By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners unable to hold onto early lead and lose 10-5 to Yankees

The Mariners looked good early in The Bronx, but ultimately lost a season-high sixth straight game in a further blow to their playoff hopes.

For a second consecutive night in The Bronx, the Mariners had hope as they held a lead over the ever-dangerous Yankees. The way the M’s got their advantage was different to the previous game, but ultimately the outcome was the same, with a season-high sixth consecutive lose. Now, their playoff hopes look more perilous than ever, with FanGraphs dropping their odds to 23.7 percent (10th-best in the American League).

Whereas Bryan Woo’s best road start of the season on Tuesday night helped the Mariners cling to a 1-0 lead through six innings, the following evening it was the offense’s turn to perform. At the midpoint of the fifth inning the M’s were ahead 5-3, with the lineup showing more of what it’s capable of. For what it’s worth, five runs would have been enough to win the four previous games, just not this time around.

This was in part due to Bryce Miller continuing his recent struggles, with a 4.62 ERA in his previous seven starts and a 1-5 record. This was in stark contrast to his first seven outings of the season, when he produced a sterling 1.58 ERA and went 3-1. Miller wasn’t tagged with an ‘L’ on Wednesday night, but his impact towards the final outcome was evident, as he allowed eight hits and a walk over 6.0 innings, while tying a season-high in giving up five earned runs.

Mariners light up the skies early on in New York

It really did seem promising early on, as the Mariners lineup gave the fans plenty of reason to cheer. Things couldn’t have started much better as Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez hit homers to give the visitors a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Dominic Canzone added a blast of his own in the top of the third to make it 4-1 and Josh Naylor tagged on an RBI single two innings later to give the M’s an encouraging 5-3 edge.

At that point, even though Miller was laboring, the Mariners would have accepted the three runs he had given up. Unfortunately for the visitors however, he allowed two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game at 5-5. At this point the M’s lineup started to struggle and would not score again, managing just two more hits after accruing seven through the first five innings.

Then it was over to the Mariners’ beleaguered bullpen and Gabe Speier, who hadn’t pitched since Aug. 5 due to his two-game suspension and a back issue. And it turned out to be a disastrous return to the mound, as he allowed three hits, two walks and three earned runs in the bottom of the seventh. Seranthony Dominguez had to come in to get the final out of the inning, but the damage was already done as the Yankees were leading 8-5.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the bottom of the eighth, as Trent Grisham hit a two-run bomb off Nick Davila to make it 10-5 Yankees and close out the scoring. For all the criticism M’s manager Dan Wilson might receive about his bullpen decisions, he hasn’t been helped by the collective performances from the relievers. Further compounding the issues is the continued absence of Matt Brash, Carlos Vargas and Cooper Criswell through injury.

Bryce Miller admits he just needs to execute better

Postgame, Miller lamented not doing better with the runs support he was provided. As much as he felt he threw the ball well, he acknowledged he just couldn’t execute. He said:

“I didn’t make the pitches when I needed to. All the runs that they scored on me were with two outs, and I’ve just got to be able to finish innings. Either we get two quick outs and then something happens, or another inning we had a leadoff double, then we get two outs and then we don’t finish. I’ve got to execute with two outs, especially with two outs and two strikes.”

Miller went on to discuss his form in recent weeks and what he needs to do to get better results. In some respects though, he may as well have been talking about the team as a whole. He said:

“I feel like really the last month for me personally, it feels like I’m right there almost every game. It’s just like a pitch here, a pitch there that I don’t execute, and they’re getting to it. So hopefully it turns quick, because we don’t have a lot of time to ride this one out.”

Still hope for the Mariners but time is beginning to run out

On the need for more urgency, the Mariners are looking at an increasingly challenging path to the playoffs, with them now a season-worst nine games under .500. They remain in third place in the AL West, now sitting 5.5 games back of the division-leading Astros. They have also dropped to 4.0 games behind the third wild card spot, with 41 games to play.

It really is a rough part of the 2026 schedule for the Mariners, having just played the Rays and with the Astros, Brewers, Cubs and Phillies coming up once they’ve finished in New York. Things take a turn for the better in September with 17 games versus the Athletics, Angels and Rockies, who combine for the three worst records in the majors. However, this won’t mean much if the M’s don’t heed Miller’s warning to turn things around quickly.

Photos court​‌esy Tim Rogers Photography

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