9/16/26
(Anaheim, CA) A couple of rough losses to the Los Angeles Angels added on to what was already a nightmare of a road trip for the Seattle Mariners. Going 1-4 against the two worst teams in the American League all but sealed the M’s fate as a non-playoff team one year after coming a few innings short of the first World Series appearance in franchise history. Frustration has been felt all throughout the organization from the top to the fanbase and everything in between. While the M’s are still technically alive, they saw their season on life support.
Looking to avoid the sweep, Seattle would need George Kirby to find his summer form and eat away at some innings against the Angels. Kirby pitched a season-high eight innings in his only start against the Angels back in June. For the Angels, they would use a familiar face to the Mariners as Yusei Kikuchi would take the mound in the finale. The lefty has been injured most of the year but has been very steady since coming off the IL last month.
Mariners 7, Angels 2, (Game Three, September 16th)
It was a long 1st inning for both starting pitchers as they struggled with command in the early going. Back-to-back singles for J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena set the tone before Dominic Canzone walked to load the bases. Cal Raleigh sent a fly ball deep enough to left for a sacrifice fly, giving Seattle a 1-0 lead. Josh Naylor would then thread a grounder into right for another run as Arozarena scored as well. Despite the Angels warming up their bullpen in the 1st, Yusei Kikuchi would finish the inning with Seattle only leading 2-0.
George Kirby was not much better in the bottom of the 1st. He was very wild in this one and allowed the Angels to load the bases immediately as well. A single by Zach Neto was followed by a couple of walks to Mike Trout and Wade Meckler as the Halos were set to counter. A sacrifice fly by Vaughn Grissom would get the Angels on the board but Seattle then caught a break. Moisés Ballesteros hit a bullet back up the middle but J.P. Crawford was right there to turn it into an unassisted double play to end the threat.
While Yusei Kikuchi bounced back in the 2nd, George Kirby was not as fortunate. Denzer Guzman started his good game with a leadoff single and Josh Lowe reached on an infield single of his own to put a couple of runners on. Kirby would strikeout Christian Moore for the first out before another former Mariner made his presence felt. Adam Frazier singled to left to bring home Guzman and tie the game. Los Angeles eventually left the bases loaded after Kirby struck out Zach Neto and Wade Meckler to keep the game tied.
Seattle left a couple of runners on in the 3rd as the game stayed 2-2 into the 5th. Yusei Kikuchi then lost control again and walked Randy Arozarena and Dominic Canzone to put some traffic on with one out. Cal Raleigh would put the M’s back in front with a rocket down the left field line and into the corner. Arozarena scored on Raleigh’s 14th double of the year to make it 3-2. After intentionally walking Julio Rodríguez to load the bases, it seemed like Kikuchi was out of the inning with a double play ball to first off the bat of Josh Naylor. The throw to second from Vaughn Grissom was way off target and ended up in the outfield. The error allowed two more runs to score and pushed Seattle’s lead to 5-2.
George Kirby was in hot water again in the bottom of the 5th. An error allowed Vaughn Grissom to reach with one out before George Kirby walked Moisés Ballesteros and Carlos Vargas would have to inherit the two baserunners. Denzer Guzman dunked in a bloop single to load the bases with one out and the lead was in jeopardy. Vargas came up clutch with back-to-back strikeouts however in a massive moment to get out of the bases loaded jam with Seattle will leading 5-2.
A couple of walks in the 6th had the Mariners looking to add on and open the lead up even more. Randy Arozarena was on first and J.P. Crawford on third with just the one out and the meat of the order coming to the plate. Dominic Canzone cashed in on the opportunity with a base hit to right to plate Crawford and move Arozarena to third. Another single by Cal Raleigh would add on one more and give Raleigh three RBI on the night and give Seattle a nice 7-2 lead.
The bullpen for the Mariners was sharp on Wednesday night as Carlos Vargas, José A. Ferrer, and Cooper Criswell all put up scoreless innings and Dan Wilson decided to use Andrés Muñoz in the 9th to prevent him from being unused for too long. Muñoz gave up back-to-back singles with one out as the Angels tried to make this one dramatic late. It would end up not being interesting as Jose Siri hit into a 6-4-3 double play to put an end to this one. Seattle cashed in on the Angels mistakes and managed to avoid the sweep with a 7-2 win in the finale.
Notable Performances
Mariners
- Cal Raleigh- 2-3, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB
- Josh Naylor- 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- George Kirby (ND)- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 5 SO
Angels
- Denzer Guzman- 4-5, R
- Zach Neto- 2-3, R, BB
- Yusei Kikuchi (L, 1-6)- 4.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO
What’s Next
A salvage of the finale for the Seattle Mariners (71-82) ends the series on a bit of a high note. Texas would earn the win over Boston while Houston fell to Kansas City. That makes the Astros and Rangers tied atop the AL West, 5 1/2 games ahead of the Mariners. That deficit will either be at five or six games by the time the M’s next take the field on Friday as the Astros and Rangers are both in action on Thursday.
The final road series of the season will take place for Seattle this weekend as the M’s visit the team with the worst record in all of baseball in the Colorado Rockies. Colorado (56-96) has been abysmal once again this season but have seen some improvements and young talent put together nice seasons. In one of the strongest divisions in the sport, the Rockies aren’t desperate to push for contention and want to first make sure they have a strong core. They will also look to take advantage of the Mariners road struggles in the most hitters friendly park in the sport.
The face of the Colorado Rockies is undoubtedly star catcher Hunter Goodman. The 26-year-old catcher has been the best offensive catcher in the game this year after Cal Raleigh held that distinction in 2025. Goodman has mashed 38 home runs and driven in 81 runs in a massive season and was a very big name in the trade market. Colorado wisely kept Goodman as the building block of the franchise. However, Goodman has struggles mightily in September and is dealing with a thumb injury so his status for this weekend is up in the air.
- Game One, Friday 5:10pm- Bryan Woo (12-9, 3.88 ERA) vs. Gabriel Hughes (0-8, 6.37 ERA)
- Game Two, Saturday 5:10pm- Bryce Miller (4-9, 4.19 ERA) vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (12-10, 5.49 ERA)
- Game Three, Sunday 12:10pm- Kade Anderson (1-2, 5.33 ERA) vs. Kyle Freeland (4-10, 6.38 ERA)
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