5/3/26

(Seattle, WA) A successful road trip gave the Seattle Mariners some momentum as they returned home for a very important weekend three-game series with the Kansas City Royals. Now it wasn’t the series itself that made the weekend big, but it was the presence of legendary starting pitcher Randy Johnson as the Mariners retired his #51 becoming the fourth Mariner to ever have his number retired by the franchise. With that came sold out crowds and a playoff like atmosphere for the weekend

Kansas City would hope to spoil all of those good vibes as they rolled into town playing their best ball of the year. A terrible start highlighted by a bad bullpen and awful situational hitting, the Royals seemingly began to turn things around against another AL West team in the Angels but still had a ways to go out of the bottom of the AL Central. With a franchise player like Bobby Witt Jr. and good supplemental pieces like Vinnie Pasquantino and Mikel Garcia, it would not be an easy series for the M’s.

Royals 7, Mariners 6 (Game One, May 1st)

After getting hit around in his last start, Bryan Woo would open up the exciting weekend on the mound as he looked to bounce back from his blow-up in St. Louis. Talented lefty Cole Ragans would be the opponent as he was continuing to look for the form he had prior to his rotator cuff issue from early last summer.

Things weren’t going any better this time around for Bryan Woo early in the game as Kansas City tagged him early and often on Friday night. Three singles in a row started the game as Vinnie Pasquantino drove in the first run of the game and a throwing error by Connor Joe moved him up to second and Bobby Witt Jr. to third. Salvador Perez kept the early hit parade going with his fourth double of the year to bring home two more and make it 3-0 before an out was recorded. Woo would then get a couple of fly outs but Isaac Collins’ second double of the year brought home one more as the Royals led 4-0 before the Mariners ever had an at-bat.

J.P. Crawford would get the M’s off to a decent start as he drew a walk in a rare left on left leadoff spot for the shortstop. After Cal Raleigh struck out, Seattle would get on the board and it would be a terrific sight for Mariner fans. Known for struggling in the first half before really turning it on after the All-Star Break, Julio Rodríguez continued to put together his best start to a season as he crushed a changeup that hung at the top of the zone out to left field for a two-run shot and his third home run of the season. Just getting something back after a terrible top of the inning was massive for the Mariners as they were on the board but still trailing 4-2.

Bryan Woo and Cole Ragans both settled in after bumpy 1st innings and thanks to some strong defense from both sides, kept the score at 4-2 after the next few innings. The next team to put up a run would be Seattle and it would be leading off the 5th where that run came. Connor Joe began the inning and wasted no time as he smashed a curve on the inside corner out to left for his first home run as a Mariner. A tough start to his time in Seattle, Joe is becoming a decent bat off the bench as he inched the M’s even closer, trailing 4-3.

It wasn’t too long before Kansas City got that run back and it was with a big blast from a World Baseball Classic hero. Vinnie Pasquantino crushed a challenge fastball in the middle of the plate and turned it into a souvenir out to the right field seats. It was his fourth home run of the year. Three batters later, Jac Caglianone crushed his third of the season as well. A couple of solo shots opened the Royals lead back up to 6-3.

The ball was flying out of T-Mobile Park on Friday night and Seattle kept that trend going. In the bottom of the 6th, Randy Arozarena came to the dish after Josh Naylor struck out to begin the inning. A fastball at the very top of the zone was caught by Arozarena and he blasted it the other way for an opposite field solo home run and his third of the season. Seattle continued to fight back, trailing 6-4.

Cole Wilcox stranded a couple of two-out walks in the 7th after taking over for Bryan Woo after another shaky outing. That zero put up by Wilcox was big as Kansas City went to their bullpen in the bottom of the 7th with Daniel Lynch IV. The lefty struck out Leo Rivas before J.P. Crawford smoked a line drive to center field to get a man on. Lynch bounced back by striking out Cal Raleigh for the second out. In came Julio Rodríguez and for the second time on Friday, he left the yard. A fastball right down the middle ended up over the center field wall for J-Rod’s second of the game and fourth of the season. After a nightmare of a start, the game was back to even for the M’s at 6-6.

Once again that positive energy disappeared quickly. Jose A. Ferrer came on for the 8th and gave up a leadoff double to Salvador Perez. He moved to third on a groundout by Carter Jensen before Lane Thomas came in to pinch hit for Jac Caglianone. He would get jammed on a changeup and fought it off to center field and it dropped for a base hit. Perez was in to score on the pinch hit knock and the Royals were back in front 7-6.

The score remained the same into the bottom of the 9th when Lucas Erceg came in to try to close it out. He had absolutely no issues at all as he face the minimum for a quick and easy 1-2-3 final inning. A wild fight ended up not going the M’s way as they dropped the opener to the Royals 7-6.

