5/31/26

(Seattle, WA) For the first time this season, the Seattle Mariners were all alone atop the AL West after a tremendous and dominant sweep of the Athletics in Sacramento. A complete series with terrific pitching and explosive offense saw everything come together perfectly as Seattle looked like the World Series contender many pegged them to be. But the same issue was still a concern for the M’s and that was consistency. They had to capitalize on the momentum and put together back-to-back strong series.

The Mariners returned home for a six-game homestand and it all started over the weekend with the red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks coming to town. Arizona entered the weekend riding an MLB best five-game winning streak despite missing their ace in Corbin Burnes and a key piece in their lineup in Lourdes Gurriel Jr. They had put themselves in a playoff spot with an incredible stretch from Ketel Marte at the plate and an MVP caliber start to the season from Corbin Carroll. Two hot teams would take the field but only one would get a series win to keep the momentum.

Mariners 7, Diamondbacks 6 (10 Innings) (Game One, May 29th)

Friday night would be the end of one win streak as the Diamondbacks put their five-game streak on the line against the Mariners three-game win streak. Zac Gallen would be the starter in the opener for Arizona trying to eat up some more innings than he has this season. Seattle handed the ball to George Kirby who also has had trouble getting too deep into games in the month of May.

A wild juggling catch by Cole Young turned into a double play help George Kirby erase a single in the 1st and set the tone early for the Seattle Mariners. If that did not set the tone, what J.P. Crawford did to leadoff the bottom of the 1st certainly did. Crawford took a fastball at the top of the zone and hammered it out to right field for another leadoff home run for his eighth of the season. Great defense and one swing of the bat had Seattle up early 1-0.

Kirby pitched around a one-out double by Tony Fernandez by getting Corbin Carroll to fly out to center. In the bottom of the 3rd, Zac Gallen would be cruising after retiring the first two batters. J.P. Crawford extended the inning with a two-out walk on eight pitches to bring Julio Rodríguez to the plate. A slider at the bottom of the zone was scalded out to left field and was just high enough to get out for a two-run home run. It was the lowest launch angle on a home run for Julio’s career at just 16 degrees. It was also his ninth of the month which was the most he has had in any singular month of his career. Number 11 of the season for J-Rod put Seattle up 3-0.

Arizona got one back on a solo home run for Geraldo Perdomo on his third of the season to make it 3-1 in the 4th. In the bottom of the 5th, Seattle got that back plus another after Jhonny Pereda began the inning with a single. Two batters later, J.P. Crawford had a career first as he launched a fly ball to deep center field. It had enough to get out for his ninth home run of the season and second of the game. The home run gave J.P. Crawford the first multi-home run game of his career as well as giving the M’s a 5-1 lead.

Despite the M’s power surge, the Diamondbacks would not just go away. Arizona really put the pressure on George Kirby in the 6th with a one-out single by Corbin Carroll followed by double #9 for Gerlado Perdomo to put runners on second and third. Gabriel Moreno brought the D-Backs to life with a double to the base of the wall in left center. Carroll and Perdomo could both walk home as Moreno reached second with his eighth double of the season. That made it 5-3 and ended Kirby’s day as Matt Brash took over. He wasn’t sharp early as he walked Adrian del Castillo and gave up a single to Ryan Waldschmidt to load the bases. Ildemaro Vargas brought home a run with a groundout before Jose Fernandez singled home another run. A four-run inning for the Snakes had evened things back up at 5-5.

It took Seattle two batters to grab the lead back as Luke Raley belted his 12th home run of the season to right in the bottom of the 6th to make it 6-5 Mariners. Jose A. Ferrer and Eduard Bazardo combined for a scoreless 7th but Bazardo would stay on for the 8th. Jose Fernandez reached with a one-out double but Bazardo got Tommy Troy to fly out for the important second out. After walking Ketel Marte, Bazardo was replaced by Gabe Speier who would end the inning with a strikeout of Corbin Carroll to preserve Seattle’s 6-5 lead.

