Colt Emerson homered for a second consecutive day but Seattle fell to 37-35 overall on the season. They'll look to win the series and secure a 5-5 road trip on Sunday afternoon.
WASHINGTON D.C. -- One day after rolling over the Nationals, the Seattle Mariners suffered a discouraging 8-3 loss on Saturday afternoon, falling to 37-35 on the season. The Mariners still lead the American League West, but they've fallen to 4-5 on this 10-game road trip with one game to play.
Luis Castillo was charged with the loss. He gave up five runs, only two of which were earned. He walked two and struck out four. He's now 2-6 on the season with an ERA of 5.00.
Here's what you need to know:
Defensive woes really impact the M's
The M's defense has been a question most of the season, and it was again in this one.
Castillo gave up three unearned runs in the first inning after Josh Naylor fired an errant throw to Castillo covering first base. Instead of two outs and nobody on, the Nationals had runners at first and one out, eventually capitalizing for three runs with two outs.
Miles Mastrobuoni missed a fluttering line drive from James Wood in the fifth which was immediately followed up with a two-run homer, and then Colt Emerson failed to make a play ranging to his right in the bottom of the seventh inning. You can see that play below.
Though the balls to Mastrobuoni and Emerson were ruled hits, it all added up to a tough day defensively for Seattle. It should be noted that Emerson made an outstanding play later in the seventh to throw Curtis Mead out at home and save a run.
Later in the seventh, Eduard Bazardo had an errant pickoff attempt that allowed a run to score as well. Seattle had three errors in all. And that doesn't even account for the fact that the Nationals ran wild on the bases.
Emerson joins history books - and gets respect
One day after hitting a home run in the Mariners 10-2 win, Emerson hit another home run on Saturday. This blast tied the game at 3-3 and put him into some incredible team history alongside Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez.
Emerson also got the star treatment in the seventh as the Nationals went to a left-hander with him at the plate as the tying run. He hit into a fielders choice.
Nice day for Mitch Garver
Not known as a great hitter against righties, Garver had a multi-hit game, including an RBI single that got the Mariners on the board. He did strike out with two men on in the eighth, but it was still a productive day overall.
Arozarena still doing OK
After leaving Friday's game early with a hamstring tweak, M's All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena was out of the lineup on Saturday. However, manager Dan Wilson indicated before the game that he's doing better and is still day-to-day. While I wouldn't expect to see him on Sunday, either, it was another solid update on one of the M's most important players.
More injury scares avoided
After seeing Arozarena leave Friday's game, the Mariners avoided some more scary scenarios on Saturday. Dom Canzone was hit by a pitch in the leg/foot but stayed in the game, and Emerson fouled a ball off his leg during the seventh inning at-bat against Richard Lovelady. Victor Robles grounded into a double play in the eighth inning and didn't even run to first after appearing to roll his ankle, but he did come back out to play defense in the bottom half.
More success for Cole Young
That's three straight multi-hit games for Young, who had singles in both his third and fourth at-bats. He's been in the leadoff spot because of injuries to both Brendan Donovan and JP Crawford.
One note from down on the farm
In the first game of a doubleheader at Double-A Arkansas, 2025 first-round pick Kade Anderson continued his excellent season. The Travelers won 1-0 as Anderson went 6.2 innings, giving up no runs on three hits. He walked none and struck out six.
As noted by @MiLBMariners on social media, Anderson's innings (6.2) and number of pitches (80) are both career-high. He now has a 1.13 ERA through 11 professional starts. He's 6-0. We recently spoke to ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney about what his potential impact at the major league level could be as the season progresses.
Up next
The Mariners and Nationals will finish out the series on Sunday morning at 10:35 a.m. PT. Emerson Hancock will be on the mound for Seattle while Miles Mikolas toes the slab for Washington.
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