Notable Performances

Royals

Mariners

• Julio Rodríguez- 2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
• Connor Joe- 1-2, HR, RBI, R
• Bryan Woo (ND)- 6 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Royals 3, Mariners 2 (10 Innings) (Game Two, May 2nd)

The Seattle Mariners began Saturday by retiring Randy Johnson’s #51, never to be worn again by a Seattle Mariner. Johnson is the fourth Mariner to have their number retired, joining Edgar Martínez, Ken Griffey Jr., and fellow #51 Ichiro alongside the league-wide retired #42 for Jackie Robinson. A host of Mariner legends were there to honor the Big Unit who was not on the best terms with the franchise until withing the last few years with new faces in the front office. Chairman John Stanton announced during the ceremony that the team would also be building a statue to honor the legacy of Johnson for the fourth statue outside of T-Mobile Park along with Martínez, Griffey, and Ichiro.

Once the game began it would be a veteran taking the ball for the Royals as Seth Lugo brought his vast arsenal to T-Mobile Park for game two. Emerson Hancock would take the ball for Seattle with intentions of continuing his breakout season. He would do that and so much more as he channeled his inner Randy Johnson.

Hancock rolled through the 1st inning and Seattle would strike in the home half of the inning to get him the lead. A one-out double by Julio Rodríguez was his seventh two-bagger of the season as the M’s needed a spark with Cal Raleigh out of the lineup after being a late scratch. Josh Naylor fed that spark with a base hit to center to bring in J-Rod and give the M’s a 1-0 lead just three batters in.

Seattle left the bases loaded in the 2nd and Kansas City would even the score in the 3rd. They started their rally the same way that the Mariners did, with a one-out double by Kyle Isbel for his fourth of the season. Maikel Garcia followed with his ninth double of the year to bring home Isbel and tie it at 1-1. Hancock would get Bobby Witt Jr. to fly out before striking out Vinnie Pasquantino to prevent the Royals from grabbing the lead.

In the bottom of the 5th, Leo Rivas and J.P. Crawford singled back-to-back with one out. J-Rod then loaded the bases with an infield single and one wild pitch later, Rivas scored to make it 2-1. Josh Naylor then struck out to keep runners on second and third but with two outs. Randy Arozarena worked a walk to load the bases before he made a terrible mistake. A 2-2 pitch to Cole Young missed to make the count 3-2, but Arozarena thought it was ball four and was trotting to second base. The Royals would take advantage and tag out Arozarena and the Mariners call for obstruction fell on deaf ears. The mistake potentially cost the Mariners as they settled for just a run to take a 2-1 lead.

Emerson Hancock was completely brilliant for the Mariners on Saturday night. With the pressure of pitching on a day dedicated to one of the best pitchers of all time in Randy Johnson, the young right-hander put together his best outing of his professional career. Hancock would go seven innings with just the one run allowed on six hits without walking a batter and striking out a career high 14 batters. He became just the fourth Mariner to ever strikeout 14 batters without allowing a walk, joining George Kirby, Mark Langston, and the man of the hour himself in Randy Johnson. Hancock’s latest outing just continues to raise the questions on what the Mariners do when Bryce Miller returns as they can’t take Emerson out of the rotation.

Eduard Bazardo got an incredible diving catch by Randy Arozarena in left to help a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th. With a 2-1 lead, Seattle brought Andrés Muñoz out to try to close it out but Kansas City pressured him. Salvador Perez singled to begin the inning before Lane Thomas ran for him and advanced to second on a balk by Muñoz. After Carter Jensen struck out, Jac Caglianone sent a base hit back up the middle. Julio misplayed the ball, allowing it to get by him and all the way to the wall, allowing him to reach third while Thomas scored to tie the game at 2-2. It was a blown save for Muñoz but he would retire the next two to strand the go-ahead run at third. Seattle did nothing against Matt Strahm and we headed to extra innings.

Cooper Criswell was the next reliever for Seattle and while Michael Massey stole third as the automatic runner, Criswell struck out Kyle Isbel. Kansas City did score as Maikel Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Massey and make it 3-2. Seattle had Connor Joe as the automatic runner against Lucas Erceg, but they couldn’t do anything once again. A quick 1-2-3 inning ended a demoralizing loss for the M’s as they blew game two in extras, 3-2.

Notable Performances

Royals

Mariners

• Emerson Hancock (ND)- 7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 14 SO
• Josh Naylor- 1-4, RBI
• Julio Rodríguez- 2-4, 2B, R

Royals 4, Mariners 1 (Game Three, May 3rd)

Looking to avoid the sweep was not how the Mariners intended this series to end as the finale rolled around on Sunday afternoon. Luis Castillo would hope once again that May would bring better fortunes for the veteran as he faced Kris Bubic in the finale.

Castillo and Bubic both rolled through the first two innings and Jhonny Pereda threw out a would-be base stealer to allow Castillo to put up another zero in the 3rd. Leo Rivas walked to start the bottom of the 3rd before a single by J-Rod put runners on the corners with one out. Josh Naylor hit a grounder but beat out a double play to allow Rivas to score and give Seattle a 1-0 lead.

