7/30/26

(Los Angeles, CA) Just four games remain before the MLB Trade Deadline and for so many fringe contenders, it is do-or-die time to make themselves buyers and to try to make a run over the final two months of the season. The Seattle Mariners are one of those fringe contenders and with a gauntlet schedule in the month of August, buying still might not be enough with this season’s small market. If they could win the finale from the Los Angeles Dodgers and take the series, it could do even more than make them buyers but it could boost a dreary morale and give the M’s a bit of a spark as they return home.

For the finale, Seattle adjusted their rotation to give Bryce Miller an extra day off so it would be Bryan Woo starting in the finale. Woo would have to be better on the road than he has been in 2026 against a lineup that did not feature Shohei Ohtani for the finale. Another Japanese star would take the spotlight for LA as Roki Sasaki started on the mound for the finale looking to put an exclamation point on his fantastic month of July.

Dodgers 6, Mariners 2 (Game Three, July 30th)

On all seven games of this road trip, the Seattle Mariners starting rotation gave up a run in the 1st inning to put the M’s in an early hole. In the bottom of the 1st on Thursday, Bryan Woo got into trouble with a leadoff walk to Tommy Edman followed by a single for Andy Pages. With nobody out and runners on the corners, Woo recovered to strikeout Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy as he was very close to getting out of trouble. However, Mookie Betts still loomed and he came through for the Dodgers, sending his 11th double of the season to left center. Edman and Pages both scored with ease as the M’s trailed after one once again, 2-0.

Bryan Woo would settle in nicely for the next couple of innings but outside of Cole Young, the lineup could not touch Roki Sasaki. He allowed just one hit and one walk in his first four innings with elite velocity and a nasty splitter and forkball combination. In the bottom of the 4th, another walk to Kyle Tucker and single for Teoscar Hernández set the table for LA with one out. This time the Dodgers did not wait around as Dalton Rushing destroyed a slider and sent a three-run blast out to right field. The 12th home run of the season for Rushing demoralized Seattle early with the M’s trailing 5-0.

Seattle got another hit off of Roki Sasaki in the 5th on a single by Weston Wilson but the real threat came in the 6th. Cole Young led off the inning with his third triple of the season, giving the Mariners a golden opportunity to strike. They did just that as Randy Arozarena followed with his 22nd double of the season to get the M’s on the board as a potential big inning brewed. Dominic Canzone walked and after Julio Rodríguez lined out hard, Josh Naylor singled to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate. Cal Raleigh would represent the tying run but instead took a walk to bring home another run and make it 5-2. Dave Roberts had to go to his bullpen as Sasaki fell apart and brought in Jack Dreyer. The lefty made quick work of Rob Refsnyder before getting Weston Wilson to groundout to end the inning. Seattle got two but could have used a lot more with the bases left loaded and still a 5-2 deficit.

Alex Hoppe was on for Seattle in the bottom of the 6th and looked really good with strikeouts of Mookie Betts and Kyle Tucker for a quick two outs. That brought up former Mariner in Teoscar Hernández who was able to catch up to a 98-mph fastball just above the zone. Hernández deposited it into center field for his ninth home run of the season as LA got one back and led 6-2.

Seatle put two on with two outs in the 7th but couldn’t cash in and did the same in the 8th as well. A four-run deficit was what they faced when Edwin Díaz came into close things out for the Dodgers. While Randy Arozarena would single, it was about as lifeless of an inning as one could imagine. Back-to-back strikeouts, both looking, were how this miserable road trip ended. A 6-2 final went the way of the Dodgers as Seattle wrapped up a pivotal 2-5 road trip.

Notable Performances

Mariners

Dodgers

• Mookie Betts- 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI
• Dalton Rushing- 1-4, HR, 3 RBI, R
• Roki Sasaki (W, 5-5)- 5.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 SO

What’s Next

The nightmare of a road trip comes to a close with Seattle (53-57) still sitting at 2 1/2 games back of Texas. That is because Texas lost the finale to Tampa Bay 3-2 while the Athletics lost to Boston again, 5-4 in the only other two games featuring AL West teams on Thursday. Houston remains in second place in the division, just one game back while the A’s and Angels have fallen way back at 10 and 13 games out. In the Wild Card race, the Mariners are three games behind Cleveland and five behind Boston with Minnesota, Houston, and Baltimore all in front of the M’s as well. This weekend, the A’s will host the Tigers and the Angels host the Brewers while the Rangers and Astros battle for first place in Houston.

It is becoming do-or-die time for the Seattle Mariners as they come home for a nine-game homestand, all against teams currently in the race for the postseason. First up is a team directly in front of Seattle as the Minnesota Twins come to town for three games. These will be the final three games before the deadline and a series win for the Mariners could ignite some deadline deals in the coming days. Minnesota is coming off a 4-2 homestand against the A’s and Royals after a walk-off grand slam by Kody Clemens on Thursday. They are buyers as they landed one of the top relievers available in A.J. Minter from the New York Mets on Thursday night. However, they will be without Byron Buxton for this series as he landed on the IL with a hip issue earlier this week. The Mariners took two out of three when these teams met in Minneapolis earlier this spring and luckily for the M’s, they will avoid seeing Joe Ryan in this series.

No Buxton and no Ryan is a huge break for the Mariners but there is still plenty of talent on this Twins roster. The M’s will have to face Taj Bradley in the finale but will likely see Kody Clemens in all three games of the series. Byron Buxton is the star for the Twins but outside of him, Clemens has been their most productive hitter in July. An .852 OPS in July was his best month as a Twin with six homers and 18 runs batted in. Add in four doubles and three triples and Clemens is being as productive as ever for Minnesota. The swing and miss is still there which the M’s must take advantage of. Clemens went 4-11 with a double, home run, and five runs batted in against the Mariners earlier this season.

• Game One, Friday 7:10pm- Zebby Matthews (4-8, 5.21 ERA) vs. Bryce Miller (4-5, 2.75 ERA)
• Game Two, Saturday 1:10pm- Connor Prielipp (3-5, 4.73 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (8-6, 3.44 ERA)
• Game Three, Sunday 1:10pm- Taj Bradley (9-4, 3.65 ERA) vs. George Kirby (8-9, 3.98 ERA)

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