Seattle Mariners Offense Goes Stagnant in Loss Against New York Yankees
SEATTLE — On Tuesday, the Seattle Mariners fell prey to an explosive New York Yankees offense that had the Bronx Bombers' two star sluggers Aaron Judge and Juan Soto at the forefront of it.
On Wednesday, the Mariners successfully stifled the prolific offense of the Yankees. But it didn't matter.
Seattle fell 2-1 to New York on Wednesday at T-Mobile Park. The loss dropped the Mariners to 77-75 on the season and kept them 5.0 games behind the Houston Astros for first place in the American League West and 3.0 games out of the AL Wild Card spot. The Detroit Tigers drew further ahead of Seattle in the Wild Card race and were half a game out after Wednesday (2.5 games ahead of the Mariners).
"Really good ball game tonight. Back-and-forth. Both sides pitched very, very well tonight," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Wednesday. " ... Kind of a freak scenario there at the end with the bat coming down there. ... This is a tougher one to lose. It was a great ball game on all fronts. And tough one to lose."
Mariners starter Bryce Miller had an amazing start and went six innings with eight strikeouts while giving up one earned run off two hits. He gave up five free bases (four walks, one intentional walk). But despite the atypical number of free passes, Miller kept the Yankees offense in check.
Bryce Miller's 2Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/7JrnlfQQVk
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 19, 2024
Miller got out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the third after he struck out third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. Seattle was down 1-0 at that point after an Anthony Rizzo RBI double in the top of the second.
The Mariners offense continued a poor pattern this season — they wasted their pitcher's quality start and had several opportunities to tie or take the lead. They left two stranded in the second, two in the fourth, another two in the fifth, two more in the seventh, one in the ninth and one in the 10th. Of those 10 runners left stranded, four were left in scoring position. (two at third, two at second).
Seattle's 10 left on base on Wednesday brought its total to 21 in the last two games against New York. The Mariners went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Justin Turner eventually tied the game up with a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the eighth.
THIS JUST IN...
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 19, 2024
We.
Are.
Tied. pic.twitter.com/YC4AXneHiK
That hit ended up sending the game to extra innings, where Rizzo again made his presence felt with a first-pitch, lead-off RBI double to give the Yankees the eventual final of 2-1.
Seattle still had a chance to win or tie with runners on the corners and no outs in the bottom of the 10th.
Julio Rodriguez was at third with Randy Arozarena at the plate. Rodriguez ran out of the way after Arozarena lost grip of his bat on a swing and sent it flying down the third base line. Arozarena was struck out on the swing. And Rodriguez, way off the bag due to avoiding his teammate's bat, was picked off at third in a heads-up play between Yankees catcher Austin Wells and Chisholm Jr.
In one play the Mariners went from runners on first and third with no outs, to two outs with a runner on first. Turner struck out swinging the next at-bat after that blunder to give New York the series win.
"Honestly I just saw a bat flying out to my face and I just ran away from it," Rodriguez said in a postgame interview on Wednesday. "And after that, just kind of a little bit in shock and then I didn't get back on third base on time. ... After I saw the bat, I thought it was going to be a dead play and then they were going to pick up the bat and I was trying to go back to third. But when I got out of the way, I turned my back on the field and I heard (third base coach Manny Acta) yelling 'Get back to third.' That's when I get back to third, honestly. At that moment I wasn't really thinking about the game. Just trying to get away from the bat coming at me. And yeah, that's what happened. That was a first for me, for sure."
Seattle couldn't afford the series loss. But it happened. If there's one positive to be taken away it's that they didn't lose any ground with Wednesday's heartbreaker. Except to Detroit.
Any leeway the Mariners had is gone. They have a 2.9% to make the playoffs after Wednesday's loss, according to FanGraphs. There's 10 games left in the season. There's still a chance. But it's a small one.
It's already been said this season, but every game from this point forward really is a must-win. And weather it's still mathematically possible or not, getting swept might as well be the final nail in the coffin.
Logan Gilbert will try and help Seattle avoid the sweep in the season finale at 1:10 p.m. PT on Thursday. Clarke Schmidt will get the start for the Yankees.
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JUDGE, SOTO GET TO WOO, MARINERS: Seattle Mariners starter Bryan Woo let up seven earned runs off nine hits and New York Yankees sluggers Juan Soto and Aaron Judge combined for four hits and six RBIs in an 11-2 New York win on Tuesday. CLICK HERE
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