Mariners waste golden opportunity in 6-5 loss to Rangers

Set to be right back in the wild card race, the Seattle Mariners give up a commanding 5-0 lead and lose series finale in ninth inning.

In theory it was a good weekend for the Mariners, as they won their road series in Texas. Meanwhile, the Royals were swept by the Giants and the Twins lost their series in Boston.

However, that’s the theory. The reality isn’t quite as positive.

The Tigers somehow won a series they weren’t meant to, to a superior Orioles club. (Sound familiar?) However, worst of all the Mariners lost their series finale to the Rangers, 6-5.

As a result, the Mariners now find themselves two games out of the second and third AL wild card spots with just six to play. Just to add more frustration, the Astros also lost, but the gap remains at 5.0 games in the AL West ahead of their three-game series in Houston,

After winning the first two games on Friday and Saturday, the Mariners appeared set to sweep the reigning World Series champions. They were leading 5-0 in the series finale, at the midway point of the sixth inning.

Woo looking good, but then …

Bryan Woo was cruising, seemingly having gotten over the worst outing of his season in his last start versus the Yankees. He had only given up two hits through five innings, as the Rangers had no answer for him.

Then it all fell apart in the bottom of the sixth, after the Mariners had gotten the first out. Three consecutive single resulted in the Rangers scoring their first run of the game, and with two runners on base.

The next at-bat saw the Rangers get a fourth straight hit, with this one being more lethal. A home run blast from Wyatt Langford resulted in three more scores for the home club and the lead was down to one for the Mariners, at 5-4.

Woo was clearly rattled, as he subsequently gave up a walk and another single, which put runners on second and third base. Fortunately for the visitors, the righty was able to get out of the inning without any further scoring.

However the damage was done and Woo’s day was over, having given up seven hits, a walk and four earned runs in 6.0 innings. He also struck out four, but it is telling that he only threw 82 pitches and manager Dan Wilson still thought it best to take him out.

After the game, Woo was particularly harsh — and arguably too much — about his outing. Speaking to the media, he said:

“Pretty sloppy most of the night. (I was) falling behind. Not how it’s been this year, but I got a couple of hits (which were) nothing I was too concerned about. Not an awful pitch to Langford, but not the right pitch (either).”

Mariners offense takes a methodical approach

The Mariners lineup had been patient in building up their 5-0 lead, with Dylan Moore hitting a RBI single in the top of the second for an early 1-0 lead. Cal Raleigh had a solo blast an inning later, to give the visitors a well-earned 2-0 advantage.

Raleigh’s home run was notable for setting a new single-season best, as his 31st of the 2024 campaign. For what it’s worth, he is now just two behind Hall of Famer Mike Piazza for the most ever by a catcher in their first four Major League seasons.

In the top of the sixth, the Mariner seemed to take a firm grip of the game, as Victor Robles first hit a two-RBI single to double the lead to 4-0. Robles then made it 5-0 himself, after stealing second and subsequently scoring due to two Rangers throwing errors.

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Taveras is the Mariners killer

Unfortunately for the Mariners this would be the end of their scoring and they would ultimately be made to pay. The Rangers tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh, after a Leody Taveras solo bomb off reliever JT Chargois.

The Mariners lineup just couldn’t get anything going again, with everyone seemingly stunned after giving up a solid 5-0 advantage. Regardless, they maintained hope of at least taking the game to extra innings, when they brought Andrés Muñoz in for the bottom of the ninth.

The plan seemed to be working, when Muñoz duly secured the first two necessary outs. However, Taveras then got his third hit of the game with a single, before moving into scoring position by stealing second.

The stage was set for Marcus Semien, who duly obliged with a single into left field to score Taveras and win the game 6-5. This was a game the Mariners should not have lost, but that’s exactly how it turned out regardless.

Wilson and Raleigh refuse to give up

In one respect, the Mariners have done well to give themselves a chance at the playoffs. This speaks volumes about the positive impact of hiring Wilson, to take over from Scott Servais.

At the same time, we’ve predicted for a few weeks now that it would be a very Seattle sports thing to do, for the Mariners to come up just short in their quest for the postseason. We still maintain we have no problem with being proven wrong in this, but it’s looking more and more likely.

Next up, as mentioned, the Mariners now travel to Houston for the series which will all but likely decide their season. A campaign which promised so much, is instead set to become one of the most painful in club history.

As you’d expect though from Wilson, he’s admirably not giving up while there’s still a chance. He said:

“We’ve been in this spot before. Our backs have been against the wall for a while, and we’ve just got to keep fighting.”

It’s a similar mentality from the Mariners’ team leader, Raleigh. He said:

“Obviously, a tough one, one you don’t want to lose. But we don’t really have a lot of time to sit and stew. So forget about it, throw it away and move on to the next one. It’s a big series here with Houston.”

With six games left, the Mariners are looking for a miracle to make the playoffs. What will it take to make this become a reality? Will even going 6-0 to finish the regular season be enough? Let us know in the comments section below.