" 𝔹𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕦𝕟𝕚𝕢𝕦𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 "

Anderson identified the area just below his elbow and said it wasn’t the first time he’d been hit by a comebacker in that region of his arm, having had a similar incident in college. 

“I knew nothing, like bone, was wrong,” Anderson said. “I think it was more that I just couldn't grip anything. It was just like my arm went dead. So it was just frustrating because I knew I wouldn't be able to continue.”

Anderson was making his seventh and final big league start of this incredibly promising debut season in pro baseball. Selected as the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft, he soared through the Minors then was called up to The Show on Aug. 22. 

It’s likely that the promotion was for good, as Anderson is a huge part of Seattle’s plans for the long term and should be among its Opening Day rotation in 2027.

 

Cole Young's RBI Single

Cole Young knocks an RBI single into center field, scoring Dominic Canzone before advancing on an error to extend the Mariners' lead to 4-0

On Saturday, he scattered four hits and one walk among the 15 batters he faced, with four strikeouts over 3 1/3 scoreless innings before the comebacker. This followed seven scoreless innings last Sunday in Denver, in what amounted to his best big

league start so far.

Taylor Ward's Two-Run Single

Taylor Ward lines a two-run single into the left-center field gap, giving the Mariners a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the 7th inning

Also of note, he rebounded in a big way against the same Angels team that tagged him for five earned runs two starts prior. Specifically, as he did against the Rockies, Anderson was more deliberate with location and execution once reaching two strikes --

the effectiveness of which came through extended pregame consultations with catcher Cal Raleigh.

“Cal has helped me out with that a lot, and just kind of identifying what you're trying to do with that pitch,” Anderson said, “instead of just hearing the pitch in the PitchCom and throwing it. Having some more like intention behind that pitch has helped me

a lot with just kind of identifying where the pitch is supposed to end up a little more.”

Josh Naylor Steals his 30th Base of the Season

Josh Naylor steals second base in the bottom of the 8th inning, securing back-to-back seasons with 30 stolen bases

He also sprinkled in the two-seamer that he first unveiled in Colorado.

“I think it's going to be a big development,” Anderson said. “I think going into next year, I'll probably use a lot more, but probably maybe only to lefties. But it's just another thing that you're continuing to learn, and more pitches can always help. But just

honestly, at the same time, identifying that these are my four best pitches and tacking on with that.”

Anderson finished his first foray into The Show with a 3.79 ERA in 35 2/3 innings. 

At Double-A Arkansas, where he spent the rest of the year, he went 10-1 with a 1.06 ERA over 93 1/3 innings, with 135 strikeouts, 13 walks and a 0.64 WHIP. He was recently named the Texas League Pitcher of the Year, and on Saturday, he was named

the Mariners’ Jamie Moyer Pitcher of the Year, which recognizes the organization's best arm in the Minors.

The former LSU standout is also ranked Seattle’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 overall.

“I've learned to understand that my stuff still plays here,” Anderson said. “It's like, at the end of the day, it's really not that much different from a lot of other [levels]. And I'm just really excited to continue to build off of this. I mean, you can kind of see --

and success isn't really determined on stats by any means -- but it felt like the last two outings, I was kind of feeling my groove.”

The Mariners, meanwhile, avoided elimination in the division for the fourth straight day (though all three teams were idle on Monday). They were knocked from the AL Wild Card race on Sunday.

“We've just got to keep going,” Raleigh said. “We're not in the best spot, but anything can happen. You’ve just got to keep fighting to the end. That's really all you can do.”

For the Mariners to reach October, they will need to sweep their upcoming four-game series at home against the Angels, have the Astros (78-80) lose all four of their upcoming set against the A’s in West Sacramento and the Rangers (78-80) lose on

Thursday against the Mets then all three in their weekend series against the Twins. 

If that came to fruition, all three clubs would finish 78-82 -- and Seattle would claim the division crown by virtue of its best combined head-to-head record among these three clubs. Within that criteria, the Mariners would be 14-11, the Rangers would be

12-14 and the Astros would be 12-13.

