6/18/26

(Seattle, WA) Fitting seven games between two MLB teams in the span of 11 days is a rarity but that is exactly what the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles did as the season series between the two came to an end on Thursday afternoon. They split the first six games so the entire season series came down to the final game which could have a big impact if the two teams end up battling it out for a wild card spot. The run differential in the first six games was just a two-run advantage for the Orioles, with all but one game very close.

In the finale it would be something new against something familiar in terms of the pitching matchup. Baltimore would get another look at Bryan Woo, who struggled in his outing in Baltimore last week and would look to bounce back after back-to-back bad starts. Seattle would face a new pitcher for the O’s in Shane Baz, who did not pitch in the series last week but would need to have better control of the zone than he has had so far this season.

Mariners 3, Orioles 0 (Game Three, June 18th)

Bryan Woo got off to a strong start with a nice six-pitch, 1-2-3 top of the 1st to set the tone. Shane Baz looked to respond and retired J.P. Crawford and Cal Raleigh relatively quickly but hit a snag after. Josh Naylor returned to the lineup with a single to right center that was whiffed by Leody Taveras allowing him to move up to second. A walk to Dominic Canzone put two on before Cole Young clutched up. He would flip one the other way down the left field line for extra bases, scoring Naylor with his 11th double of the season. Seattle wouldn’t be done as Colt Emerson followed with a base hit to right to plate Canzone and Young. The two-out rally had the M’s in a great spot early with a 3-0 lead.

Bryan Woo was dealing early in this one and didn’t allow a baserunner until a two-out double by Jackson Holliday in the 3rd but he stranded that two-out knock. Early on, Woo struck out five in a row and was clearly on his game after a couple of rough outings. Shane Baz also settled down for Baltimore with scoreless frames in the 2nd and 3rd. Challenges were a factor early as both teams challenged three calls a piece in the first three innings and all challenges were successful as the ABS system would not allow home plate umpire Tyler Jones have too much of an effect on this one.

There was some cause for concern surrounding Bryan Woo after a tough couple of starts on the road in Detroit and Baltimore. On Thursday afternoon, he put an end to the chatter surrounding the former All-Star. Woo was outstanding with one of the best outings of his season. He would pitch into the 8th and allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out nine in a major “get right” game for Woo.

Things wouldn’t necessarily end on a high note for Bryan Woo as a single by Leody Taveras and a walk to Colton Cowser allowed the first two Orioles to reach in the 8th. That would force Dan Wilson to get his starter and go to the bullpen and Eduard Bazardo. The trusty right-hander got a ground ball off the bat of Blaze Alexander to short and it took Colt Emerson towards third and he cut down the lead runner for the first out. Jackson Holliday would sky a fly ball into the sun in center field and Victor Robles could not find it. Miles Mastrobuoni came all the way over from left field, but at the last second Robles saw it and made the catch for a dramatic second out. There wasn’t as much drama from Taylor Ward as Bazardo caught Taylor Ward looking at the bottom of the zone to completely escape the jam as the lead stayed 3-0.

Andrés Muñoz was on to try to close out a series win for the Mariners in the 9th with a three-run lead against the meat of the Baltimore order. First up was Gunnar Henderson and it didn’t start well for Muñoz as he missed with a 3-2 slider to walk the leadoff man. Up next was Adley Rutschman and there was a scary moment. A chopper up the middle was handled by Colt Emerson who made a great tag on Henderson but his throw to first hit the head of Rutschman. It looked to get mostly helmet but he was pulled for a pinch runner which likely would have happened anyway with a nagging hamstring injury. Jeremiah Jackson was the runner as Pete Alonso came to the plate, and he sent a soft chopper to J.P. Crawford at third and his only play would be at first to get Alonso. With one out to get, Andrés Muñoz would walk Samuel Basllo to bring the tying run to the plate in Leody Taveras. Muñoz continued to be wild and fell behind Taveras before battling back to strike him out on a slider. It was the first time the M’s took a series against the Orioles since 2022 and the first time Baltimore had been shutout in 2026 as the M’s blanked the O’s 3-0 to take the series and season series.

Notable Performances

Orioles

Mariners

• Bryan Woo (W, 6-5)- 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
• Colt Emerson- 1-2, 2 RBI, BB
• Cole Young- 1-3, 2B, RBI, R

What’s Next

After going three series without a series win, the Seattle Mariners (39-37) got back on track with the series win over Baltimore to start their six-game homestand. While Houston was off on Thursday the rest of the AL West played with the Athletics beating the Angels 5-0 while the Rangers were swept at home by the Twins, 9-3. Seattle saw their division lead grow to 1 1/2 games over the A’s, three games ahead of the Rangers, four ahead of the surging Astros, and nine ahead of the Angels. The A’s and Angels will play a four-game series this weekend in Sacramento while the Astros host the Guardians for three and the Rangers host the Padres for three.

The Mariners will finish up their brief homestand with another AL East opponent as they get their first look at the Boston Red Sox in 2026. There is no sugarcoating it, 2026 has been quite the disappointing season for Boston (29-43) after they anticipated this being the first year of a new generation. A youth movement has not clicked like they had hoped due to a lack of offense. While they have fixed the defensive issues, the Red Sox have scored the fewest runs out of any team in the American League while having the 11th best team ERA in baseball despite not having ace Garrett Crochet for most of the season so far. Boston has lost 8 of their last 10 with the only two wins coming in a series win over Texas.

It is a new face that has led the Red Sox so far in 2026 and he is the only one doing very much offensively. Willson Contreras joined the Red Sox after a decade in the NL Central with the Cubs and Cardinals. He has had a pretty smooth transition from behind the plate to first base and leads the team in almost every statistic including home runs, runs batted in, batting average, and OPS. June has been a bit streaky for the veteran so far as he followed up a great series against Texas by going 1-12 in three games with Toronto. Contreras has driven in 15.6% of the Red Sox runs this year which is a very high number in this instance. Contain Contreras, and the Mariners will be in a really good spot for success.

• Game 1, Friday 7:10pm- Ranger Suárez (2-3, 3.21 ERA) vs. Bryce Miller (3-0, 1.54 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 7:10pm- Connelly Early (5-5, 3.81 ERA) vs. Emerson Hancock (5-3, 3.28 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 1:10pm- Payton Tolle (3-4, 2.93 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (5-4, 3.43 ERA)

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