Mariners beat the Angels 2-1 thanks to yet another unlikely hero

This time it’s Mitch Garver who receives the credit, as the Mariners make it seven win in a row and keep pace at the top of the AL West.

Recent days have almost been like a surreal dream or hallucination for the Mariners and their fans, with the team climbing into a tie for first place in the AL West on the back of a couple of extra innings wins featuring unlikely heroes. And while the walkoff magic didn’t continue on Friday night it was still another unexpected outcome, with Mitch Garver this time getting the opportunity to wear the superman cap and spur the M’s on to victory.

The Mariners had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning thanks to a RBI double by Jorge Polanco, but were pegged back when the Angels tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the seventh. The M’s response was almost immediate in the bottom of the inning, with Garver stepping forward to regain the lead with a solo bomb to make the final scoreline of 2-1.

Garver will be the first to admit he’s had another tough season, albeit not as bad as last year’s career-worst campaign. Further, he took the unlikely hero angle to the extreme, hitting his home run off Angels righty Connor Brogdon.

For all his challenges in 2025, Garver had at least performed reasonably well versus southpaws as evidenced by a .244 batting average and .750 OPS. However, it was a different story against right-handed pitching, with a .177 batting average and .554 OPS.

Mitch Garver discusses his home run

The 34-year-old was asked postgame about hitting his homer off a righty and gave an interesting insight into his approach. He said:

“It’s baseball. I’m picking good pitches, trying to hit them as hard as I can. Actually my three outs before that were all one-hoppers to the shortstop, so that last one I tried to aim at the shortstop.”

Garver fully appreciates how much of a true team the Mariners are and how anyone can step up and be the hero in any given game. He said:

“That’s what championship teams do. You never know who’s going to do it that night. It could be Cal or Julio or the usual suspects. It could be Leo or myself, you never know. We’ve got a good team and a good bond in that clubhouse, with everybody pulling for each other.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson is fully aware of how tough it’s been for Garver during his time in Seattle, so was more than happy he got his moment in the spotlight. He said:

“Garver’s had some bad luck the last couple of days. He’s hit some balls hard and has found barrels and put together some very good at-bats. I think he got a pitch up in the zone that he liked and he crushed it. That’s a big-time home run there in a big situation for us.”

As a former catcher himself, Wilson also took the time to praise the performance of Garver behind the plate. He said:

“I thought he did a good job behind the plate too, navigating The Rock through that and then getting through with the bullpen again. Having Cal and Gaver back there is a luxury to have and they do a great job.”

Luis Castillo back to his best for the Mariners

On that point, Luis Castillo was excellent on the night as he went 6.0 innings in all. He only allowed three hits, two walks and the aforementioned one run, while also striking out five over his 96 pitches.

Going as long as Castillo went was also extremely important, after the bullpen had pitched a combined 14.2 innings in the previous two games. Talking through his interpreter, he said:

“You know right before the game the pitching coach came up to me and said let’s try to go as far as we can. Let’s try to save the bullpen, let’s try to save this team. And that’s the mentality to try and get as far as possible. We went six innings so not bad, but (the bullpen) still had to come in for three more innings. But we were able to get the job done and secure that win.

Wilson raved about Castillo’s outing and appreciated his ability to go six-strong and help the bullpen out as much as he could. He said:

“He stepped up and gave us the six-plus to get us deep enough into this game and boy he had good stuff. His secondary, his fastball, just everything was working tonight. I thought they gave him a couple of tough at-bats, but for the most part he was in control of that game.”

This is now Castillo’s second straight strong outing, in stark contrast to the four previous games when he produced a ghastly 10.06 ERA, 7.02 FIP and 2.18 WHIP. Asked how he feels now, he said:

“Everything feels good. You know I’ve said it before that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. It feels like the rhythm is getting better, everything still works. I mean this is what you want right, towards the end of the season so you can try to help and get the team as far as possible.”

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The very essence of a team win for the Mariners

In many ways this 2-1 win over the Angels really was a total team effort, with Wilson making sure that all facets of the game received praise. He said:

“A great ballgame all around. You can’t overlook the defense again. Just very solid infield play tonight as usual and a couple of nice catches in the outfield, in particular in right center with a nice play to save the inning there. And like we said good all up and down tonight, a great one to come away with.”

The play Wilson was referring to was Victor Robles’ dramatic catch in the top of the sixth. The snag turned what likely would have been two runs for the Angels into the final out to keep the score at 1-1.

With the win the Mariners improve to 80-68 along with the Astros at the top of the AL West, with the Rangers just 2.0 games back at 78-70. The three-game series in Houston next week looms ever larger, with the Rangers ready and waiting to pounce for either the third AL wild cad spot or even the division title.

M’s have fate in their own hands

For the Mariners, we have already asked if this is a team of destiny? While it’s too soon to know, we are now at a point where a playoff spot should be the minimum they do, with the potential to achieve so much more.

Garver knows what it takes to win a World Series after going the distance with the Rangers just two years ago and he truly believes this is a special team. He said:

“We can feel it. I mean we’re right there. We know what we have to do to win these games and win this division. It’s just in our reach and we’re going to keep going.”

The Mariners will now look to keep the momentum going by sending Bryan Woo to the mound on Saturday night, aiming to clinch the Angels series with a game to spare. As long as the M’s keep focusing on themselves their destiny is in their own hands, although we’re sure they will be okay if the Astros or Rangers decide to trip up at some point this weekend.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rodgers Photography

Do you consider the Astros or Rangers the bigger threat to the Mariners’ hopes of winning the AL West? Or do you anticipate a three-way dog fight until the very end? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.