It’d be remarkable for so many reasons, but perhaps the prevailing takeaway would be the unflattering history the club would make. 

For all of this to play out, the Mariners would be the first club in the Divisional Era (since 1969) to win a division with a losing record (which may wind up happening even if either the Rangers or Astros end up claiming the AL West).

Moreover, Seattle entered Wednesday with 0.0% odds to reach the postseason, per FanGraphs -- underscoring just how much of a longshot all of this seemed when the Mariners awoke Wednesday, and how much it still remains. 

The Mariners would be eliminated with one more loss or one more win from either the Rangers or Astros. And Seattle has faced the mathematical possibility of being eliminated in the AL West since Saturday night’s gut-punch loss in Colorado. 

“This team never gives up,” Naylor said. “It's amazing to be a part of. We have such an awesome group. The bullpen was great. The offense was great. We stayed in it the whole entire fight, and yeah, we got the win, which is huge.”

The 10th-inning grind came together after the Mariners climbed back from a 4-0 deficit -- all manufactured in the second against George Kirby -- then gave away the lead in the top of the frame. Cooper Criswell surrendered a one-out triple to Yainer Diaz

that sliced past a diving Taylor Ward and to the wall in right field, scoring automatic runner Yordan Alvarez.

That came moments after Ward was picked off in the ninth attempting to take second base in a full count to rookie Michael Arroyo, who eventually walked. Ward was the second out, then Crawford grounded out for the third out to send the game to

extras.

Criswell, however, was able to strand Diaz on third base, capping five innings from the Mariners’ bullpen of just the one unearned run. Andrés Muñoz, who exited his most recent outing on Sunday in Denver with right knee discomfort, was unavailable.

“To hold that runner at third was a turning point for us,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “It gave us a little bit more hope.”

Hope is all that the Mariners have at this point, as they’d need multiple miracles on a daily basis through the weekend. But it’s something they can cling to for now.

Yes, its sky-high trajectory was probably aided by altitude. But there’s little doubt that this one big swing would’ve yielded the same result in any of the sport’s 30 ballparks. 

“He was looking for a pitch he could drive, looking for a pitch that he could hit out of the ballpark, and he did,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “I thought he just executed that whole at-bat extremely well. He hit it a long way, and it came at a time

when we really needed it.”

It was Montes' fourth homer since joining the Mariners as a September callup, and none of them have been cheapies. 

There was the 407-foot shot to straightaway center at Fenway Park in his debut on Sept. 1. Then the 430-foot moonshot to the left-center-field berm last Friday at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.

And in between, the 474-foot blast on Sept. 8 that reached territory at T-Mobile Park that most believe no one else has.

Andrés Muñoz's Game-Ending Strikeout

Andrés Muñoz strikes out Mickey Moniak swinging to seal the Mariners' 5-4 win

These all came after he crushed 38 earlier this season at Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, which at the time, were the second most in the Minors. 

With that baseline, Montes was easily the one Mariners hitter that most had penciled to do something slug-worthy this weekend. 

"I think we were looking forward to batting practice, for sure,” Wilson joked. 

Montes, too, knew of the ballpark’s reputation as the sport’s most hitter-friendly -- for its cavernous outfield, but more so, how baseballs carry in Colorado’s thin air at high altitude.

“I played this before on the PlayStation,” Montes said, “so I was just like, I've had fun before here and tried to do the same thing that I do on the PlayStation here.”

Montes put the punctuating finishing touches to the Mariners’ comeback, but it was his fellow callup -- and best friend -- who re-tied the game at a critical stage. 

That’d be Michael Arroyo, who pinch-hit for Brock Rodden to lead off the seventh inning, when the Rockies summoned lefty reliever Brennan Bernadino. Arroyo then pounced on the very first pitch for a 99.5 mph double down the left-field line, advancing to

third base on a sacrifice bunt from J.P. Crawford and scoring on a sacrifice fly from Dominic Canzone.

Dominic Canzone's Game-Tying Sacrifice Fly

Dominic Canzone hits a game tying sacrifice fly to left center field in the top of the 7th inning

Montes is the Mariners’ No. 5 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 54 overall, while Arroyo is Nos. 3 and 43, respectively. 

