Seattle Mariners Can't Get it Done With New Lineup Against Los Angeles Angels
SEATTLE — There was no "gifting" the game on Tuesday. The Los Angeles Angels took it from the Seattle Mariners with a 5-1 win that dropped the Mariners to 53-50 on the season.
All of the Angels' runs came in the top of the fifth. First Mickey Moniak was walked with the bases loaded. Then Zach Neto brought another run in with a sacrifice bunt — and the Angels scored a second time on the same play due to a throwing error attributed to Seattle pitcher Logan Gilbert.
Los Angeles rounded out the inning with a two-RBI single from designated hitter Luis Rengifo. The lone run the Mariners put on the board was off a 4-6-3 double play that got recent call-up Cade Marlowe and Dylan Moore out, but brought home fellow call-up Jason Vosler.
"They put a couple hits together in the fifth and we made a couple errors," Mariners manager Scott Servais said in postgame interview Tuesday. "Certainly you got to play clean baseball. We're not doing a ton offensively and we weren't able to do that tonight. So they capitalized on that in the fifth."
Welcome BACK Luis Rengifo 🔥@Angels l #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/XXji2dQAi3
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) July 24, 2024
Only one of the Angels' five runs was earned. Gilbert finished with a statline of 6.2 innings pitched, four hits, five runs (one earned), one walk and eight strikeouts. Technically a quality start — but it felt like anything but.
"Just a weird (fifth) inning," Gilbert said Tuesday. "A lot of stuff going on. Ran into a little traffic for some out of the strech in the fifth inning there. And a couple first-pitch hits back to back. So kind of rare that that happens."
Logan Gilbert, Wicked Sliders. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/G2o71CmoXG
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 24, 2024
The call-ups who started on Tuesday did decent. There was a couple snafus with Tyler Locklear at first base. He failed to handle a throw from Josh Rojas at third and had a miscommunication with Cal Raleigh on a potential foul out.
Other than that — Marlowe, Locklear and Vosler all reached base on Tuesday and accounted for Seattle's only hits. Them and the first appearance of Gabe Speier since May 29 were the lone highlights for the team.
One-through-four in the Mariners' order went a combined 0-for-13 on Tuesday. They also left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth. It was the sixth time in Seattle's last seven games it's left the bases filled. The Mariners left seven runners stranded total on Tuesday.
The Houston Astros also lost their game Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics. That means Houston and Seattle are still tied for first-place in the American League West.
But that's of little comfort at this point. The Mariners dropped their fifth consecutive game against Los Angeles, lost their fourth consecutive home series and are still going to be without JP Crawford and Julio Rodriguez for at least the next 10 days (probably longer).
Some players either need to turn the corner or Seattle will need to look elsewhere for some help. The division is right there for the taking. But the Mariners, specifically their offense, need to prove they can grab it.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
MARINERS CALL UP TRIO OF PLAYERS: The Seattle Mariners called up infielders Tyler Locklear and Leo Rivas, outfielder Cade Marlowe and optioned then recalled Jonatan Clase on Tuesday amid injuries and roster shuffling. CLICK HERE
CRAWFORD EXITS GAME: Seattle Mariners starting shortstop JP Crawford exited the game after getting hit on the hand by a pitch from Los Angeles Angels starter Tyler Anderson. CLICK HERE
MARINERS "GIFT" GAME TO ANGELS: The Los Angeles Angels downed the Seattle Mariners 3-1 on Monday behind a Jo Adell hit that brought in two runs in the ninth inning. CLICK HERE
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