Mariners fall apart as Yankees complete sweep with 6-5 win

The Seattle Mariners waste a stellar outing from Bryan Woo as they give up a 5-0 lead and suffer their most devastating loss of the season.

Through seven innings it looked as if the Seattle Mariners were at least going to end their disappointing three-game road series versus the New York Yankees on a positive note. The visitors had a commanding 5-0 advantage and Bryan Woo was on course for the first no-hitter of his Major League career.

What followed resulted in certainly the most stunning and demoralizing loss of the 2025 campaign and probably one of the toughest in recent years. There was just no way the Mariners should have lost this game from a point of only needing six more outs, relying on the combination of a red-hot Woo and the three best pitchers in their bullpen.

However that’s exactly what happened, as the M’s fell apart and lost 6-5 in extra innings with Aaron Judge sealing the deal with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th off Gabe Speier. Anthony Volpe scored despite a phenomenal throw from Julio Rodríguez, which 99 times out of 100 would have been an out at home plate.

Bryan Woo’s best outing yet in a Mariners uniform

Absolutely no one could have predicted the game would turn out how it did, as Woo embarked on what was potentially going to be a career day for the third year pitcher. After walking the first two pitchers he faced, he tore through the Yankees lineup and looked unhittable, quite literally.

The Mariners held a slender 2-0 lead through RBI singles from Cole Young and Miles Mastrobuoni, but seemed to put the game beyond reach thanks to Jorge Polanco’s three-run blast in the top of the seventh. However, what followed was something which in many ways encapsulates the theory that even when things are seemingly going right for the M’s, they still somehow ultimately go wrong.

Woo finally saw his no-hitter ended in the bottom of the eighth, as he allowed two singles and a sacrifice run which made it 5-1. His day was over after pitching a career-high 7.1 innings and allowing his first ever run at Yankee stadium, but with Matt Brash coming in there seemed little reason for panic among Mariners fans.

M’s best bullpen trio does the unthinkable

Pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton subsequently hit a two- run bomb which resulted in one earned run being credited to both Woo and Brash, but the latter managed to get through the inning with a 5-3 lead. With Andrés Muñoz coming in for the bottom of the ninth there was now some angst growing within the fanbase, but surely one of the top closers in the game would come through like he usually does?

The answer was a resounding no as Muñoz allowed three hits, a walk and two earned runs on a season-high 31 pitches, to let the Yankees tie the game at 5-5. What didn’t help was that the home side noticed he was tipping his pitches, which set the stage for Judge’s heroics in the bottom of the 10th.

Postgame, Cal Raleigh talked to the media about the Yankees runners signaling, but being the standup guy that he is, refused to make excuses. He said:

“Obviously they weren’t discrete, but it is part of the game. It’s our job to know that going into a series. Yeah, that made it really hard at the end. It’s something we have to figure out in the next couple of days for sure.”

Muñoz just couldn’t get his slider going, which also contributed to what was a recipe for disaster. Raleigh said:

“(He) just couldn’t find that feel for the slider early on. It was kind of around the zone and wasn’t necessarily locating as well as usual.”

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Mariners reflect on Bryan Woo’s brilliance

Even with time to reflect, it still seems barely believable about how the game turned out, just because of how dominant Woo was on the night. Mariners manager Dan Wilson said:

“His stuff was better than we’ve seen all season long. … Just an outstanding outing for Bryan. Just an incredible outing.”

Speier also spoke to the media about Woo’s outing, with the reliever understandably feeling bad about how the top three arms in the Mariners bullpen couldn’t lock down the victory. He said:

“Bryan pitched so well today. As a bullpen, you want to come in and back that up and get the win for him. We weren’t able to do that tonight. It’s tough, and tough to swallow.” 

Tough to swallow it is, and Wilson was left to lament what seemed like a certain win, but was in the end an almost incomprehensible loss. He said:

“It’s just a tough way to lose there and get walked off here, in this ballpark. We got to regroup, which we do, and we’ve got to come out tomorrow ready to go in Detroit.”

With the gut-wrenching loss the Mariners fall to 48-45 on the season and now find themselves outside the wild card positions in the AL. They must now find a way to bounce back on the road against a team with the best record in the majors, with Luis Castillo taking the ball in Friday’s series opener.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

What is your take on the Mariners following this road series versus the Yankees? Plagued by inconsistency all season, will they once again fall short in their quest for a playoff spot, or put it all together following the All-Star break? Let us know in the comments section below.