They are a big part of the organization’s long-term plans, but the hope was that it’d be toward a playoff push for this final stretch. Instead, their outlook is more toward building for 2027.

“It's valuable experience, no question,” Wilson said. “You're getting a chance to play here at the end of the season, getting some at-bats, getting in those kinds of situations where they're big at-bats. And I thought both those guys swung the bat extremely

well tonight.”

Josh Naylor's Two-Run Single

J.P. Crawford's Leadoff Homer (13)

J.P. Crawford smashes a leadoff home run to right field to take an early 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning

Arroyo hasn’t played much -- just four starts in the team’s 11 games since he was selected -- but that’s largely been due to a lack of positional runway. The club has trepidation for his arm at third base, and the other two spots -- left field and second base

-- are occupied by Randy Arozarena and Cole Young. 

Arroyo moved to second base after coming off the bench, which shifted Young to shortstop. But after a few defensive lapses from Young, Arroyo was then pulled in the ninth for Weston Wilson, who took over at third.

With a 72-82 record, the Mariners’ season is on life support -- and they entered this weekend’s series with a legitimate possibility of elimination as soon as Sunday. But with Houston’s loss to Atlanta, Seattle is now five games back of first place in the

American League West with eight to play.

“Any loss at this point is deflating and they’re tough,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Especially one where the guys really came back. They really continued to fight and give us a chance to win. It’s always tough this time of the year.”

The A’s scored two runs in the first inning and two in the third to take a 4-2 lead. In the top of the sixth, though, an error by pitcher Scott Blewett trying to throw out Josh Naylor at first started the Seattle comeback. Lazaro Montes followed with a pinch-

hit 430-foot home run to right field to tie it at 4-4. Montes, at 21 years and 324 days old, became the youngest Mariner to hit a pinch-hit blast since Ken Griffey Jr., on Sept. 16, 1990.

That turned into a 5-4 lead when Julio Rodríguez singled home Randy Arozarena with two outs in the 10th inning.

“You really felt like things are going to go our way,” Wilson said. “But it didn’t.”

It really, really didn’t.

Pinch-runner Michael Stefanic opened the bottom of the 10th at second base. Walton stepped to the plate with no outs, his team down a run and Eduard Bazardo on the mound. Bazardo threw a ball and then got Walton to foul off the second pitch.

The third pitch, a sweeper, was deposited beyond the right-field fence.

The 6:40 first pitch from A’s left-hander Jeffrey Springs came after pregame ceremonies to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with a moment of silence, a salute to first responders, a flyover and fans joining in the outfield

to hold a large American flag horizontally.

Mariners Turn Strike-'em-Out, Throw-'em-Out DP

George Kirby fans Henry Bolte and Cal Raleigh nabs Carlos Cortes stealing for a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play in the 6th

“Can’t believe it’s been 25 years, but it’s obviously a time to pause and look back and remember all the people that were affected by what happened,” Wilson said before the game. “Thoughts and prayers to all the families that were affected, grateful for

the first responders and all the emergency crews that were there. For the Mariners, obviously for baseball in general, it was a different time. As we look back and think about it, nothing but gratitude for where we are now and just grateful for all the

people, all the heroes, that stepped up during that time.”

Cal Raleigh's RBI Forceout

He was Seattle catcher Dan Wilson, in his 10th season overall and eighth with the Mariners, when the MLB schedule was halted on Sept. 11, 2001, stranding the team in Anaheim during a series against the Angels. With all commercial flights in the country

grounded, buses were chartered for the 1,200-mile drive to Seattle, though air traffic resumed with the team close to boarding. The eventual AL West champions did not play again until a Sept. 18 home game.

“I remember playing in our first game when we came back,” Wilson said. “Just the national anthem and just how powerful that moment was, to see the flags and hear the quiet in the stadium. All those things you take for granted take on huge meaning.

That’s why I think it’s important to look back to it.”

“I really appreciated it,” Woo said. “I've had opportunities in the past of being able to go deeper into games and just haven't gotten the job done.”

