By Paul Taylor Posted on

Mariners show resilience with bounceback 7-5 win versus Brewers

The Mariners respond to worst lose in franchise history, by building a big early lead and then holding off a comeback by the Brewers.

There were plenty of people checking in on Wednesday evening, intrigued to watch the Mariners. The big question was how they would respond to their lowest point of the 2026 season – the franchise record 22-0 drubbing a night earlier at the hands of the Brewers. What followed was an impressive display, to take down the team with the best record in the majors.

We appreciate that the 7-5 win represents just one game, that the Mariners are still seven games under .500 and sitting in third place in their division. At the same time though, it has to count for something that they were able to beat such a strong opponent. In addition, the M’s remain within 4.0 games of the AL West summit and are only 2.5 games back of the third wild card spot.

The Mariners came out firing early on, looking like they wanted to exact revenge on the Brewers with a similar beatdown. They started by taking a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, thanks to hits by Dominic Canzone and Taylor Ward which both scored two runs. An inning later Julio Rodríguez had a sacrifice fly and Josh Naylor added a two-RBI single to make it 7-0, and the rout seemed to be on.

Logan Gilbert not at his best, but still labors through

As is usually the case with the Mariners though, they couldn’t make things easy for themselves. Joey Ortiz hit a two-run homer off Logan Gilbert in the bottom of the second, to pull the hosts to within 7-2 and serve as a warning. Gilbert was tremendous last time out in The Bronx, but when he walked the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the sixth, he was replaced by Eduard Bazardo.

Bazardo subsequently allowed a sac fly RBI which was tagged onto Gilbert to make it 7-3, but the Mariners still seemed to be in control. It was only when the Brewers added two more runs off Seranthony Domínguez in the bottom of the eighth, that concern really started to creep in. Holding onto a 7-5 lead going into the ninth, would the M’s find a way to blow the game?

Fortunately for the Mariners, they got the prime version of Andrés Muñoz, when he came in to try and close things out. And that’s exactly what he did, as he produced a straightforward 1-2-3 inning to seal the deal. It also marked his 100th save with the M’s, making him just the fourth closer in franchise history to reach this impressive milestone.

Dan Wilson discusses the Mariners’ excellent response to Tuesday’s loss

Postgame, Mariners manager Dan Wilson was very happy about the way the players responded to the previous game. He was full of praise for all areas of the team, but appreciated how important the fast start ended up being for the win. He said:

“Well, we talked about bouncing back tonight and did they ever. I think offensively, set the tone early, getting that four-spot in the first. And then get three more there in the second inning. Obviously, kind of set a statement for the ball game, and I thought the at-bats were really good. We got runners on, we got them in, just some good at-bats there in those situations and chances to drive guys in, and we did.”

Wilson was asked about Brendan Donovan specifically, with him getting on base four times on the night and his impact in general since coming back. He said:

“Yeah, I mean, what he does at the top of the order is he gets on base. Whether it’s walking, he just puts up good at bats. I think he had a 10-pitch at bat at one point tonight. He finds a way on with the bat. He finds a way on with a walk and makes things happen at the top of that lineup. And when you got the guys behind him like he does, you’re gonna score some runs there. And that was the case tonight in those first two innings, it was huge.

Brendan Donovan preaches the importance of learning and growing from failure

Donovan was asked what the mood and attitude was like when the players arrived in the clubhouse, after what happened yesterday. He said:

“Not exactly the history we wanted to make, but you know, there’s times in this game, it’s just like how you have a relationship with failure and there’s some days that you need to learn and evaluate and there’s some days that you’re just like, we just need to flush that as quick as possible. So, I thought we did a pretty good job flushing it, but a little bit, I mean, the energy was still high today and I was happy with how we responded.”

Donovan has been making a positive impact since being moved back up to the top of the lineup. He was asked about the importance of him setting the tone early. He said:

“Yeah, I mean anytime you’re the first man in the fire, I think it’s important whether you get on or not, I think it’s important to just kind of set the tone for the day and some go your way, some don’t. It was cool. I mean, I think the bat came off harder than the ball did, but I found some luck out there.”

Now, the Mariners will take aim at winning the series on Thursday afternoon, with George Kirby on the mound for the rubber match. The M’s have already arguably done better on this nine-game road trip than many expected when considering the quality of the opponents, by going 4-4. However, returning to Seattle with another win could make all the difference come the end of September.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

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