Good, Bad, and Ugly: Logan Gilbert Shines, But Mariners Fall 4-3 to Orioles
You can’t win em all.
But that doesn’t make losses like this any less frustrating.
The Seattle Mariners were unable to continue their eight-game winning streak with a 4-3 loss to the Orioles in the middle game of a three-game series at Camden Yards.
It’s time to look at the good, bad, and ugly from Wednesday’s loss to the Orioles.
Good: Logan Gilbert
Really good for six innings. Gilbert blanked the Orioles for those six frames, and he appeared to be cruising towards his best start of 2025, at least in terms of run-prevention.
But Gilbert — as good as he’s been — has had one inning that has frustrated in the overwhelming majority of his outings, and that happened again Tuesday. After being given a 1-0 lead, Gilbert left a pitch in the middle of the plate to Ryan Mountcastle, and Mountcastle smashed a game-tying homer that just got over the right-centerfield fence. He retired one more hitter, but after allowing a single, his night was done despite throwing just 79 pitches. That run would come around to score — more on that later — to turn a dominant start into just a solid one.
That being said, Gilbert obviously pitched well enough to win. There just wasn’t enough help around him to make that the case.
Good: Julio Rodríguez
Rodríguez was the best player for the Mariners on Wednesday. Trevor Rogers was dominating the Seattle lineup, and he came through with a triple into the left-center gap on a well located pitch from Rogers. He would come around to score on an RBI single from Josh Naylor.
And Rodriguez came up huge in the ninth, too. The Mariners trailed 3-1 entering the inning, but J-Rod was able to pull a single up the middle to put the tying run at the plate, and he pulled off a double steal with Eugenio Suárez. That ended up being massive — at least at the time — as Naylor was able to drive in a run with a fielder’s choice, and Dom Canzone hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Rodríguez essentially created all three runs today with his bat and wheels, and it’s awesome to see him playing at this level since essentially the start of July.
Bad: The Astros Won
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (1/863)
Bad: Matt Brash
Brash has been outstanding for the overwhelming majority of 2025, but this wasn’t him at his best. He got the first two outs pretty quickly, but then gave up a single to Dylan Carlson, and he caught too much of the plate on a pitch to Jackson Holliday that the young slugger was able to line into the right-field corner to score Carlson from first.
There was nothing I saw from Brash tonight that suggests there’s a long-term issue, but even if you don’t consider the expectations, this wasn’t good enough. The Mariners need him to pitch better than this. I bet he will.
Ugly: Dylan Moore
We gotta talk about Dylan Moore. And honestly, we’ve been talking about Moore, but those conversations need to get louder. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and he continues to be as bad as any hitter in baseball since the start of June.
But it was so much more than that tonight. On what was ruled a triple with an error that scored two runs, Moore clearly misplayed the baseball off the wall that allowed at least one of those runs to cross. A batter later, he dropped a fly ball that was ruled foul and was immediately followed by a single. And in the ninth inning, he looked late to get to the ball in the corner. That last one may be a smidgen unfair, but the reaction time didn’t look elite, anyway.
Moore has provided the Mariners with value since signing with the club. He’s been a fan favorite because of his versatility, and he’s clobbered left-handed pitching before this season.
However, it’s probably time for Dylan Moore to look for a new organization. That’s not the most likely outcome for a variety of reasons, but to say he’s not providing value is an understatement. it’s too simple to say that he cost you tonight’s game, but it’s not that far off.
The Mariners have a Dylan Moore problem, and even if he’s not in the lineup, you’re playing short-handed. It’s not the best situation for a contender to have.