Woo struck out No. 8 hitter Alika Williams, then generated a flyout to Brian Serven, putting the finishing touches on the best start of the Mariners’ entire season and of Woo’s young career. And he rode two runs of support via five straight singles from

Seattle’s bats to lead off the fourth inning.

Woo surrendered just one hit -- a single to leadoff man Henry Bolte in the fourth -- and a pair of walks to Walton over a career-high eight innings. He also matched his season high with nine strikeouts.

Then, Muñoz locked down his 25th save -- again with increased velocity (he topped out at 101.9 mph) and the gnarly changeup that’s become such a weapon (which he used for a K to Jeff McNeil).

“It's been really good, especially since I started just throwing it like the fastball,” Muñoz said of the offspeed offering. “And with time, I've been getting better and getting confidence with that pitch, and it's been getting good response. So we're going to

continue using it.”

Woo also became Seattle’s first pitcher to allow no runs and one hit in eight frames or more since Mike Leake did so vs. the Angels on July 19, 2019, when he flirted with a perfect game.

“When he's rolling like that, he's tough to be denied,” Wilson said of Woo. “And I think we all felt pretty secure with where he was, where we were in the lineup, that he could go right after it.”

Mariners call up Arroyo for MLB debut -- and reunion with his best friend

As he walked off the mound, Woo did so to a standing ovation -- from a crowd that, less than 24 hours prior, had made its frustration heard.

“It means a lot,” Woo said. “All the frustration and stuff that fans feel, like, we feel it tenfold. Good games, bad games, whatever -- we sit with it just as much. So it means a lot for them to stick with us, and we can’t do what we want to do without them.”

Speaking of Saturday’s frustration, a team meeting was called immediately after the final out that delayed media availability. Cal Raleigh, who ripped an RBI single in the decisive fourth inning Sunday -- and nearly crushed his 22nd homer that instead

hooked foul -- addressed it a day later. 

“There’s not really much to say,” Raleigh said. “It’s, ‘Put your best foot forward, play as hard as you can, try to win as many games you can for the rest of the season and whatever happens, happens.’ We’re kind at that point and have put ourselves in a

bad position.

The lineup finally sparked life with two outs in the eighth to avoid what would’ve been the Mariners' 15th shutout, when Dominic Canzone punched an RBI single up the middle. But immediately after, Julio Rodríguez hit a first-pitch groundout that quashed

any chance at a longshot rally.

Up to that point, Seattle was stymied by one of the sport’s most struggling starting pitchers in 2026 -- left-hander Jeffrey Springs, who hadn’t earned a win in his past 21 starts and entered play with a 6.37 ERA (70 ERA+, where league average is 100). 

But on Saturday, he looked like Clayton Kershaw -- who was the opposing pitcher against the Mariners the last time they fell to 11 games under .500 on that day in 2020. 

Springs cleared the seventh inning on just 81 pitches, with six strikeouts despite only eight whiffs for the entire outing.

In his final frame, Springs worked around a leadoff single from Raleigh by inducing a double play from Josh Naylor, who was slow out of the box and then out by a step after A’s second baseman Donovan Walton bobbled the ball. 

Wilson was then asked about that play postgame.

“I was watching the ball,” Wilson said. “I didn't see what happened, but, obviously, these guys know what it means to play hard, and that's what needs to happen.”

He was also asked if he felt the team lacked energy.

“It always feels that way when you can't get much going offensively,” Wilson said. “But I think it was Springs just was pitching us tough, and we weren't able to make the adjustments we needed to.”

In a stretch where the Mariners have regularly found a new rock bottom, Saturday was the latest such example -- with not just the look, but also the feel.

SEATTLE -- Mariners manager Dan Wilson was ejected for the fourth time this season and the third time in the past month in Thursday’s game against the Athletics.

The incident came in the top of the sixth inning, when reliever Carlos Vargas surrendered a solo home run to Donovan Walton, then followed that with an 0-1 cutter that spun up and in to hit Brian Serven.

Home-plate umpire James Hoye immediately motioned to his three crewmates to meet, and the four umpires gathered in front of the pitchers’ mound. After a brief discussion, Hoye turned around and issued warnings to both benches.