The one-run lead remained into the 9th with Andrés Muñoz looking to close it out. A leadoff single by Geraldo Perdomo put the tying run aboard and he moved into scoring position on a single by Gabriel Moreno. Muñoz loaded the bases with nobody out by hitting Nolan Arenado, who had to leave the game. He would record a strikeout of Ryan Waldschmidt for the first out but a weak grounder off the bat of Ildemaro Vargas would be dropped by Josh Naylor who tried to make a barehanded play which scored Perdomo and tied the game with the bases still loaded. An infield fly by Jose Fernandez, a Tommy Troy groundout, and a scoreless inning pitched by Brandyn Garcia sent this one to extra innings.

Tommy Troy was the automatic runner for Arizona in the 10th with Cooper Criswell on to pitch for Seattle. Ketel Marte moved Troy to third with a groundout to bring Corbin Carroll to the plate. Carroll smoked a grounder back up the middle, but a diving play by J.P. Crawford forced Troy to stay put at third as Carroll was thrown out at first. Geraldo Perdomo’s grounder was handled by Cole Young at second as Criswell spun a scoreless inning thanks to the tremendous play by Crawford and gave Seattle a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the 10th.

J.P. was the runner at second to start the inning as Juan Morillo took over on the mound. He struck out Julio for the first out and intentionally walked Josh Naylor to set up a potential double play. Randy Arozarena had been Seattle’s best hitter this season and came to the dish and made Arizona regret pitching to him. Arozarena chased a slider well out of the zone down and away, but muscled it to the gap in right center. Ryan Waldschmidt had no play as the ball got down to bring in J.P. Crawford to walk it off for the Mariners. Randy Arozarena was mobbed as the hero as the Mariners took the opener in 10 innings, 7-6 to run their winning streak to four and snap the D-Backs five-game winning streak.

Notable Performances

Diamondbacks

Mariners

• J.P. Crawford- 2-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, BB, Terrific Defense
• Julio Rodríguez- 3-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, R
• George Kirby (ND)- 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO

Mariners 5, Diamondbacks 1 (Game Two, May 30th)

Seattle would try to keep things rolling in game two of the three-game series on Saturday as they looked to win back-to-back series for the first time since the end of April. Bryan Woo would be on the mound as the right-hander would try to shake off a tough start in Kansas City where he didn’t make it out of the 5th. Ryne Nelson would have the start for Arizona in game two coming off his best start of the season against Colorado where he allowed one run in eight innings.

It was not just a one-game power surge for the Mariners as they continued to hit the long ball in game two of the series as well and jumped on Ryne Nelson in the bottom of the 2nd. Luke Raley came to the plate with nobody on and one out and the fly ball oriented Nelson could not keep those fly balls in T-Mobile Park. Raley homered for the second game in a row as he sent his 13th of the season out to right center. Two batters later, Dominic Canzone drove one out a little more towards right field for his sixth of the year. Two solo shots by lefties got the crowd going early with a 2-0 lead for the Mariners.

Bryan Woo was rolling early and retired the first nine batters he faced with five via the strikeout. By the time he took the mound for the 4th, his lead was even larger. Colt Emerson began the bottom of the 3rd and he joined in on the home run barrage. The rookie sent his second of his rookie season out to right to make it 3-0. Once again, it would be just two batters later that the M’s would add another. Julio Rodríguez would continue his scorching hot month of May with a solo blast to center for his 12th of the season and 10th of the month. Four solo home runs fired the crowd up even more as Seattle had a 4-0 lead with Woo dominating.

A one-out single by Adrian del Castillo broke up Bryan Woo’s perfect game bid in the 5th. A single later in the inning by Ildemaro Vargas would be the last baserunner Woo allowed as he struck out Jose Fernandez looking to end the inning. He would retire the next six Diamondbacks he faced to finish seven strong innings of work. Woo was outstanding with another outing in the mix for his best start of the season. Seven scoreless innings with just two hits allowed and no walks while tying a season-high in strikeouts with nine, Woo rolled right through the D-Backs lineup with just 86 pitches and 63 strikes. It was dominant yet efficient as he turned things over to the bullpen after another All-Star level performance.

