4/22/26

(Seattle, WA) A vibe change was in order for the Seattle Mariners and they got it with a nice series win at home over the Texas Rangers over the weekend. That would give the M’s some momentum heading into another home series with a team atop the AL West as they quickly turned their attention to the Athletics for a three-game series beginning on Monday. The A’s would be the last team from the AL West the M’s would see and this series would also end an AL West heavy portion of their schedule. Seattle would hope to end that stretch with another definitive series win against a young and very talented lineup for the A’s.

Athletics 6, Mariners 4 (Game One, April 20th)

Game one would see Emerson Hancock look to continue his strong start to the season while filling in for Bryce Miller. J.T. Ginn would take the ball for the Athletics against a seemingly rejuvenated Mariners lineup.

A great catch by Julio Rodríguez in center is how this series started as he retired Nick Kurtz to begin the opener. Things got better for the Mariners in the home half of the 1st as Cal Raleigh was the second batter to face J.T. Ginn. Cal was patient and worked a 3-1 count in his favor before Ginn gave in with a sinker well located on the outer half. Raleigh went the other way with it out to left center for a solo shot and his third home run of the season. Raleigh has started to drive the ball more which is great news for the Mariners as they grabbed a 1-0 lead.

Seattle wasn’t done yet in the 1st inning as they continued to make Ginn work hard right out of the gate. A single kept Julio’s on-base streak alive and he turned it into a double with his second stolen base of the year. Josh Naylor made the swiped bag count with a grounder down the right field line for extra bases. J-Rod scored as Naylor moved to second with his first double of the year to extend the lead to 2-0.

J.T. Ginn could not seem to avoid trouble in the early going. Leading off the bottom of the 2nd, Dominic Canzone stepped to the plate and battled from an 0-2 count. A slider stayed on the inside corner but stayed to high and Canzone crushed it out to right center for his third home run of the season. Another hard hit ball for the Mariners grew the lead a bit more out to 3-0.

Josh Naylor’s second double of the game was stranded in the 3rd and the Athletics would get on the board in the top of the 4th. Leading off, Carlos Cortes would be at the plate, filling in for an injured Brent Rooker at DH. Cortes was incredible in the opener and despite chasing a fastball in off the plate, barreled it up out to right field for his second home run of the season. The solo shot gave the A’s some life with a 3-1 deficit.

Seattle wasted a Dominic Canzone double in the bottom of the 4th as well and missed opportunities were starting to pile up. Fortunately, Emerson Hancock picked off Lawrence Butler at second to prevent the lead from shrinking. Unfortunately, he was not as fortunate in the 6th. Emerson Hancock faced two batters in the 6th and threw 11 total pitches. By the time he exited the game, the lead was gone. Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers went back-to-back for their third and seventh home runs respectively. The two blasts hit the reset button on the game as it was then tied 3-3.

Jose A. Ferrer got out of a bases loaded jam to finally end the 6th before Matt Brash pitched a relatively clean 7th with just a walk allowed. Seattle couldn’t get a baserunner against the A’s bullpen however which kept the game tied as Casey Legumina pitched the 8th. That’s when things fell apart. The A’s loaded the bases on a Tyler Soderstrom double, Jacob Wilson single, and Jeff McNeil walk with not a single out recorded. Max Muncy brought in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly before Lawrence Butler brought in two more with a single to right. What was once a three-run lead turned into a three-run deficit as the A’s took a 6-3 lead.

Seattle threatened in the 8th with singles by J-Rod and Naylor but left runners stranded at second and third in another missed opportunity. In the 9th, Joel Kuhnel came in to close things out and recorded a quick out by getting Dominic Canzone to lineout to third. A single by Cole Young and a double by Leo Rivas put two in scoring position and bring the tying run to the plate with one out. J.P. Crawford would hit a pop fly in foul territory, which was caught by Max Muncy for the second out. Cal Raleigh would stand in ang unfortunately got under one with a fly ball to right to end the opener. Six unanswered runs and missed opportunities cost the M’s in the opener as they dropped the opener to the A’s 6-3.

Notable Performances

Athletics

Mariners

• Dominic Canzone- 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, R
• Josh Naylor- 3-4, 2 2B, RBI, SB
• Emerson Hancock (ND)- 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

Athletics 5, Mariners 2 (Game Two, April 21st)

Seattle slowly faded in the opener so a strong start felt crucial for the Mariners in game two. To get that, they would need Luis Castillo to eat some innings with a strong start after an OK outing in San Diego. Jacob Lopez would be the starter for the A’s as he looked to figure out his large walk problem against a lineup that draws a lot of walks for the Mariners.

This time it would be the A’s getting off to a hot start as they came out and got Luis Castillo early. A walk and stolen base by Nick Kurtz was almost erased by La Piedra as he struck out Shea Langeliers and Carlos Cortes for two outs. However, a clutch two-out double by Tyler Soderstom found the wall in right field. Kurtz came home to score to get the A’s on the board early with just their second 1st-inning run of the season.

