7/7/26

(Miami, FL) A dramatic back-and-forth affair did not go the Seattle Mariners way to start the road trip as they dropped game one to the Miami Marlins in extra innings on Tuesday night. There were plenty of positives and negatives in that game as the M’s showed a ton of heart in coming back from a 4-0 deficit late but also wasted quite a few opportunities with runners on base. They also continued to have major problems with contact oriented teams which set the table for a very tricky series against the low strikeout victims in Miami.

Game two would need to go a bit better for the Mariners to build momentum after a very good homestand. In the middle game of the series, Seattle would rely on George Kirby to even the series back up as he looked to run his quality start streak to five in a row. A little change came for Miami as Tyler Phillips got bumped up a day to start in game two as the reliever turned starter would hope to find a bit more consistency in his new role.

Marlins 2, Mariners 0 (Game Two, July 8th)

Seattle got a little threat going early on in the game. Back-to-back two out singles by Dominic Canzone and Cal Raleigh put runners on the corners, but a hard groundout by Josh Naylor ended that threat. George Kirby rolled through the 1st but still got no run support due to a double play in the 2nd. In the home half of the 2nd, Kirby would face Kyle Stowers to begin the inning but hung a knuckle curve right over the plate. Stowers hammered it out to center for his 12th home run of the season to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead.

With consistent traffic in the first three innings, it seemed like there would be an eventual breakthrough for the Mariners but a zero remained in the score column for the M’s after a J.P. Crawford single was left aboard in the 3rd. Great defense seemed to help George Kirby in the 3rd after a leadoff double by Javier Sanoja. Luke Raley made a diving catch to take away a hit from Liam Hicks and doubled up Sanoja at second to clear the bases. Otto Lopez caught a break as his groundball hit second base to give him an infield single. That bad luck hurt Seattle as Xavier Edwards followed with a triple into the right field corner. That would score Lopez as Edwards cashed in on a fortunate Marlins break to give Miami a 2-0 lead.

Runners would be on the corners again for the M’s in the 4th but a Colt Emerson groundout ended that inning. Tyler Phillips would go one more and the 5th was his only clean inning of the game. It wasn’t as though Phillips just dominated the Mariners. He would go five scoreless but gave up four hits and two walks while only striking out three. It was similar to the night prior as the Mariners just could not get the hit when it mattered with runners on base.

George Kirby was strong once again for Seattle. He would deal with quite a bit of traffic himself as he allowed eight hits in his six innings. However, not allowing a walk was massive as that has become the theme of Kirby with his elite control. A great throw by Victor Robles from center field cut down a run at the plate which prevented the Marlins from adding on against Kirby. He would also strikeout seven Marlins which helped when there was traffic aboard. It was the fifth consecutive quality start for Kirby who has seemed to find his form again that we have not seen too much of since 2024.

There was no life from the Mariners against the Marlins bullpen on Wednesday night. After getting to the relief corps on Tuesday, the M’s did not have a runner on base in the 6th, 7th, or 8th against Miami. Nick Davila did not allow a baserunner in two innings for Seattle which kept the score 2-0 going into the 9th. Seattle would have to get it done against closer Pete Fairbanks and after Cal Raleigh flew out, Josh Naylor would single to bring the tying run to the plate. Luke Raley went down on three pitches for a quick second out leaving the game up to Cole Young. He fell behind 0-2 but battled to even the count. Young would then take a called strike three that was actually off the plate and despite having both challenges, never tapped his helmet. Thus, what could have been ball three instead ended the game and gave Miami the series win with a final score of 2-0.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Marlins

• Tyler Phillips (W, 2-3)- 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
• Xavier Edwards- 2-4, RBI
• Kyle Stowers- 1-3, HR, RBI, R

What’s Next

While the Seattle Mariners (47-46) continue to be bad away from home, the good news is that nobody seems to want to win the AL West. The once Wild West has turned into the Mild West as Houston lost to Washington last night while the A’s fell in Detroit again. The Angels were the only team in the division to win as they blew out the Rangers 13-1. That keeps Seattle’s division lead at half of a game over Texas and two over Houston while the A’s sit five back. The Astros are the only team in the division to not play on Thursday.

The series is now a lost cause but the Seattle Mariners will try to at least avoid being swept in the series finale with the Miami Marlins on Thursday. Seattle is just 2-9 in LoanDepot Park, which opened up in 2012 so it has been a house of horrors for the M’s. Looking to play the hero will be Bryce Miller (4-2, 1.71 ERA) as he takes the mound for the finale. Miller is coming off a phenomenal outing to start the month of July when he went seven scoreless against the Angels with just two hits allowed and eight strikeouts. His counterpart will be Washington native, Janson Junk (3-5, 4.80 ERA) who will come off the IL to start in the finale. The Decatur High School alum is in his sixth season in the big leagues but his second with Miami and so far he has seen more playing time in South Beach than anywhere before. This will be his first appearance since May 25th. First pitch is scheduled for 3:40pm.

elisportsnetwork.com