That lead lasted half of an inning as the Royals got to Castillo in the 4th. Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino singled to put runners on the corners. Salvador Perez was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Castillo walked in the tying run after that. Jac Caglianone hit into a fielder’s choice but Seattle couldn’t turn two as another run scored. A sacrifice fly by Isaac Collins saw Perez initially thrown out at the plate but Kansas City’s challenge was successful as Perez beat it out to make it 3-1.

The Royals added another run on Isaac Collins double in the 6th to make it 4-1. Seattle would not get a runner into scoring position after scoring in the 3rd as the offense was MIA. It would not get better as Kansas City would complete the sweep of the Mariners, 4-1.

Notable Performances

Royals

Mariners

• Josh Naylor- 1-4, RBI
• Cole Young- 1-4
• Luis Castillo (L, 0-3)- 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO

Roster Moves

• RHP Matt Brash placed on 15-day IL (Right lat inflammation)
• Mariners select contract of RHP Nick Davila from Triple-A Tacoma
• 3B Will Wilson placed on 10-day IL (Left thumb fracture)
• C Jhonny Pereda recalled from Triple-A Tacoma
• Mariners claim LHP José Suárez off of waivers from Atlanta Braves and add him to the 40-man roster
• OF Rhylan Thomas designated for assignment
• OF Victor Robles sent on rehab assignment to Triple-A Tacoma

What’s Next

And just like that the momentum that the Seattle Mariners (16-19) built up on the road trip has disappeared after being swept for the third time this season. Elsewhere in the AL West, the A’s dropped two of three to Cleveland, Texas lost two of three to Detroit, Houston won two out of three against Boston, and the Angels lost two out of three to the Mets. The Athletics still lead the AL West by two games over Texas, 2 1/2 over Seattle, 4 1/2 over Houston and 5 1/2 ahead of the Angels as we work into May.

The entire AL West outside of the Angels plays a team viewed as a World Series contender coming into the season and it is no different for the M’s as they welcome the Atlanta Braves (25-10) to town for a three-game series. Atlanta has an 8 1/2 game lead over second place Miami in the NL East which is the largest division lead in the sport. They own the best record in the game with a ridiculous +81 run differential with the most runs scored in baseball this season and the third fewest runs allowed so far in 2026.

Atlanta was dealt a big blow over the weekend as they put former MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain. That changes this player spotlight back to Matt Olson, a former AL West foe with Oakland. Nobody in the league has as many extra base hits as Olson in 2026 as he leads the league with 26, 15 doubles and 11 home runs. He is also leading the game in runs batted in with 31 which is two in front of teammate Drake Baldwin which highlights more the talent in this lineup. He is also as reliable as they come as his current streak of consecutive games played is at 817 which is the 11th longest streak in MLB history. While he has to play 1,815 more game without missing one to get to Cal Ripken Jr.’s unbreakable mark, what Olson and the Braves are doing this year is incredible especially after their extremely disappointing 76-86 season last year.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- JR Ritchie (1-0, 2.92 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (1-3, 4.03 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- Bryce Elder (3-1, 1.88 ERA) vs. George Kirby (4-2, 3.00 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 1:10pm- Grant Holmes (2-1, 4.34 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (1-2, 4.61 ERA)

Mariners Minor League Update

This will be a new segment each week to update what is going on in the Seattle minor league system. We will continuously give scores for each team but will also highlight some of the key players that have had strong series.

Tacoma Rainiers (Lost Series vs. Las Vegas Aviators, L 2-1, L 2-1, W 5-1, L 11-7, W 4-3, L 3-0)

Hitter of the Series

Rhylan Thomas, OF- 7-22, HR, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB

Pitcher of the Series

Randy Dobnak- 12 IP, 16 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO

Arkansas Travelers (Won Series @ Wichita Wind Surge, W 4-3, L 5-1, W 11-3, W 5-1, W 16-6, W 8-4)

Hitter of the Series

Lazaro Montes, OF- 8-24, 3B, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 8 R, 4 BB

Pitcher of the Series

Peyton Alford, LHP- 3.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO

Everett AquaSox (Lost Series @ Tri-City Dust Devils, W 8-3, W 10-7, L 6-4, L 8-6, L 10-9, L 7-4)

Hitter of the Series

Brandon Eike, 3B- 6-16, 2 2B, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 SB

Pitcher of the Series

Brock Moore, RHP- 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

Inland Empire 66ers (Lost Series @ Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, W 8-3, L 6-5, L 3-0, W 5-4, L 11-10, L 3-2)

Hitter of the Series

Cesar Quintas, OF- 15-26, 5 2B, HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, SB

Pitcher of the Series

Mason Peters, SP- 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO

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