Seattle wasted a couple of 1st inning walks issued by Jacob Lopez but would get to the lefty in the 3rd. Back-to-back singles for Rob Refsnyder and Cal Raleigh put two on with nobody out at the beginning of the frame. J-Rod moved Refsnyder to third with a sacrifice fly before Josh Naylor brought home Refsnyder with a deep enough fly ball to center to tie the game at 1-1. That’s all Seattle could muster as Lopez gave up a single to Randy Arozarena before getting J.P. Crawford to fly out to keep the game tied.

It didn’t take long at all for the A’s to retake the lead in this one. In the top of the 4th, Luis Castillo quickly recorded two outs as he got Tyler Soderstrom to pop out and Jacob Wilson to groundout. Jeff McNeil came to the plate for a battle of the veterans and the former New York Met would win this showdown. A changeup belt high on the outer half was squared up by McNeil and sent into the right field stands for his first home run as an Athletic. Just as quickly as Seattle had tied it up, the A’s had taken back the lead 2-1.

Castillo got out of trouble in the top of the 5th to end his day with a decent outing and the bats got him off the hook for the loss in the bottom of the inning. With the bases empty and one out, Cal Raleigh would show that not only was he finding his swing from the left side of the plate, but the right side as well as he took a hanging slider out to the A’s bullpen for his fourth home run of the series. Back-to-back games with a homer for Raleigh had to feel good for the Big Dumper as this one tied it up at 2-2.

Every time Seattle fought back in this one, the A’s responded immediately to shut down the momentum. In the top of the 6th, the A’s got to Eduard Bazardo who took over for Luis Castillo. Another double by Tyler Soderstrom started the inning and put the go-ahead run in scoring position with nobody out. Jacob Wilson quickly answered with his fourth double of the season down the left field line. Back-to-back doubles had the A’s back in front and threatening for more. Bazardo would somehow work through this one and minimized the damage but Seattle was back to trailing 3-2.

Instead of the deficit shrinking, it only grew for the A’s. They would get to Gabe Speier in the 7th as Shea Langeliers homered for the second consecutive game with his eighth of the season. In the 9th, singles by Nick Kurtz and Shea Langeliers had Cole Wilcox on the ropes. He would get Carlos Cortes to groundout before intentionally walking Tyler Soderstrom to load the bases. It didn’t pay off as Jacob Wilson singled home a run. Wilcox struck out the next two he faced but the game went to the bottom of the 9th with the M’s down 5-2.

Jack Perkins stayed in for his second inning of work for the green and gold and he was dominant in both innings. Perkins sat down all six batters that he faced, including strikeouts of Cole Young and Luke Raley in the 9th. Seattle was just 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base as they dropped game two and the series, 5-2.

Notable Performances

Athletics

Mariners

• Cal Raleigh- 2-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
• Julio Rodríguez- 2-3, BB
• Luis Castillo (ND)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

Mariners 5, Athletics 4 (Game Three, April 22nd)

Seattle has already been swept twice this season and would need to take the finale to avoid letting it happen for a third time this year. Logan Gilbert would be the man for the job as he still would be in search of his dominant form that we have seen throughout his young career. Veteran and first-year Athletic, Aaron Civale would face the Mariners as the A’s looked to leave Seattle in first place in the AL West.

After trading back and forth who got off to a hot start in the first two games, both would come out firing in the finale. Logan Gilbert walked Nick Kurtz before a single by Shea Langeliers put runners on the corners with nobody out. Then one of the most bizarre plays of the year occurred as Carlos Cortes hit a line drive right back at Logan Gilbert. The ball would actually get stuck in Gilbert’s jersey resulting in pain for Gilbert and confusion for everyone else. The umpires awarded Cortes first and moved Langeliers to second while keeping Kurtz at third. Gilbert stayed in the game but gave up two runs, a sacrifice fly to Tyler Soderstrom and an RBI single to Jeff McNeil to give the A’s an early 2-0 lead.

In the home half of the 1st, Seattle got going as well. Singles by J.P. Crawford and Julio Rodríguez got runners on second and third early against Aaron Civale. Josh Naylor loaded the bases with his own single and still just one out. Randy Arozarena drove a fly ball out to left to bring home Crawford and get the M’s on the board. Despite making Civale throw 34 pitches, they managed just one run while leaving the bases loaded.

Logan Gilbert bailed out his defense in the 2nd, not allowing an error to turn into a run. In the 3rd is when the A’s extended their lead. Jacob Wilson drove in a run on his fifth double of the year, but Seattle answered back in the bottom half. For the third game in a row, Cal Raleigh left the yard with home run number five of the year with a solo shot to right to get it right back to a one-run game at 3-2.

