8/24/26
(Seattle, WA) A great series win by the Seattle Mariners over the Chicago Cubs had a damper put on it after a 19-2 loss in the finale. However, it was still a really good series for the Mariners and gave them something to build upon. A series win over a playoff contender had the M’s feeling good and gave them some confident with still a trio of other playoff contenders on the schedule before the end of August.
Next up would be the scorching hot Philadelphia Phillies coming to town with a nine-game winning streak backing them. A dramatic comeback win on Sunday gave the Phillies their third consecutive sweep and also netted them 100 hits during that nine-game winning streak. A red hot offense and one of the best rotations in the sport had the Phillies feeling great and set up the Mariners for a huge challenge this week.
One of the best pitching matchups of the series would be in game one. Despite missing a chunk of the season, Zack Wheeler remains one of the best starting pitchers and he would hope to pad his stats against the inconsistent Mariners lineup. For Seattle, it would be Logan Gilbert getting the ball to try to stop the hot hitting of the Phillies.
Mariners 9, Phillies 2 (Game One, August 24th)
Philadelphia had Logan Gilbert on the ropes early on in this one with some serious 1st inning pressure. Kyle Schwarber worked a leadoff walk and two batters later Bryce Harper singled for the Phillies first hit. Newly acquired Luis Arraez kept the line moving with his own single to load the bases with just one out. Seattle traded a run for an out on an RBI groundout by Alec Bohm to Cole Young at second and that gave Gilbert the juice to get out of the inning. He would get Bryson Stott swinging and despite a 29-pitch inning, Gilbert gave up just one run.
Zack Wheeler did not get to enjoy the early lead for long as Seattle rocked him with some haymakers early. The M’s got their own leadoff walk from Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone notched the first Mariner hit with a single to right. That brought Julio Rodríguez to the plate and after a frustrating weekend, he got in on the late August fun. J-Rod crushed a splitter 109-mph off the bat for a no-doubter to left for his 20th home run of the season. The three-run shot put Julio just four stolen bases shy of a fifth consecutive 20/20 season. Seattle was not done despite Josh Naylor getting thrown out trying to stretch a single to a double. Taylor Ward would walk and Cal Raleigh continued his recent surge with a towering two-run shot to right for home run number 15 of the season. A five-run 1stinning was a perfect response for the Mariners as they had a 5-1 lead after just one inning.
J.T. Realmuto got one back for the Phillies with a solo shot to left in the 2nd for his ninth of the season to make it 5-2. Zack Wheeler would bounce back with a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd but the 3rd knocked him off path. J-Rod began the inning with a single on a grounder that Trea Turner couldn’t handle and that mistake snowballed. Josh Naylor singled and elected to stay put at first until Taylor Ward walked to load the bases with nobody out. While Seattle could not get a real knock out shot, a wild pitch did allow them to get the run back and made it 6-2.
Logan Gilbert did not have his typical outing with seven innings and double digit strikeouts. However, he settled in very nicely and while he did not go deep into the game, did quiet a scorching hot Phillies lineup. The Phillies had 100 total hits during their nine-game winning streak and were averaging over seven runs per game during that stretch. Gilbert would hold them to just two runs and five hits in five innings with two walks and five punchouts. It was a gutsy performance from the Seattle ace but after watching fellow starters battle through tough outings, Gilbert followed suit with plenty of run support.
In a surprising decision by interim manager Don Mattingly, Zack Wheeler was back out for the 5th and Seattle would make that a talking point in the Philadelphia media. Cal Raleigh led off the inning and looked like the 2025 Cal Raleigh on Monday night. The Big Dumper took a cutter right down the middle out to right field for his second home run of the game and 16th of the year. It was Cal’s first multi-home run game of 2026 and had the energy off the charts in Seattle. Cole Young then decided to get in on the fun with a line drive that just got over the wall in right field to make it back-to-back homers with Young’s 16th of the season. Seattle tagged Wheeler for four homers and a career high eight earned runs as they chased him in the 5th with a sizeable 8-2 lead.
For as gusty as Logan Gilbert was on Monday, the Seattle bullpen was even more dominant. Seranthony Domínguez faced his former team and sat down all six Phillies he faced in arguably his best outing as a Mariner. Gabe Speier picked up right where he left off with a quick 1-2-3 inning as well. For a bullpen that has had their fair share of issues this summer, Monday night was definitely a highlight as they rolled right through the Phillies lineup.
Philadelphia’s bullpen was pretty solid on Monday but there was one blip. In the bottom of the 7th, Chase Shugart was on and after retiring Taylor Ward, he would allow a little bit of history. Cal Raleigh came to the dish and put not a bow on his night, but a bold and emphatic exclamation point. Raleigh would hit a laser out to right that a leaping Bryce Harper could not pull back for the Big Dumper’s third home run of the night and 17th of the year. It was the first time Cal Raleigh had ever had a three-home run game in his career and he joined Victor Martínez as the only two players to have a three-homer game at T-Mobile Park/Safeco Field. Raleigh goes down as the first Mariner to accomplish that feat and the first three-homer game by a Mariner since Dominic Canzone did it last September. It felt like 2025 all over again as Carlos Vargas completed the perfect night for the Mariners bullpen with a 1-2-3 9th to end the Phillies nine-game winning streak and giving the Mariners a 9-2 win.
Notable Performances
Phillies
- J.T. Realmuto- 1-3, HR, RBI, R
- Bryce Harper- 2-3, Outfield Assist
- Zack Wheeler (L, 10-5)- 4 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 8 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO
Mariners
- Cal Raleigh- 3-3, 3 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, BB
- Julio Rodríguez- 2-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Logan Gilbert (W, 11-7)- 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO
What’s Next
It was an incredible start to the series for the Seattle Mariners (63-69) quickly erased their blowout defeat on Sunday with the dominant Monday night win. The M’s did not gain any ground as the Texas Rangers blew out the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians downed the Los Angeles Angels, keeping the Mariners deficit at three games in both the AL West and Wild Card. Houston was off on Monday so they fall behind Texas by half of a game. The Rangers and White Sox continue their series tonight while the Astros begin a three-game set with the Yankees.
Seattle will continue their three-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies and will look to secure another series win and guarantee a winning homestand. At 3-1 on the homestand, the M’s seem to be turning the corner and winning games against good teams but they will need to keep the bats alive for game two. That is because they will face Aaron Nola (5-9, 5.12 ERA) who is in his best stretch of the season. Nola has thrown four consecutive quality starts and has struck out 25 batters in his last 17 innings. Seattle will counter with George Kirby (8-10, 4.18 ERA) who is trying to snap his own bad stretch. Kirby has not made it past the 5th inning in either of his last two starts and has walked multiple batters in three consecutive starts for just the second time in his career. First pitch is again scheduled for 6:40pm on Tuesday.
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