runners were still on the corners. Oswald Peraza would roll over on a grounder and Cole Young would bobble the ball on the transfer on what was a very tough play. He couldn’t make the throw and that allowed Goldschmidt to score to put the Yankees on the board, 1-0.

Seattle couldn’t cash in on a couple of walks in the 6th as Tim Hill got New York out of trouble before the Yankee bats broke things open. Logan Gilbert would allow leadoff singles to Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to put a couple of runners on. Giancarlo Stanton would deliver the first haymaker as he clobbered his second home run of the season to right to make the score 4-0. Things didn’t get better for Gilbert as Goldschmidt would double for the 20th time this season before Austin Wells did more damage. A two-run homer to right center would be the 14th for the Yankee catcher and New York had chased Gilbert to take a 6-0 lead.

Casey Legumina did not have it either on Tuesday night and he would allow the home run race to get closer. Aaron Judge would go the other way with a sweeper and used the short porch in right field to his advantage. The ball just cleared the right field wall for Judge’s 34th of the season which made it 7-0 and cut Raleigh’s lead in homers down to one. New York blew things open a bit more thanks to an RBI double by Jazz Chisholm Jr. and a two-run single for Paul Goldschmidt to take a 10-0 lead.

Seattle was just playing for respect after that and J.P. Crawford would single to begin the 8th off of Geoff Hartlieb. Julio Rodríguez would get the M’s on the board with his 14th double of the season to bring in Crawford and make it 10-1. Cal Raleigh then got to respond to the Judge homer and he didn’t need the short porch to do so. Raleigh obliterated a slider on the outside corner, sending it 394-feet for his 36th home run of the season. That homer would move Raleigh past Ken Griffey Jr. for the most home runs by a Mariner before the All-Star Break.

That home run was all Seattle fans really had to cheer for on a rainy Tuesday night. A short rain delay really derailed what looked like a fantastic pitching matchup and turned the opener into a blowout as the Yankees hammered the Mariners 10-3.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Yankees

• Giancarlo Stanton- 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
• Paul Goldschmidt- 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Will Warren (W, 6-4)- 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

Yankees 9, Mariners 6 (Game Two)

Game two would be a very different pitching matchup as each team had a rookie on the mound against a fellow playoff contender. For the Seattle Mariners, Logan Evans would take the ball in his second start since taking back over in the #5 spot in the rotation. For the New York Yankees, it would be the MLB debut for flamethrower Cam Schlittler.

Schlittler flew through his first inning with a couple of strikeouts while Logan Evans really struggled early. A single by Jasson Domínguez was followed by a walk for Aaron Judge to put the first two men on. Cody Bellinger stayed hot as he yanked a base hit to right to bring in the game’s first run as Domínguez scored to make it 1-0. Giancarlo Stanton made it four consecutive batters to reach as he singled home Judge, making it 2-0. An RBI groundout by Jazz Chisholm Jr. tacked on one more as New York took a commanding early lead, 3-0.

A double play killed the top of the 2nd for the M’s while Logan Evans pitched around a double in the home half to keep the score 3-0. In the top of the 3rd, Seattle would get on the board. Facing Schlittler for the second time, J.P. Crawford was better prepared for the heat and would actually take advantage of a hanging slider. Crawford lined one out to right field that would get out with the short porch for Crawford’s seventh home run of the season. The solo shot gave the M’s some momentum as they got on the board trailing 3-1.

It seemed like whenever the Mariners scored, the Yankees were right there to respond. That theme started in the bottom of the 3rd following Crawford’s home run. With nobody on and one out, Jazz Chisholm Jr. took advantage of a Logan Evans mistake in the middle of the plate and crushed his 16th home run of the season 418-feet. The blast answered the M’s first run and put the Yankees back up by three, 4-1.

Seattle would cut their deficit back down to two in the top of the 4th with a nice response. Seattle can hit homers in bunches and with the short porch they were looking to hit plenty this week. Jorge Polanco would come to the plate with the bases empty and one out and turned around on a fastball on the inside corner and blasted it out to right field. Polanco’s 13th long ball of the season brought Seattle closer as they trailed 4-2.

While Evans would spin a scoreless 4th, he wasn’t so fortunate in the 5th. Cody Bellinger singled but that looked harmless enough as Evans got Giancarlo Stanton swinging for the second out. Jazz Chisholm Jr. however proved to have the rookie’s number on Wednesday night as he added on to his RBI total. Chisholm skied a curveball out to right field that had just enough juice to clear the wall for his second home run of the season and 17th of the season. The two-run homer opened things back up as the Yankees led 6-2.

