8/3/25

(Seattle, WA) It always feels like a new season starts after the Trade Deadline is over. For the Seattle Mariners, that rang true as they began their post-deadline season with a massive four-game series at home with the team that they were tied with for the final Wild Card spot in the American League in the Texas Rangers.

So far this season, the M’s have had the Rangers number and already clinched the season series and head-to-head tiebreaker with a 7-2 record with just this four-game series to go. That made the series even more important for the Rangers as they have to finish with a better record than the Mariners and not just a tie to get the edge for the playoffs. Adding to that, the Mariners entered the series winning the last six games with the Rangers at T-Mobile Park.

Both teams looked completely different than they did the last time they met before the All-Star Break in Arlington. Texas added some pitching pieces including relievers Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe as well as starter Merrill Kelly. Seattle added to their lineup primarily with the big additions of Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor while also adding lefty reliever Caleb Ferguson to fortify their bullpen. Both entered with a new focus as the final two months of the season had arrived.

Mariners 6, Rangers 0 (Game One)

Vibes are great for the opener on Thursday night in Seattle as both the Mariners and Texas Rangers welcomed their new acquisitions just hours after the Trade Deadline had passed. With Eugenio Suárez back in the starting lineup along with Josh Naylor, the new Mariner lineup squared off against a Texas team that pitches better than anyone in the league. Kumar Rocker would be the opponent for the M’s as George Kirby took the mound against a team he has had a ton of success against in his career.

Walks were the only way batters could get on early but the offenses couldn’t get on the board. Texas put their first two batters on in the 3rd on a walk for Joc Pederson and a single for Rowdy Tellez. Kirby would lock in after that, getting Kyle Higashioka to foul out to Suárez before striking out Josh Smith and Corey Seager to strand the two runners and keep things scoreless.

A great sliding catch by Julio Rodríguez helped Kirby spin a clean top of the 4th and Eugenio Suárez would get the M’s going in the bottom half of the inning. He would record his 20th double of the season with one out to put a runner in scoring position and record his first hit in his second stint in Seattle. Geno moved to third on a sacrifice fly by Jorge Polanco, bringing Dominic Canzone to the plate with two outs. While Canzone would single, Suárez scored earlier in the at-bat on a wild pitch to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Seattle’s power would then open things up an inning later as the bottom and top of the order provided some pop. First up, Cole Young would obliterate a fastball in the middle of the plate from Rocker, sending it 456-feet for his first T-Mobile Park home run and his third of the season. It was Young’s longest home run of his young career and extended the lead to 2-0. Two batters later, Cal Raleigh stepped to the plate and would get a similar result in a different way. Cal sent a towering fly ball out to right field that just continued to carry out to right field for Raleigh’s MLB-leading 42nd home run of the year. A couple of solo shots had given George Kirby some more run support, with Seattle extending their lead to 3-0.

Down the stretch of the season, the Mariners clearly need their rotation to get back to their 2024 ways and that’s just what George Kirby did in the opener. The right-hander attacked the zone and while he did walk two, got a lot of weak contact and really located his pitches well. A couple of strikeouts to begin the 6th were followed by a Corey Seager single and Marcus Semien double, but that wouldn’t hurt Kirby. He would get Adolis García to fly out to J-Rod in center to end the inning and his day. Kirby went six scoreless innings with just three hits and two walks allowed while striking out six to set the tone for the big weekend series.

Things continued to go the M’s way on Thursday night as they continued to pull away from Texas. A leadoff walk for Jorge Polanco would then see the switch hitter steal second. J.P. Crawford got a feel-good base hit with a single to right to bring home Polanco and make it 4-0. Cole Young continued his big game with a line drive to right center that got all the way to the wall. Crawford scored from first as Young dove into third with his first triple of his career. A passed ball would bring in Young for free and Seattle had doubled their lead up to 6-0.

Caleb Ferguson made his Mariner debut with a clean 1-2-3 7th before giving way to Trent Thornton in the 8th. Thornton followed up with a clean 8th and stayed out for the 9th in a non-save situation. Things looked great for Thornton as he retired Seager and Semien to start the inning. Disaster would then strike on a grounder from Adolis García. As Thornton went to cover first, he would collapse holding his ankle in what turned out to be a ruptured Achilles. The freak injury brought the energy way down as the resurgent Thornton was carted off the field with a season ending injury. Casey Legumina would scramble to get loose but retired Sam Haggerty, striking him out looking to end the game. While the injury to Trent Thornton hurt the Mariners, they would still manage to earn a 6-0 win over Texas to begin the series.