Wilson immediately came out from the Mariners’ dugout to ask for an explanation. Hoye appeared to tell Wilson to stay in his dugout, then ejected him when Seattle’s skipper didn’t stop.​

Miller had just induced a forceout from Ceddanne Rafaela that came short of an inning-ending double play. Yet, with the right-hander facing Boston’s lineup the third time through and lefty-hitting Wilyer Abreu due up, Wilson went to southpaw Ferrer in the

fifth inning.

Justin Toole joins the Broadcast Booth in the 3rd

Justin Toole, Mariners Director of Player Development, joins the broadcast booth in the 3rd inning for an interview

It wasn’t exactly a jam, as Rafaela was on first base and there were two outs. Ferrer then gave up a double to Abreu that put both runners in scoring position before getting out of it. But in the sixth, the Mariners plated their second four-spot of the day,

allowing Wilson to use his lower-leverage arms the rest of the way.

Cooper Criswell Fans Mickey Gasper to Secure Win 

Cooper Criswell fans Mickey Gasper, securing the Mariners' 8-3 win

Following Ferrer were Michael Rucker (who went two innings), Seranthony Domínguez and Cooper Criswell. And when the dust settled, the Mariners won behind Miller for the first time since July 2 -- snapping an 0-8 stretch.

“It feels normal for me. I've started my whole career,” Miller said. “So, I'm not putting any extra pressure on each individual start ... just go out and try to do my job the best I can.”

Miller's early hook came less than 24 hours after Wilson went to Andrés Muñoz with one out in the ninth to close out a 9-6 win, immediately after September callup Hoby Milner gave up a towering two-run homer to Jahmai Jones.

Randy Arozarena's Insane Diving Catch

Randy Arozarena lays out for an insane diving catch to get the first out in the bottom of the 5th inning

In a 24-hour span, Wilson has shifted.

“There’s a lot of things you take into consideration, and last night was obviously a big game for us, especially coming back after the first one and the series in Toronto,” Wilson said. “So, definitely needed that one. 

“But that is more of the mindset as you go down September here. We have to be aggressive, and we are chasing, to some point. But we've got to be able to stay in those games, and want to be able to bring them home.”

What stood out about the aggressiveness was that the Mariners still have four games before their next off-day, albeit against the last-place Athletics. They also had their longest charter flight of the season after departing Fenway on Wednesday night, with

an expected arrival in Seattle around midnight PT.

That, and rookie Kade Anderson will take the mound on Thursday. He will be starting after five days of rest for the first time since being drafted in 2024 and with the 80-pitch threshold the club has set for him.

Thus, there’s a good chance the Mariners’ bullpen will be leaned on again heavily in Thursday’s series opener vs. the A’s at T-Mobile Park.

BOSTON -- Lazaro Montes’ 6-foot-5, 250-pound frame made the confines of Fenway Park’s already small visiting clubhouse feel even more constricted on Tuesday afternoon. 

And that was especially so as the Mariners’ 21-year-old power-hitting prospect went through an assembly line of hugs from his new teammates before making his MLB debut in Seattle's 9-6 win against Boston.

One after another, the embraces were shared -- of congratulations, for sure, but also with a good-to-see-you-again feel, as Montes spent extended time among this group in Spring Training.

Those welcoming moments spoke to the imprint that he has made within the organization, as one of Seattle’s most affable to come through its Minor League system in this era. Yes, he’s flashed the 40-homer potential already -- but it’s the big personality

that has resonated even more.​

“His energy already is felt,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said.

Montes, Seattle’s No. 5 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 56 overall, was immediately injected into the Mariners’ lineup upon being selected from Triple-A Tacoma as part of September roster expansions -- batting seventh and at designated hitter.

Montes walked in his first plate appearance before scoring a run, then collected his first MLB hit with an RBI single in the third. And he upped the ante later on, blasting a Statcast-projected 407-foot homer to straightaway center that led off the fifth.