This time it would be the Mariners having an immediate response ready. Julio Rodríguez hit his 15th double of the season and Cam Schlittler would see his day come to an end after striking out Cal Raleigh. Jonathan Loáisiga was first out of the bullpen for the Yankees and he would have to face the owner of a recent power surge in Randy Arozarena. Loáisiga’s first pitch was sent the other way out to right field to keep the power surge alive. Arozarena would circle the bases with his 15th home run of the season to cut the deficit in half, 6-4.

While the Yankees answered once again, this time it felt like the knockout blow. Austin Wells began the inning with his 15th double of the year before Carlos Vargas got Anthony Volpe to fly out to shallow right for out number one. Oswald Peraza then sent a line drive to center that handcuffed Julio who would make an error to allow Peraza to reach. Jasson Domínguez would make that error hurt with a single to right to score Wells and make it 7-4. The big blow came off the bat of Aaron Judge who pulled one down the left field line and into the corners. Peraza and Domínguez scored on Judge’s 22nd double of the season and the Yankees had opened up a 9-4 lead.

While things weren’t going well for the Mariners, there was a very special moment in the top of the 7th. A one-out double by Ben Williamson was the rookie’s 12th two-bagger of the year. Then came the moment. Cole Young came to the plate and sent a line drive high out to right field. While the short porch would help, it still would get out for Young’s first career home run. The rookie smiled as he rounded the bases in a special moment for him while also getting Seattle back in the game, trailing 9-6.

Trent Thornton hung up a couple scoreless frames to keep the deficit at three going into the 9th. Unfortunately for the Mariners, they would have to face a filthy closer in Devin Williams and he was on his game on Wednesday night. A four-pitch strikeout of Dominic Canzone started the inning before Miles Mastrobuoni flew out to left for a quick two outs. Cole Young didn’t fare better as he went down swinging on Williams filthy changeup to end the game. It was an early series loss for the M’s as they dropped game two to the Yankees, 9-6.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Yankees

• Jazz Chisholm Jr.- 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Jasson Domínguez- 3-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R, BB
• Cam Schlittler (W, 1-0)- 5.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO

Yankees 6, Mariners 5 (10 Innings) (Game Three)

As the Seattle Mariners looked to avoid the sweep, they would get the right guy on the mound as All-Star pitcher Bryan Woo would look to quiet the Yankee bats. For New York, Marcus Stroman would take the ball as he continued to build himself back after coming off the IL.

Woo looked like he would get in trouble early as he walked the first two batters he faced. A double play helped him get out of it before finding his groove. He would have a lead when he took the mound for the 2nd. In the top half, Luke Raley worked a one-out walk to put a man on. Dominic Canzone snuck a grounder through into right field for a base hit and moved Raley from first to third for the rookie Cole Young. After a tough start to his career, Young has put together some quality ABs and had another one here. A single the other way into right field was textbook for Young and brought home Raley to give the M’s a 1-0 lead.

Bryan Woo did not allow a baserunner in the 2nd or 3rd as he protected the one-run lead. In the top of the 4th, Dominic Canzone drove a ball to deep left center for a ground-rule double with one out to put a man in scoring position. Cole Young moved him over to third with a grounder but with two outs Miles Mastrobuoni needed a base hit to get Canzone home. He would clutch up as the utility man pulled a first pitch hanging curve into right field for a single. The bottom of the order was doing their part as Canzone scored to make it 2-0 Seattle.

Things continued to go very well for Bryan Woo as he was through five innings without allowing a hit. In fact, he hadn’t allowed another baserunner since the two walks to start his outing. Clayton Beeter would be the first reliever in the game to start the 6th and found himself in hot water in his second inning of work in the 7th. After walking J.P. Crawford to start the inning, Beeter got a couple of fly outs for two outs. Randy Arozarena drew a walk to extend the inning for Jorge Polanco. After a couple of hard hit outs, Polanco hit one where no defender could put a glove on it. A hanging slider was sent way out to right field for a three-run shot and Polo’s 14th home run of the year. Just like that the Mariners had some cushion and took a 5-0 lead.

Luke Raley made a nice play in the 7th to keep Bryan Woo’s no-hitter alive. Woo was dominating with his fastball and as always attacked the zone and made the Yankees swing the bats. While he only struck out five, Woo induced a lot of weak contact and had some solid defense behind him. Luke Raley was outstanding over at first base, making a handful of nice plays as the night felt special for Woo.