Notable Performances

Rangers

Mariners

• Cole Young- 2-4, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• George Kirby (W, 6-5)- 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO
• Cal Raleigh- 1-4, HR, RBI, R

Mariners 4, Rangers 3 (Game Two)

Friday nights at T-Mobile Park with the Seattle Mariners wearing their city connect uniforms while in the midst of a playoff race brings an energy that feeds the city. After a nice 6-0 win in the opener, Logan Gilbert would look to keep the good vibes rolling in game two against Texas. The Rangers were in desperate need of a win and would give the ball to young Jack Leiter to try to give them some positive momentum.

Logan Gilbert retired the first four batters that he faced to keep the Texas offense silent in the early portion of this series. Eugenio Suárez reached on an infield single to put a man on with one out in the bottom of the 2nd. A Jorge Polanco single and a walk for Dominic Canzone loaded the bases with one out for J.P. Crawford. He couldn’t catch up to some added velocity from Leiter and struck out for a big second out. Cole Young would step up for Seattle with good plate discipline to draw a walk which brought home the game’s first run. While the Mariners would strand the bases loaded, they at least grabbed a run and a 1-0 lead.

Joc Pederson drew a walk to begin the 3rd and was the first baserunner for Texas of the game. A former Mariner would then get Texas on the board as Rowdy Tellez yanked a grounder down the right field line for a base hit. Dominic Canzone had problems getting the ball back in which allowed Pederson to score all the way from first on Rowdy’s seventh double of the year to tie the game at 1-1. Jonah Heim then moved Tellez to third on a grounder before Josh Smith singled him home to give the Rangers their first lead of the series, 2-1. A two-out double by Marcus Semien continued the Texas onslaught of Logan Gilbert and made it 3-1.

Momentum was on the side of the Texas Rangers as they continued to lead into the bottom of the 5th. A walk to Cole Young began the inning and after Randy Arozarena popped out, Jack Leiter’s day was done after just 4 1/3 innings. Left-hander Hoby Milner came in to pitch but walked Cal Raleigh to put the tying run on and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Julio Rodríguez hit into what was initially a double play but the call was changed at first and runners were on the corners with two outs. One of the new Mariners would clutch up as Josh Naylor sent a line drive the other way into left field. Young would score while J-Rod had to stop at third on Naylor’s 20th double of the season. Eugenio Suárez flew out to deep center to end the inning but Seattle had pulled closer, trailing 3-2.

Gabe Speier pitched around a double in the 7th while Seattle stranded a runner in the bottom of the 8th. Texas was three outs away from evening up the series and brought in lefty closer Robert Garcia. After a great month of July, Garcia struggled and began his outing by giving up a single to Dominic Canzone. Miles Mastrobuoni pinch ran for Canzone representing the tying run while J.P. Crawford came to the plate as the winning run. Crawford got in a 2-0 count and had the green light on a fastball on the inside corner and turned on it to send the fans home happy. Crawford crushed a no-doubter for his eighth home run of the season and his first career walk-off home run. Chaos ball and good vibes were back in Seattle as the Mariners walked off the Texas Rangers in game two, 4-3.

Notable Performances

Rangers

Mariners

• J.P. Crawford- 1-4, Walk-Off HR, 2 RBI, R
• Josh Naylor- 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO

Rangers 6, Mariners 4 (Game Three)

Things could not have gotten off to a better start for the Seattle Mariners against the Texas Rangers as the M’s took the first two games of the four-game series. Looking to bury the Texas Rangers in the series, Seattle would hope Luis Castillo could eat up some more quality innings while Merrill Kelly made his Rangers debut on Saturday.

Each pitcher went 12 up, 12 down to begin the weekend as Merrill Kelly and Luis Castillo got off to great starts in game three. In the top of the 3rd, Luis Castillo would be the first to blink and Texas capitalized on it. Rowdy Tellez reached on a rare infield single to put a man on. Oddly enough, one of the hottest hitters in the Rangers lineup is Kyle Higashioka and he stayed scorching hot. Castillo would try to overpower Higashioka with a 2-2 fastball, but the Rangers catcher got all of it out to left for a two-run home run and his seventh home run of the season. Texas just needed a couple of mistakes to take a 2-0 lead.

