7/2/26

(Seattle, WA) An awkward day off in the middle of the series made the finale between the Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Angels feel a bit different. It was as if the first two games of the series were weeks ago rather than just a couple of days but it was worse off for the Mariners. After winning the first two games of the series, Seattle would have liked to just let that momentum burn. The World Cup had other plans as the Angels had a day to collect themselves to try to salvage a game in the series.

In line for the sweep, the Mariners would have Bryce Miller take the ball on a terrific run in the first half of the season. One of the top pitchers in the game in 2026, Miller has made up for missing the first month of the season with an unbelievable two month stretch. The Seattle lineup would face an unfamiliar foe in Walbert Ureña who would make his 14th career start on Thursday.

Mariners 1, Angels 0 (Game Three, July 2nd)

Bryce Miller looked good early with a 1-2-3 top half of the 1st while Walbert Ureña was not sharp early. Ureña walked Julio Rodríguez with one out before a grounder by Dominic Canzone changed the game. The ball was fielded by Nolan Schanuel at first and he would try to throw out J-Rod going to second but the ball hit the back of Julio’s helmet and go into the outfield. Julio would move up to third but was shaken up and eventually removed from the game. Randy Arozarena was also hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out for Josh Naylor. He had a rough game as a chopper took Zach Neto right to second for an easy double play to end the inning.

Pitching was the story of this one the entirety of the game. Neither team recorded a hit in the first five innings of this game as Bryce Miller was locked in while Walbert Ureña pitched around a little wildness. His lack of control did a number on the M’s as he would also hit Victor Robles, who came into the game to replace an injured Julio Rodríguez. Robles would also have to leave the game which moved Luke Raley to center and brought Weston Wilson into the game in right field.

Finally, we saw a hit leading off the bottom of the 6th. J.P. Crawford recorded the games first hit in what was his 1,000th career game. Crawford’s sixth double of the season put a man in scoring position with nobody out. Weston Wilson would strikeout before Dominic Canzone walked. A Randy Arozarena walk loaded the bases for Josh Naylor with one out again, but Naylor would go down on strikes for the second out. Cal Raleigh stood in with two outs and the bags packed and battled with Walbert Ureña. A nine-pitch battle saw Raleigh work a walk to bring home Crawford and the game’s first run. Kurt Suzuki went to his bullpen and brought in Samy Natera Jr. who would strikeout Luke Raley but Seattle had grabbed a run and a 1-0 lead.

The long half inning affected Bryce Miller who allowed his first hit leading off the 7th to lose the no-hitter. Singles by Nolan Schanuel and Denzer Guzman put Miller in some trouble with two on and nobody out. He was just too good on Thursday night and was back to himself after giving up those hits. Miller would retired Jorge Soler, Wade Meckler, and Jo Adell to strand those two runners. It was seven scoreless and brilliant innings for Bryce Miller as he allowed just two hits and no walks while striking out eight. His brilliance very well send him to Philadelphia as the latest Mariner starting pitcher to make the All-Star team.

Eduard Bazardo made quick work of the Angels in the 8th but the lead would remain 1-0 for Andrés Muñoz in the 9th. He was not as sharp as he had been in his recent stretch, giving up a walk to Zach Neto to start the inning. However, Neto would be picked off to erase the walk which turned out to be massive as Nolan Schanuel then singled. Instead of having runners at the corners with nobody out, the Angels just had a man on first with one out. Muñoz retired Denzer Guzman before giving up a single to Jorge Soler to put the tying run in scoring position. A grounder by Wade Meckler would end it however as he was thrown out by Colt Emerson to complete the sweep. Seattle mustered just two hits in the finale but it was enough with Bryce Miller’s fantastic performance as the M’s swept the Angels with a 1-0 victory.

Notable Performances

Angels

Mariners

• Bryce Miller (W, 4-2)- 7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO
• Cal Raleigh- 0-2, BB, RBI
• J.P. Crawford- 1-4, 2B, R

Roster Moves

What’s Next

How sweet it was for the Seattle Mariners (45-43) as they returned from a lackluster road trip by sweeping the Angels to begin their homestand. The M’s are now tied atop the AL West with the Texas Rangers and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Houston Astros and 3 1/2 games ahead of the Athletics. Texas will continue their three-game series with Detroit this weekend while Houston hosts the AL leading Tampa Bay Rays for three and the A’s host Miami for three. The Angels will try to bounce back at home against Boston for three.

This homestand wraps up this weekend for the Mariners in a series that means a little bit more for the M’s. They will celebrate the 4th of July by hosting the only team located outside of the U.S.A in the Toronto Blue Jays for an ALCS rematch. Toronto (41-46) is having a big time World Series hangover after losing in an epic Game 7 to the Dodgers in the Fall Classic last year. They watched Bo Bichette leave but the rest of the offense has not picked up the slack. A lot of injuries have slowed them down as well but they have scored the sixth fewest runs in baseball. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is having a really bad year in terms of power with a .350 slugging percentage and just four home runs in 82 games played.

Maybe flying under the radar a bit because of what Munetaka Murakami is doing in Chicago, Kazuma Okamoto is right there with him in the race for the AL Rookie of the Year. Okamoto is one of the few reasons that the Blue Jays aren’t even more of a disaster as he leads the team in home runs (19) and runs batted in (54) while adjusting to MLB pitching. Now the big key here is that Okamoto is much better in Toronto than he is on the road. The  third baseman is batting .266 with an .816 OPS at home while hitting .207 with an OPS of .750 away from the Rogers Centre. The rest of the numbers are even in his home/road splits which tells you that is has kind of been a case of bad luck for the latest Japanese star to find success in MLB.

• Game 1, Friday 7:10pm- Dylan Cease (4-4, 3.02 ERA) vs. Luis Castillo (3-6, 4.93 ERA)
• Game 2, Saturday 1:10pm- Shane Bieber (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (6-5, 3.42 ERA)/Emerson Hancock (5-4, 3.47 ERA)
• Game 3, Sunday 2pm (Peacock TV)- Trey Yesavage (4-3, 3.34 ERA) vs. George Kirby (7-7, 3.81 ERA)

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