Cole Young added a run with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-0 which allowed the high leverage relievers to rest up in the bullpen. Cooper Criswell hung a zero up in the 8th before giving way to Alex Hoppe for the 9th. The rookie would give up a two-out walk to Geraldo Perdomo who then stole second before scoring on a passed ball. It was not a big deal as Hoppe got Gabriel Moreno to send a routine grounder to J.P. Crawford to end this one. The consecutive series victory drought was finally over as the Mariners made it five wins in a row with a 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Notable Performances

Diamondbacks

Mariners

• Bryan Woo (W, 5-3)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 SO
• Luke Raley- 2-3, HR, RBI, R, HBP
• Julio Rodríguez- 2-4, 2B, HR, RBI, R

Mariners 3, Diamondbacks 2 (10 Innings) (Game Three, May 31st)

Another sweep was up for grabs for the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon as they met the Arizona Diamondbacks in the series finale. Looking for their sixth win in a row, the M’s would use the piggyback method for the final time for a couple of weeks as they would go to a six-man rotation after this homestand. For Sunday though, Bryce Miller would have the ball before Luis Castillo took over as the two had combined to just allow just four runs in their first two go-arounds with the strategy. For Arizona, Merrill Kelly would be looking to help the D-Backs avoid the sweep as the veteran was looking for his fifth quality start in a row.

After a slower start to the game, the solo home runs popped up once again for the Mariners. In the bottom of the 2nd, Cole Young came to the plate on the one-year anniversary of his MLB debut. He earned a walk-off in his debut which made it even more memorable and he celebrated the anniversary in a big way. Young got a belt high fastball on the inner half and hammered it out to right field for his fourth home run of the season. It was the ninth home run by the Mariners in the series and put Seattle on the board, 1-0.

Bryce Miller was outstanding once again as the young right-hander has seen nothing but success with his increased velocity. He would allow just one hit in his five scoreless innings with one walk and six punch outs. Since returning from the IL in Houston, Miller has thrown just four runs in 21 innings for a 1.71 ERA. He has allowed 15 hits and eight of those were against Houston in his season debut. Miller has walked just three batters while striking out 20 as he has set the table for what could be his best season in his career.

Luis Castillo took over in the 6th and ran into trouble early. Ketel Marte walked with one out and a miscommunication between Cole Young and J.P. Crawford up the middle allowed Corbin Carroll to reach with his 13th double of the season on a soft chopper. Geraldo Perdomo would send a grounder to Crawford at short but he would cutdown Marte at the plate for a big second out. It would not prevent Arizona from tying the game as a wild pitch brought home Carroll to even things up at 1-1.

Once again, it took no time at all for Seattle to recapture the lead. In the bottom of the 6th, Dominic Canzone led off the inning and he did what Luke Raley and Julio Rodríguez had already done this series and that is homer two games in a row. Canzone sent his seventh of the season off the foul pole in right field and put Seattle back in front 2-1.

Arizona’s bullpen kept the deficit at one as Castillo pitched into the 8th. Gabriel Moreno came off the bench to hit for Aramis Garcia and singled to put the tying run aboard. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Tim Tawa thanks to an error by Josh Naylor which allowed Tawa to reach as well. Ketel Marte brought home Moreno on a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game at 2-2. A phenomenal leaping catch by Cole Young at second took an RBI away from Geraldo Perdomo to prevent Arizona from taking the lead. Both Castillo and Juan Morillo pitched a scoreless 9th to send this game to extra innings.

Ildemaro Vargas was the automatic runner for Arizona in the 10th with Luis Castillo still on the mound. Jose Fernandez moved Vargas to third with a sacrifice bunt to make things easier for Gabriel Moreno. He would walk to put runners on the corners for pinch hitter Adrian del Castillo who would strikeout swinging for a huge second out. La Piedra came up huge against Ketel Marte as a grounder to Cole Young at second prevented Arizona from scoring and once again gave Seattle a golden opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the 10th.

Seattle’s automatic runner was Randy Arozarena as Jonathan Loáisiga took over on the mound for the Diamondbacks. Arizona intentionally walked Luke Raley to set up a double play opportunity. Cole Young erased that with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third with one out for Victor Robles. He would come up with a career first as well as Robles sent a hard grounder up the middle. A diving Geraldo Perdomo knocked it down but struggled to corral the ball, allowing Arozarena to score on Robles’ first walk-off of his career. It was a second consecutive sweep as the M’s walked off the Diamondbacks for a second time in the series to earn a 3-2 win and run their winning streak to six games.