In the process, Montes became Seattle’s first player since Ichiro Suzuki on Opening Day in 2001 with multiple hits in his MLB debut. And with the homer, he joined Kyle Lewis (Sept. 10, 2019), Kenji Johjima (April 3, 2006), Greg Dobbs (Sept. 8, 2004),

Alvin Davis (April 11, 1984) and Jamie Nelson (July 21, 1983) as the only players to clear the fence in their debut.

The Mariners are hopeful that he can provide a jolt to both their offense and clubhouse, as they entered play sitting 10 games under .500 (64-74) and with their playoff hopes fleeting. 

“I was ready all the time,” Montes said. “All the time, I was ready. I was thinking too much on this, and I was ready all the time. Keep growing, and the little things -- that was the most important for me.”

He will wear No. 99, the number that was assigned to him in camp -- a big number for a big guy.​

“I feel comfortable with that number, 99,” Montes said. “It's a big number, almost 100.”

The DH spot is one that he could be deployed in regularly down the stretch, as the Mariners intend to allocate him runway to contribute. He’ll also play right field, a position that scouts have suggested offers room for improvement, though club officials

have been encouraged by his progress in 2026.

Montes and Arozarena play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'

Lazaro Montes and Randy Arozarena play Rock, Paper, Scissors during the Mariners game against the Red Sox

What to expect from slugging Mariners prospect Montes in bigs

“I take it very seriously there,” Montes said, “because I know a lot of people say like, 'Ah, you're going to be a DH. You're going to be over here, you only hit,' and everything. But also like ... that, for me, is a very important thing, and I have fun too much

in the outfield. So for me, it was a challenge, and that made me a better player.”

Also on Tuesday, Seattle selected veteran left-hander Hoby Milner from Tacoma, one day after he signed a Minors contract to join the organization. And in corresponding 40-man roster moves, infielder/outfielder Connor Joe and right-hander Nolan

Kingham were designated for assignment.

Montes was joined in Boston by his wife, Monica, and their baby boy, Lazaro Jr., for his highly anticipated debut. His parents were not in attendance, but he shared a touching recount of calling them to inform them of the news. 

“We were crying together because we come from a hard life, you know?” Montes said. “And now, we made it. We're happy, and that was an amazing moment.”

And during an extended interview pregame, he insisted on speaking English, which is his second language. 

“I can't describe how I feel in this moment right now, but I feel like I made it,” Montes said.

In the midst of a monster year, Montes has clubbed 38 homers -- second-most in the Minors -- with 96 RBIs over 123 games between Double-A Arkansas and Triple-A Tacoma, having been promoted in early July. That’s correlated to a slash line of

.249/.369/.558 (.928 OPS).

Many in the industry, including himself, have compared him to Yordan Alvarez -- for his profile as a left-handed slugger from Cuba. Montes actually trained with the AL MVP favorite’s hitting coach, respected Cuban instructor Aldo Marrero. 

It’s way too early to expect that Montes will make the impact that Alvarez did in Houston as a youngster, en route to winning the 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Award. But he’s already thinking big, especially as he prepares for the most important games of

his life -- and Seattle’s season.

BOSTON -- Julio Rodríguez had just 2.9 seconds to make a decision on Monday night. 

And it was one that would swing the fates of how a tense back-and-forth game between the Mariners and Red Sox would play out at Fenway Park.

Seattle’s center fielder saw a 106.5 mph screamer coming at him off the bat of Roman Anthony to lead off the bottom of the ninth. And then, after his slight hesitation, the worst possible outcome played out. 

“It's super quick. It's right at you,” Rodríguez said. “My instincts were telling me to go for it, and being in between, I feel like it's not an option. So I just went for it, couldn't get it. Unfortunately, that ended up costing a run for us.”

Then in the 10th, they were walked off in a 9-8 loss.

George Kirby pitching Chart

“It's frustrating, when we're all trying to get things [going], trying to build momentum and have a game where we had like so many things offensively that we did well,” Rodríguez said. “And then, it just kind of feels like a little shot in the foot right there.”

In a season that they’ve found more exasperating ways to lose, this one had a sense of speechlessness to it. 