Both Gilbert and Civale settled in after really shaky starts but while Gilbert managed to go just four innings, Civale pitched into the 6th. He would leave after a single by Josh Naylor and Brady Basso took over with a man on first and one out. Dan Wilson stayed consistent with his righty vs. lefty matchups and pinch hit Mitch Garver for Luke Raley. Fans were just about to erupt before Garver doubled to right center to put runners on second and third. Rob Refsnyder hit for Dominic Canzone and got the job done with a sacrifice fly to center as the bench came through to tie the game at 3-3.

Matt Brash pitched a very quick 1-2-3 7th as Mark Leiter Jr. took over for the A’s in the home half. He gave up a single to J.P. Crawford and a double to Cal Raleigh to put men at second and third with one out. Julio Rodríguez would come through by putting the ball in play for an RBI groundout and all of a sudden the M’s were out in front 4-3.

With limited bullpen availability, Dan Wilson brought in Cooper Criswell for his highest leverage situation in the 8th, but he looked very comfortable with a 1-2-3 inning to set things up for Andrés Muñoz in the 9th. He got some help from his defense as Rob Refsnyder took a hit away from Austin Wynns to begin the inning. Then came trouble. A 2-2 slider to Nick Kurtz stayed up above the knees and Kurtz crushed it to center for a no-doubter and his fourth home run of the year. It would be a blown save for Muñoz as the M’s would have to walk it off with the game tied at 4-4.

Joel Kuhnel was on for the bottom of the 9th to try to force extra innings for the Athletics. A single for Leo Rivas would put the winning run on, but J.P. Crawford hit into a 4-6-3 double play on a fantastic turn by Jeff McNeil at second base. This game look destined for extra innings but the top of the order wouldn’t give in. Singles by Cal Raleigh and J-Rod put two on for Josh Naylor and a chance to walk it off. Naylor would close out his very good series in a big way as he slapped a base hit the other way down the left field line. There was no throw from Tyler Soderstrom as Raleigh scored easily and Naylor was mobbed at first base. A walk-off single for Josh Naylor salvaged the finale and helped the Mariners avoid a sweep with a 5-4 win over the Athletics.

Notable Performances

Athletics

Mariners

• Josh Naylor- 3-5, RBI, R, Walk-Off
• Cal Raleigh- 3-5, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 R
• Logan Gilbert (ND)- 4 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Roster Moves

• RHP Casey Legumina designated for assignment
• Mariners recall RHP Alex Hoppe from Triple-A Tacoma

What’s Next

After a six-game homestand, the Seattle Mariners (11-15) now hit the road for a trip to the Midwest for a couple of three-game series against teams in the Central divisions. The M’s will enter the weekend 2 1/2 back of the A’s and potentially the Rangers as Texas will play their rubber game with the Pirates on Thursday before hosting the A’s in a battle for first place. The Angels are 1 1/2 back after dropping two of three to Toronto and will now go to Kansas City for three. Houston brings up the rear, 3 1/2 back after a series win over Cleveland and will now host the dangerous New York Yankees for three.

Seattle has lost eight games in a row on the road and will take their 1-8 road record to St. Louis for a three-game series with the Cardinals beginning on Friday. St. Louis (14-10) was riding a five-game winning streak after sweeping Houston, but dropped two out of three in Miami to continue their up-and-down first month of the season. The Cardinals are off to a surprising start in the NL Central, a division where all five teams currently own a winning record. They are 7-5 at Busch Stadium this season but inconsistencies are a cause for concern as they seem to flip the switch from hot streak to cold skid with nothing in between. They have one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball with a team ERA of 4.77 but that is in large part due to a struggling bullpen despite closer Riley O’Brien not allowing a run in 13 1/3 innings this season.

The offense for the Cardinals is middle of the pack but Jordan Walker seems to be finally living up to the hype with arguably the best month of his career. The former #1 prospect in the organization had a nice rookie season with 16 home runs and 51 runs batted in in 117 games in 2023. He combined for 11 homers and 61 RBI in 162 total games in 2024 and 2025. So far this season, Walker has eight homers and 16 runs batted in in just 23 games. He is well on his way to career highs across the board. His strikeout rate is still very high, but he is starting to hit for power which makes the strikeouts worth it. His slash line is .292/.357/.607 which is blowing away anything he has put together in his career and seems like he could be transitioning from trade chip to a building block for the next generation of the franchise.

• Game 1, Friday 5:15pm- George Kirby (3-2, 2.97 ERA) vs. Andre Pallante (2-1, 4.05 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 11:15am- Bryan Woo (1-2, 2.25 ERA) vs. Matthew Liberatore (0-1, 3.67 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 11:15am- Emerson Hancock (2-1, 2.83 ERA) vs. Michael McGreevy (1-2, 3.29 ERA)

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