The Mariners offense looked lethargic against the Giants in the first game post-All-Star Break.
SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners offense was unable to find a renewed sense of energy in the first game post-All-Star Break and fell 7-0 to the San Francisco Giants on Friday at T-Mobile Park.
The Mariners fell to 48-50 with the loss, stayed 1.5 games behind the Texas Rangers for first place in the American League West and dropped to a game behind the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins for the final wild card spot in the AL.
Seattle didn't have a runner in scoring position until the bottom of the ninth inning. Third baseman J.P. Crawford reached first after a fielding error by San Francisco shortstop Willy Adames and advanced to second on a passed ball. M's left fielder Randy Arozarena struck out, designated hitter Dominic Canzone grounded out (and moved Crawford to third) and catcher Cal Raleigh popped out to end the game. The Mariners went finished the game 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position with all the at-bats coming in the final sequence in the ninth.
"There was more off-speed (pitches tonight," Mariners manager Dan Wilson said in a postgame interview Friday. "The changeup, the curveball was working for (San Francisco starting pitcher Landen Roupp). We just weren't able to get anything square. We'll make our adjustments and we got to get ready tomorrow."
The Giants, for comparison, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position (and stranded 10), but their one hit with a runner on second or third was the one that permanently put the game out of reach.
With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh, Adames hit a grand slam to center field that resulted in the eventual final of 7-0.
Before Adames' grand slam, San Francisco was able to scrape out three runs that represented the only blemishes in an otherwise-stellar night for Mariners starting pitcher Bryce Miller.
Miller finished the game with six strikeouts, one walk, one hit batter and three runs allowed (two earned) on seven hits in 5.2 innings pitched.
Two runs came in the top of the fifth inning when Giants designated hitter Bryce Eldridge hit a two-run home run to center field. The home run, which had an exit velocity of 99 mph (unusual for a homer dead-center), came against Miller's best pitch, the splitter.
Miller's splitter and fastball dipped in velocity and ran inside on hitters, partly due to a blister that the former Texas A&M product suffered and partly due to him being "over-rotational," in his own words.
"It's almost the exact same thing that happened (in 2023 against the Tampa Bay Rays)," Miller said after the game. "I came out after three innings because the blister popped on me. But I remember that game, I had like 17 whiffs on the fastball or something in three innings and there was just extreme cut. But then the velo started to drop because of the blister and stuff. Kind of similar to what happened today, just happened later in the game. ... It didn't really affect performance or anything. ... Kind of weird. Something that happens every now and then, I guess."
Miller came back out for the sixth and, after issuing a lead-off single to left fielder Heliot Ramos, induced a fielder's choice from right fielder Jung Hoo Lee. Ramos was tagged out at second, but a throwing error committed by Seattle shortstop Colt Emerson resulted in Lee advancing to second.
Miller got the second out of the inning by fanning Adames, but hit San Francisco center fielder Drew Gilbert with a pitch, which resulted in the end of his night and brought on left-handed reliever Jose A. Ferrer.
Ferrer issued a walk to catcher Drew Cavanaugh, which loaded the bases for the Giants. San Francisco second baseman Luis Arraez grounded into a fielder's choice, Mariners second baseman Cole Young was unable to secure the ground ball, was dinged with a fielding error and Lee scored, which bolstered the Giants' lead to 3-0.
"(Emerson and Young) have played good defense for us," Wilson said. "I think with the runner coming at him, kind of a strange turn there for Colt. And then Cole, looked like there was a little bit of runner distraction there and just kind of an odd play (for) both of them. No error is a good error and it came at a tough time. I'm sure we'll learn from that and we keep going."
San Francisco had 12 hits compared to Seattle's two. Both the M's' hits were singles, one from first baseman Josh Naylor and the other from right fielder Luke Raley.
Going to the start of the M's' six-game road trip before the All-Star Break, the team has scored two-or-less runs in four-of-seven games and is 1-2 in games where it's scored more.
The Mariners will look to even the series against the Giants in game two of the series at 5:08 p.m. PT on Saturday at T-Mobile Park.
Bryan Woo will start for Seattle and Logan Webb will take the hill for San Francisco.
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