Seattle is 10 games under .500 (64-74) for the first time since June 20, 2022. And with just 24 games remaining, the Mariners have fallen six games out of first place in the American League West and 5 1/2 out of the final AL Wild Card spot

This night was shaping up to be a win that Seattle badly needed, featuring homers from Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena, who finished a triple shy of the cycle and with four RBIs. 

The conversation would’ve -- and should’ve -- centered on the offense rebounding after being held to just one hit the day prior, which felt like a new rock bottom as the Mariners were swept in Toronto.

Instead, Monday revealed that there are deeper depths of despair.

“Throughout this whole year, I feel like, collectively, it has been tough,” Rodríguez said. “We definitely had some bright spots, and Randy and doing all that. But collectively, it has been a little tough. And I feel like all we can do right now is just focus on

winning ball games, however it looks like. That's all I'm trying to do.”

This game didn’t fall exclusively on that one play, though it loomed largest. Per Baseball Savant, Seattle’s odds to win dropped by 35.7%, making it the biggest swing of the game for either team.

“We caught a break there," said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. "Obviously, even if [Rodríguez] slides, if he's able to kind of knock it down, it's just a single, but it gets by and puts us in a really good position.”

Had Anthony been held to a single, he likely would have remained there, as Muñoz retired the next three batters, including Ceddanne Rafaela's sacrifice fly to deep left that scored Anthony. Arozarena’s relay throw on that one was nearly in time, but

Anthony slid in front of the plate and around Cal Raleigh’s tag.

From there, Boston was in the driver’s seat behind its ageless closer, Aroldis Chapman, who stranded the automatic runner on third base after a sacrifice bunt from Victor Robles. The Mariners also stranded a runner on third in the top of ninth, after

Canzone ripped a leadoff triple into Fenway’s center-field triangle.

Had Canzone come around to score, it would’ve been a huge insurance run that maybe changed the outcome, too. But Rodríguez, Raleigh and Josh Naylor -- the heart of the order -- each grounded out against reliever Alec Gamboa.

“That's a huge insurance run in this park, and we just weren't able to do it,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. 

Seattle also only came away with one run after loading the bases with no outs in the fifth. But eight runs should’ve been enough, had it not been for George Kirby getting tagged for five runs and Eduard Bazardo giving up a two-run double to Trevor Story

with two outs in the eighth.

“It's definitely tough,” Rodríguez said. “We have another thing to add on to our plate. But we're gonna keep going.”

“We've got to turn it around. We still have games in front of us, but we know the situation. We're running out of time.”

The Mariners (64-73) are now nine games under .500 with just 25 to play. They'll need to go 17-9 just to finish with a .500 record, which would probably be enough in an extremely weak division. However, they did fall to five games back of first place

after the Astros’ defeated the Mets on Sunday. 

Their odds to claim their second straight AL West crown, per FanGraphs, tumbled to 20.0% -- a new season-low.

“We just want to win ball games, at the end of the day, especially at this time of the year,” said Julio Rodríguez. “And we wish it would have gone differently for us here, but we've got a series to look ahead in Boston.”

Indeed, next up is a three-game series at Fenway Park beginning Monday -- against a Red Sox team that took a 16-1 loss at Yankee Stadium on Sunday but is still an MLB-best 28-15 since the All-Star break. 

Boston has a five-game cushion on the second AL Wild Card spot and is in the driver’s seat to reach October, meaning the Mariners' East Coast road trip won’t get any easier. 

Seattle was shut out for the 13th time on Sunday and added just one hit -- a double from Cal Raleigh in the fourth that nicked the top of the right-field wall, but stayed in the yard.

They were stymied by a vintage outing from Max Scherzer, who twirled seven innings (for the first time since Aug. 14, 2025) and struck out 10 (for the first time since July 27, 2025). 

In the process, Scherzer passed Gaylord Perry for ninth on the all-time strikeouts list. The 42-year-old has battled through forearm, ankle, back and thumb issues this season, but looked like his former “Mad Max” self on Sunday.

“Scherzer was just hard and soft all day long,” Wilson said. “And we just weren't able to get anything going. But the bottom line is, we need -- all of us need -- to be better.”