Notable Performances

Diamondbacks

Mariners

• Dominic Canzone- 2-3, HR, RBI, R, BB
• Cole Young- 1-4, HR, RBI, R
• Bryce Miller (ND)- 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO
• Luis Castillo (W, 2-5)- 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Roster Moves

What’s Next

The six-game winning streak is the longest such streak for the Seattle Mariners (31-29) this season and saw them get above .500 for the first time since March 30th. The M’s are now building upon their lead in the AL West as the A’s dropped two of three to the Yankees while Houston lost two of three to Milwaukee and Los Angeles lost two of three to Tampa Bay. Texas was the only other AL West team to win their series as they swept Kansas City to tie the A’s for second place in the West at 2 1/2 games back of Seattle while Houston is 4 1/2 back and Los Angeles at eight games back. The A’s now visit the Cubs for three while Texas is not too far away in St. Louis for three. Houston will host Pittsburgh for a three-game set while Los Angeles returns home for three with Colorado.

Meanwhile for the Mariners, they will stay at home for another interleague series to wrap up the six-game homestand. Seattle will welcome the New York Mets (26-33) to town for three games starting on Monday night. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since they played in the Little League Classic in Williamsport last August. New York had a nightmare start to the season despite having the second-highest payroll in the sport. The Mets were really struggling going into the weekend, losing seven of their last nine but did sweep Miami and bring a four-game winning streak to T-Mobile Park. The Mets are top 10 in team ERA with a 3.82 but are bottom 10 in offense, averaging four runs per game.

We would have spotlighted former Mariner Jorge Polanco, but he will remain on the IL until next weekend when the Mets go to San Diego. Instead, we will take a look at the obvious choice in Juan Soto. In his second year in Queens, Soto is once again filling up the stat sheet with another outstanding season. Soto is batting just .281 this month, which is low by his standards, but with an OPS of .984, he is still doing a ton of damage. Much like Julio, Soto launched 10 home runs in May and drove in 21 runs in one of his best months as a Met. He did strikeout a bit more than usual for the month, but with Pete Alonso now in Baltimore, Juan Soto has been stepping up as the dangerous bat in the middle of the order and they need him to stay consistent while the rest of the bats figure things out if they want any chance to make a run at the postseason.

• Game 1, Monday 6:40pm- Adam Warren (1-1, 1.40 ERA) vs. Emerson Hancock (4-2, 2.78 ERA)
• Game 2, Tuesday 6:40pm- TBD vs. Logan Gilbert (3-4, 3.69 ERA)
• Game 3, Wednesday 12:40pm- Freddy Peralta (3-4, 3.55 ERA) vs. George Kirby (5-4, 3.77 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 (Swept vs. Las Vegas Aviators, L 4-3, L 4-2, L 5-4, L 2-1, L 6-3, L 5-3)

Hitter of the Series

Brian O’Keefe, Catcher- 4-13, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R,

Pitcher of the Series

Nick Davila, RHP- 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO

Arkansas Travelers (Lost Series vs. Frisco RoughRiders, L 8-7, W 4-0, L 8-0, W 7-3, L 2-1, One Game Postponed)

Hitter of the Series

J.T. Arruda, SS- 4-10, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 SB

Pitcher of the Series

Ryan Sloan, RHP- 6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 SO

Everett AquaSox (Lost Series @ Hillsboro Hops, L 5-4, L 4-2, L 8-7, L 7-6, W 6-4, W 6-3)

Hitter of the Series

Josh Caron, Catcher- 8-21, 2B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 3 SB

Pitcher of the Series

Christian Little, RHP- 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO

Inland Empire 66ers (Lost Series @ Lake Elsinore Storm, L 7-6, L 10-4, L 5-4, W 3-1, L 2-0, L 11-6)

Hitter of the Series

George Feliz, OF- 6-17, 2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI, 4 R

Pitcher of the Series

Mason Peters, LHP- 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO

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