By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners show mental fortitude to beat Astros in must-win game

The Mariners came back from the most devastating loss of the season, to dominate the Astros 10-5 and set up crucial rubber match.

Plenty of people were concerned about how the Mariners would respond, after their soul-crushing extra innings loss on Friday night to the Astros in Houston. Manager Dan Wilson had remarked afterwards that there isn’t a lot of justice in baseball, but as they say, sports reflects life. This was now about what the team would do, after having victory ripped away from them in the cruellest of fashions.

It’s fair to say the response was resounding, as the Mariners displayed the full potential on their roster by beating the Astros 10-5 in a game which wasn’t as close as even the final five-run gap suggests. The M’s followed up 12 hits on Friday night with another 15 on Saturday evening, to give a glimpse of what people expected on a more regular basis heading into the 2026 campaign.

Cole Young led the way on offense as he has done so often this season, with the Mariners’ only home run, as part of a game-high four RBI which also matched his career-high. Young really does continue to impress. And now he’s proving he has the offense to match his defense, with his 56 RBI leading the team and contributing towards an overall 4.1 bWAR which also leads the way.

Brendan Donovan back to his best

The Mariners also got a welcome big night from Brendan Donovan in the leadoff spot, as he matched season-highs with three hits and a trio of RBI singles. After such an injury-marred campaign, he’s determined to end this season positively. Although why wouldn’t you expect him to react well to adversity, as the son of a retired U.S. Army Colonel.

Victor Robles deserves credit himself, after his two-RBI triple in the top of the second gave the Mariners a lead they would not relinquish. He’s another player who has struggled this season, but perhaps the five hits he has accrued so far in this series can help him return to his 2024 form in Seattle. The M’s other run came from newly promoted Brock Rodden, who has had quite the start to his Major League career with hits and RBIs in both of his first two games,

Complimenting the offensive fireworks was a tremendous outing by Emerson Hancock, showing something special at a time when the Mariners needed him most. Although the game couldn’t have started much worse, as he loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first and then gave up a single for an early 1-0 deficit.

Emerson Hancock continues his outstanding season

It would have been so easy for it all to get away from Hancock, but then he locked in to strike out the next two batters and get himself out of the jam. From that point there was no looking back, as the righty went on to retire 17 of the final 18 bats he faced. When it was all said and done, he had allowed five hits and two walks over 7.0 innings, giving up just two earned runs while also striking out eight.

It truly has been one of the feel-good and success stories in a challenging Mariners season, to see Hancock finally show why they selected him sixth overall in the 2020 draft. His 2.6 bWAR is second among all team pitchers, while his 3.30 ERA is just behind Logan Gilbert’s 3.28 ERA, for best in the rotation.

The bullpen continued their collective struggles, with Jose A. Ferrer and Seranthony Dominguez combining to allow three earned runs over the final two innings. However, this is not the time to dwell too much on the relievers, on a night when the Mariners pulled together to earn an impressive and desperately-needed win. In a swap-around of the oft-used saying, you lose as a team, but you also win as a team.

It’s all about the Mariners as a team over any individual success

Along these lines, Hancock was all about the team over his individual performance, when speaking to the media postgame. As per Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, he said:

“I thought everything about tonight was just a team win all around. t took everyone. To be able to bounce back from (Friday), come out and play the way we did, the bats we had, defense that we played, and all of us just executing pitches, I mean, that was a huge win for us.”

Donovan also spoke to Jude and the media postgame, again repeating his comments that the Mariners need to have a sense of urgency now. He was extremely happy with how the team bounced back from Friday night’s devastating loss. He said:

“That was probably one of the crappiest losses, I think, because you were in it (and) you know what’s at stake. But I was very happy with how we responded. We got down early and then we punched right back; and then every time they scored, we punched right back. So I thought it was really cool.”

Mariners turn to Bryan Woo as they aim to take rubber match in Houston

With the win the Mariners only return to where they were heading into this series, at 5.0 games back of the Astros at the AL West summit. However, this is better than now being 7.0 games behind, which they would have been if they lost on Saturday night. They also pull to within 3.0 games of the final AL wild card spot, which is a minor miracle given their record of 58-66.

Still, you’ll take whatever you can, with the Mariners talented enough to go on a similar run of last season’s 17 wins in 18 games during September. On that point, if they can hang in there until next month, the M’s face the prospect of 17 combined games versus the Athletics, Angels and Rockies, who have the worst three records in the majors.

Of course the Mariners can’t afford to get too far ahead of themselves, needing to take it one game at time, beginning with Sunday night’s nationally televised game against the Astros. Bryan Woo will take the mound and even though he has struggled on the road this season, memories are still fresh of his strong outing last time out at Yankee Stadium (albeit in a losing cause). Now, let’s see if Woo and his teammates can once again show mental fortitude, and take the rubber match against their divisional rivals.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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