In the aftermath of the latest stinging afternoon in a season full of them, Wilson showed more vocal frustration than he’s exhibited at any point this season. 

But will it translate?

Dan Wilson on Logan Gilbert, Shutout Loss to Toronto

Mariners manager Dan Wilson talks about Logan Gilbert's outing, the offense struggling against Max Scherzer and more after a shutout loss

“We've got to find a way,” Wilson said. “I think, again, it's just where we are. It's where we are in the season, where we are in this year, and we've got to find a way. I think our guys know how to do it, and it's just a matter of us, like I said, all of us

getting better and doing it.”

 Logan Gilbert got the ball to oppose Scherzer.

That’s when things got extremely dicey, in a venue where the Mariners have suffered some of their most stinging losses of this era -- and as recently as Friday’s walk-off loss.

“We always play the craziest games here,” Raleigh said. “But give [Domínguez] credit. He did his job. He got it done. Something crazy happens, and he's able to collect himself and bring himself back into the moment.”

Andrés Muñoz wound up closing things out in the ninth, two days removed from surrendering five earned runs in that walk-off loss that was shaping up to be a gut-check win. Muñoz has only once this season pitched more than one inning -- in an Aug. 1

win over Minnesota.

But manager Dan Wilson said postgame that he held off on Muñoz until the ninth due to his 23-pitch, high-stress workload on Friday. And the whole thing worked out, as the two-time All-Star picked up his 100th career save.

“I didn't do anything wrong, it was just part of the game,” Muñoz said of Friday. “They were better than me that day. But that gave me the confidence to just go back there, go back out there, and try to do the same thing. And that was basically what I

did.”

If this weekend had a theme, it’d be “rebound.”

Randy Arozarena's Solo Home Run (17)

Randy Arozarena belts a solo home run to left field, giving the Mariners an early 1-0 lead in the 1st inning

Dominic Canzone's RBI Single

Dominic Canzone drives a single into right field, scoring Brock Rodden to extend the Mariners' lead to 2-0 in the 3rd inning

Had the Mariners won Friday’s game, it would’ve been one of their more impressive and methodical comebacks of the second half. They responded on Saturday by putting together their most well-rounded win in the same stretch, if not the entire year.

And on Sunday, they hung on in a game that we’ve seen countless times get away from them.

“It says a lot about the group,” said Bryan Woo, who surrendered two solo homers but only one additional hit over six innings. “It says a lot about where we're going. And I think, like I said, if there's any place for us to get going, it's certainly here.”

There were countless individual rebounds, too -- and beyond Muñoz.

Woo, whose stark home/road splits have defined his season, put the club in position to win with one of his grittier efforts, packed with emotion at the very end.

He surrendered a homer to No. 9 hitter Nick Allen to lead off the sixth inning, spitting in disgust after falling behind in a 1-0 count. Then, once he cleared the frame, from a popout to Altuve in foul territory, he emphatically slapped his glove and screamed

towards the crowd from the visiting on-deck circle.

In between, he was examined briefly by Wilson and head athletic trainer Kyle Torgerson due to shoulder discomfort that he expressed pregame. But he quickly brushed them away, and postgame said that it was “nothing I’m concerned about.”

“It's been a frustrating year for all of us, especially for me,” said Woo, who exited after throwing just 75 pitches. “Obviously, a lot of really tough ones on the road, and just putting upon myself to come out with some energy, some fire.”

Raleigh also rebounded, with a solo homer that represented Seattle’s final run. It was a Crawford Boxes special that traveled just 327 feet with a sky-high, 45-degree launch angle that hung for 6.5 seconds and nicked the yellow padding at the top of the

wall.

But they all count the same, and for a guy who’s seen the sport’s largest dip in slugging percentage (from .589 last year to .300), the Mariners will take what they can get.

“Great to see the smile coming around the bases there,” Wilson said, “and a huge run.”

The road won’t get easier for the Mariners, who are off to Milwaukee to face the team with the sport’s best record. But they will arrive riding momentum, which has been a rare thing to say for this team this season.