Mariners continue recent turnaround with 6-2 win versus Royals

The Mariners have won 11 of their past 17 games, although closing the gap on the Astros at the top of the AL West is proving troublesome.

The Seattle Mariners seem well and truly over the issues which saw them go 4-13 in 17 games, with a record of 11-6 in their 17 subsequent games. However, this doesn’t mean there isn’t still plenty of work to do if they are to catch the Houston Astros at the top of the division, trailing by 6.0 games just past the halfway point of the 2025 season.

The two AL West rivals do still have six head-to-head matchups remaining this season, but really it’s a case of the Mariners just needing to focus on themselves and maintain the recent momentum which has them with a 2.5 game lead for the final AL wild card spot. Helping the process was a complete team effort on Monday night, as they beat the Kansas City Royals 6-2 at T-Mobile Park.

A milestone game for Randy Arozarena

It was a tight affair early on, with Bobby Witt Jr. opened the scoring for the visitors in the top of the third, with an RBI single which made it 20 consecutive road games with a hit. Randy Arozarena then tied things up one inning later, with a solo blast which doubled as the 100th home run of his Major League career.

The Mariners finally broke things open in the bottom of the fifth with four runs, to all but put the game beyond reach. Cal Raleigh got things going with a sacrifice fly which gave the hosts their first lead of the night at 2-1, soon followed by Arozarena’s second homer of the game – a three-run bomb which increased the lead to 5-1.

That man Raleigh finished off the scoring for the Mariners in the bottom of the seventh, as his Major League-leading 33rd home run of the 2025 season made it 6-1. The Royals managed to pull to within 6-2 in the top of the eighth thanks to Witt’s second RBI of the night, but that was as close as they would get.

The Mariners accumulated 12 hits in total – along with three walks – led by a career-high three hits from Cole Young. Yes he’s had his struggles with the bat as highlighted by a .603 OPS, but at least he is making contact and his .259 batting average is a high-point in his debut season.

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Mariners pitching continues to look more like last season

The pitching more than did its part to contribute towards the 6-2 win, highlighted by further evidence that George Kirby has now fully returned to his pre-injury form. For a second consecutive outing he allowed just three hits and one earned run over 6.0 innings, while also contributing five strikeouts and no walks.

Kirby was almost matter of fact in describing his outing to the media afterwards. He said:

“That’s a tough team. I just tried to get in on them, keep them off balance. Lots of ground balls, a lot of pop ups. Try not to get too deep into counts with those guys.”

Gabe Spier was dominant with three straight strikeouts during his one inning in relief, whereas Trent Thornton continued his season-long struggles in the eighth, although to be fair he did escape a bases-loaded situation and only allowed the one run. Then it was over to Matt Brash to complete a clean ninth, with him still yet to give up a single run in what is now 17.1 combined innings over 19 appearances.

Postgame, Arozarena discussed the issues with hitting at T-Mobile Park, but added a positive outlook for what potentially might be to come. He said:

“This is a big ballpark. Sometimes, it’s hard to hit a home run. But once that temperature gets higher, that ball is going to fly a little more.”

Mariners continue to be amazed by Cal Raleigh

The Mariners’ mercurial outfielder also marvelled at what Raleigh has been doing this season. He said:

“Everyone is just kind of amazed at what he’s been able to accomplish this season. But yeah, he’s a great batter. If you asked me if I was surprised, not really, because I get to see exactly the work he puts in behind the scenes for him to have the success that he is having now.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson was extremely complimentary of his players as a whole. He said:

“A really good ballgame tonight all around, starting with George. He threw the ball exceptionally well tonight and was in control. … A really nice outing for him. And then offensively we of course got the big hits from Randy and Cal, but I thought some really good at-bats up and down the lineup. Guys getting on base. … Just a really good win to open the homestand.”

With the win the Mariners improve to 44-40 on the season, with fans hoping they can take advantage of this six-game homestand versus two struggling teams including three contests against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Emerson Hancock will take the ball on Tuesday night against the Royals.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

There were so many positives on Monday night, but what stood out most for you in the Mariners win? Was it Kirby’s start, Young’s first three-hit game, or something else? Let us know in the comments section below.