La Piedra was pretty solid outside of the 3rd but was pulled in the middle of the top of the 5th after just 4 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly dominated the first five innings but looked like a complete different pitcher in the 6th. J.P. Crawford led off the inning with his 17th double of the season to put a man in scoring position. Randy Arozarena singled with one out to put runners on the corners before Kelly made a big mistake. A balk would allow a run to score because Kelly disengaged from the rubber three times during an at-bat. That mistake turned into more when Julio Rodríguez doubled to center for his 19th of the season, scoring Arozarena and tying up the game. Kelly would make another mistake on a grounder back to him where he threw to third instead of getting the final out at first. Shawn Armstrong escaped that jam however to keep the game tied at 2-2.

Seattle would get a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 7th against Danny Coulombe after Dominic Canzone singled and Mitch Garver walked to put two on with nobody out. J.P. Crawford moved the runners along with a sacrifice bunt but Cole Young loaded the bases with a walk. With just one out, the M’s needed to put the ball in play but couldn’t. Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh both took called third strikes as the opportunity went up in smoke and the bases were left loaded with the game still tied.

This game would head for extra innings as the two teams played bonus baseball against one another again. In the 10th, Matt Brash would pitch while Ezequiel Duran began the inning at second as the automatic runner. Kyle Higashioka wasted no time and singled to center to score Duran and make it 3-2 Rangers. Things continued to build for Texas after Alejandro Osuna singled and Josh Smith laid down a sacrifice bunt to put men at second and third with one out. After intentionally walking Corey Seager to load the bases, Brash would get Semien to ground out but the M’s had to trade a run for an out. Brash would then end the inning with a strikeout but Texas put up two to take a 4-2 lead.

Cole Young was the Mariners automatic runner in the bottom of the 10th while Robert Garcia took over on the mound for Texas. For the second time in as many days, Garcia blew a save. A 1-1 pitch to Randy Arozarena would be a fastball right down the middle and Randy continued his power hitting summer with a rocket to left for his 22nd homer of the year. The two-run blast immediately tied the game back up at 4-4, where it would stay going into the 11th.

Casey Legumina came in for the Mariners in the 11th and had Adolis García as the automatic runner. A single by Joc Pederson put runners on the corners before Sam Haggerty hurt his former team with an RBI single to right to make it 5-4 Texas. Ezequiel Duran added another run with a base hit to right before Legumina settled in and got out of the inning. However, Seattle had no answer in the bottom of the 11th against Luis Curvelo. The rookie retired Mastrobuoni, Garver, and Crawford in order to slam the door on this one. Texas ended their eight-game losing streak at T-Mobile Park, outlasting the Mariners 6-4 in 11 innings.

Notable Performances

Rangers

Mariners

• Randy Arozarena- 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Julio Rodríguez- 1-5, 2B, RBI
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

Mariners 5, Rangers 4 (Game Four)

Best case scenarios were very different as the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers wrapped up their four-game series in Seattle on Sunday afternoon. For Seattle, they could take a huge four-game series and really put Texas behind in the playoff race while fighting back into the AL West race. For Texas, a win would earn a series split and even things back up with the Mariners in the Wild Card race. Texas would have one of the best pitchers of the generation on the mound in Jacob deGrom while Seattle would throw their rookie Logan Evans.

Seattle missed out on a scoring opportunity in the 1st but still grabbed the game’s first run in the bottom of the 2nd. With one out and the bases empty, Jorge Polanco battled back from an 0-2 hole to even the count up. Jacob deGrom would leave a fastball thigh-high on the inner half of the plate and Polanco dropped the barrel to it and sent it out to deep right field. The ball would fly out for the 18th home run of the season for Polanco and grabbed Seattle the 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last for long for Seattle as Texas got to the rookie Logan Evans in the 3rd. Despite the bases being empty with two outs, Texas began a rally with a Josh Smith single to right to bring the dangerous Corey Seager to the plate. The two-time World Series MVP would deliver a huge blow to the M’s on a 3-2 curveball that hung in the middle of the plate. Seager drove it out to center for his 16th home run of the season and in the blink of an eye, Texas had grabbed a 2-1 lead.