Leading off the 8th, Jazz Chisholm Jr. would end the no-hit bid. A single just past Cole Young’s glove would give the Yankees their first hit. Ben Rice would then single and all of a sudden the game started to feel different. A sacrifice fly by Austin Wells would get the Yankees on the board and chased Bryan Woo after 7 1/3 innings. Matt Brash would come in to strikeout Anthony Volpe for the second out before Aaron Boone went to his bench and brought Giancarlo Stanton in to pinch hit for Jorbit Vivas. It was the right move. A fastball came back over the plate and Stanton launched it out to center for his third home run of the year. All of a sudden the game was back up for grabs as the Mariner lead was cut to 5-3.

Seattle had a quick top of the 9th which meant it would be a two-run lead for Andrés Muñoz to protect. He would have to face the meat of the Yankee order and it didn’t start well as Trent Grisham singled to bring Aaron Judge to the plate, representing the tying run. Judge would sky the first pitch he saw to center where Julio made the catch for a huge first out. Cody Bellinger would then single before Jazz Chisholm Jr. flew out to right. With one out left to get, the wheels fell off for Muñoz. He walked Ben Rice and did not get a call on a 2-2 pitch to Austin Wells that should have been strike three. Instead, Wells stayed alive and singled to right to bring home two. From a no-hitter to a blown lead, we were headed for extras with the score tied 5-5

Devin Williams put up a zero and left the automatic runner stranded in the top of the 10th. That meant that Anthony Volpe would start the inning at second in the bottom of the 10th, representing the winning run. Gabe Speier was on to pitch and Oswald Peraza popped up a bunt that was caught by Ben Williamson for a huge first out. Paul Goldschmidt then pinch hit for Jasson Domínguez but was intentionally walked to give the M’s a double play opportunity. Trent Grisham then worked a walk to load the bases for Aaron Judge. Once again, Judge would send a harmless fly ball to center where Julio Rodríguez made the catch and launched a great throw to the plate. However, Cal Raleigh couldn’t get the tag on Volpe who swam around it to score to walk it off. Heartbreak is the only word to describe this one as the M’s blew a 5-0 lead and lost to the Yankees 6-5 in extras to be swept for the fourth time this season.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Yankees

• Austin Wells- 1-3, 3 RBI
• Giancarlo Stanton- 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Marcus Stroman (ND)- 5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

What’s Next

Not only did the Seattle Mariners (48-45) get swept by the New York Yankees, but they wasted an opportunity to make up ground in the AL West as Houston was swept by Cleveland this week. Meanwhile, Texas and Los Angeles split a four-game set while the Athletics took two out of three from the Atlanta Braves. Houston maintains their seven-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West, with Texas 9 1/2 back and the Angels 10 games out. The A’s made up some ground but are still 17 games out of the division. Seattle did lose their grasp of the final AL Wild Card spot and now trail Boston by a game for the final postseason spot.

We now enter the final series before the All-Star Break and things don’t get any easier for the M’s as they travel to the Motor City to take on the team with the best record in the sport in the Detroit Tigers. After having their big breakout last year and advancing to the ALDS, the Tigers have taken another step with a vastly improved rotation to go along with their contact oriented approach at the plat. Detroit has had Seattle’s number as the Mariners are just 2-7 against the Tigers since the beginning of last season. The two teams did meet in the second series of the season in April when the Tigers took two out of three despite the M’s getting the win over reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.

We highlighted Tarik Skubal when the two teams played in April so we won’t talk about him again despite the lefty taking the ball in the opener on Friday night. Instead, we will talk about a starter for the American League in the All-Star Game in Riley Greene. The young focal point of the Detroit lineup is very prone to striking out as he leads all of baseball with 123. However, when the ball is put in play good things happen. With solid power Greene can light up both righties and lefties but is better against right-handers which the Mariners have a bunch of. Greene is hitting .302 against righties this season with an OPS of .957 and 21 homers, 15 doubles, and 54 runs batted in. The American League left fielder is very pesky and homered twice against the Mariners back in April.

• Game 1, Friday 4:10pm (Apple TV+)- Luis Castillo (5-5, 3.31 ERA) vs. Tarik Skubal (10-2, 2.02 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 10:10am- George Kirby (3-4, 4.22 ERA) vs. Casey Mize (9-2, 2.63 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 10:40am- Logan Gilbert (2-3, 3.88 ERA) vs. Jack Flaherty (5-9, 4.70 ERA)

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