Seattle Mariners Unable to Complete Comeback in Loss Against San Francisco Giants
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners were unable to complete some late-game magic for the second day in a row against the San Francisco Giants.
The Mariners lost to the Giants 4-3 on Saturday. The loss dropped Seattle back to .500 (65-65) and kept them at 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the top spot in the American League West. Saturday's game also had its fair share of weird situations.
"Tough one today," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Saturday. "I thought we created a lot of traffic early on. The walks were huge. Getting a couple runs without even getting a hit I thought was huge. Chased (Blake Snell) out of the ballgame for us. Created a lot of traffic late, some really good at-bats — I thought. You got to tip your cap sometimes. Their bullpen was pretty tough today."
Matt Chapman hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the top of the first to put the Giants up 1-0.
The Mariners didn't score in the first but there was a fair share of unfortunate memorable moments. Randy Arozarena was slow to get up after making a diving grab on Chapman's sac fly (he ended up being fine and stayed in the game). In the bottom of the first, outfielder Victor Robles took a 95-mile an hour fastball from San Francisco starter Snell to the fingers while attempting a bunt. Robles exited the game with a right index finger contusion. X-rays for his injury came back negative.
Randy AIR-ozarena 👏 pic.twitter.com/QncCrTbbjl
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) August 24, 2024
Tyler Fitzgerald hit an RBI single in the top of the second to bolster the Giants' lead to 2-0.
Then more weird happened.
Seattle tied the game in the bottom of the second after Luke Raley (who was filling in at the lead-off spot and in right field for Robles) and Julio Rodriguez were both walked with the bases loaded. The Mariners hadn't had a base hit through that point in the game. Seattle was walked five times in the second — the most in a single inning since a May 10, 2017, win against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Thairo Estrada had an RBI single in the top of the fifth to put San Francisco back up and Mike Yastrzemski hit a solo home run to right field in the top of the seventh. Yastrezmski's long ball gave the Giants their final run of the game and a 4-2 advantage.
The Mariners scored their third and final run of the game for the eventual final of 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Arozarena grounded into a force out that brought Raley home. It was originally called an inning-ending double play for the Giants but a challenge revealed Arozarena safe at first base and overturned the call.
Seattle had an opportunity for its second walk-off in as many days in the bottom of the fifth with Justin Turner on first base and Arozarena at the plate.
Arozarena was thrown out at first and Turner was left stranded. The Mariners left 10 runners on base and San Francisco stranded another 11. Seattle went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
The Mariners missed out on an opportunity to gain another game in the AL West. They still have a chance to go into the second leg of its homestead with its first series win in two weeks. And with how the Astros have played against the Baltimore Orioles — gaining an extra game is still on the table.
Bryan Woo will get the start for Seattle in the series finale at 1:10 p.m. PT on Sunday.
Related Stories on Seattle Mariners
ROBLES EXITS GAME AGAINST GIANTS: Seattle Mariners outfielder Victor Robles exited Saturday's game against the San Francisco Giants after a ball hit his fingers. CLICK HERE
RALEY AMONG BEST SLUGGERS IN BASEBALL: Seattle Mariners first baseman/outfielder Luke Raley has been among the best sluggers in baseball with a variety of stalwart performances in August. CLICK HERE
MARINERS RALLY TO BEAT GIANTS IN EXTRAS: Leo Rivas hit a walk-off RBI single, his second of the game, to give the Seattle Mariners a walk-off 6-5 win over the San Francisco Giants in the 10th inning. CLICK HERE
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