In a game that was very reminiscent of a seesaw, Seattle responded immediately themselves in the bottom of the 3rd. Also with nobody on and two outs, Cal Raleigh worked a seven-pitch walk to extend the inning for Julio Rodríguez. It turned out to be a historic at-bat for J-Rod as he jumped on a first pitch slider and drove it out to right center. It would carry out for a two-run shot and Julio’s 20th home run of the year and the 100th of his career. It also made Julio the first player to ever record a 20/20 season in each of their first four years in the big leagues. More importantly, the blast put the Mariners back out in front, 3-2.

If you thought this lead would last, you are sadly mistaken. In the top of the 4th, Texas responded. Adolis García doubled for the 21st time this season to begin the inning but Logan Evans settled in after that. Pop outs by Joc Pederson and Wyatt Langford kept García at second with two outs. However, two-out magic once again helped out the Rangers. Rowdy Tellez smoked a line drive over Julio’s head in center field. While the park would hold it, García would score on Rowdy’s ninth double of the year to tie the game up at 3-3.

Yet again, Seattle didn’t wait around to retake the lead in the bottom of the 4th. Once again, a quick two outs put deGrom in a good spot with nobody on base in the tied game. Again, it would be a walk that extended the inning as Dominic Canzone reached after an eight-pitch battle. In stepped J.P. Crawford and he capitalized on a very rare mistake by deGrom. A heater right down the middle wasn’t missed by the resurgent shortstop and he clobbered his ninth home run out to right. The two-run blast gave the M’s the lead again and some breathing room at 5-3.

Adolis García made things closer with his 16th home run of the season int he 6th to make it 5-4. That score remained the same into the 9th when Andrés Muñoz took over for Caleb Ferguson who pitched a 1-2-3 8th. Things didn’t start great for Muñoz as he walked the leadoff man in García to put the tying run on. Joc Pederson would hit into a 6-4 fielder’s choice for the first out before Sam Haggerty ran for the veteran at first. The former Mariner tried to swipe second, but a perfect throw from Cal Raleigh erased him after the Mariners challenged the safe call and the bases were wiped clean with two outs. Muñoz finished things off with a strikeout of Wyatt Langford to end the game and the season series. Seattle took three out of four in the series and went 10-3 against Texas this season, winning the finale 5-4.

Notable Performances

Rangers

Mariners

• Julio Rodríguez- 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, SB
• J.P. Crawford- 1-3, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Logan Evans (W, 5-4)- 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

What’s Next

With just two months left in the regular season, the Seattle Mariners (60-53) began the final stretch with a huge series win with a new-look lineup and took advantage of a bad weekend for many American League contenders. Houston was swept by Boston while the Angels dropped two of three to the White Sox. The Yankees were also swept by the Marlins as things continued to go well for the M’s. Seattle now trails Houston by just 2 1/2 games in the AL West while Texas sits 4 1/2 back and Los Angeles 8 games out. The Mariners hold onto the final Wild Card spot with a two-game lead over Texas and sit just half of a game behind New York for the second spot and two back of Boston.

No team in the American League has an easier remaining schedule than the Seattle Mariners but they must actually capitalize on that for it to mean anything. After their first day off since the All-Star Break on Monday, the Mariners will continue their homestand with a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox. Chicago holds the worst record in the American League and the second worst in baseball ahead of only Colorado. They are 10-5 since the break and have won series against Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Angels, so the Mariners can’t take them lightly. Seattle barely scratched out a series win in Chicago when the two teams played back in May.

Nobody on the White Sox really stands out from the rest but Lenyn Sosa is a dangerous bat that has already hurt the Mariners this year. While he only played in two games in the three-game set, Sosa was a menace going 3-7 with a home run and a double in that series. Leading the White Sox in hits with 95 this season, Sosa is the guy that sets up the rest of the lineup and his 12 for 24 during his seven-game hitting streak. All three pitching match-ups favor the Mariners but they still must be careful with a bunch of guys like Sosa int he lineup that have the mindset of death by 10,000 papercuts. They will get their hits, but Seattle pitching must prevent them from bunching those hits together.

• Game 1, Tuesday 6:40pm- Davis Martin (3-8, 3.84 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (8-6, 3.11 ERA)
• Game 2, Wednesday 6:40pm- Jonathan Cannon (4-8, 4.77 ERA) vs. George Kirby (6-5, 4.13 ERA)
• Game 3, Thursday 1:10pm- Shane Smith (3-7, 4.25 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (3-4, 3.45 ERA)

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