> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Mariners Build Momentum Ahead of Trade Deadline, Clinch Series Win With 6-3 Win vs. Giants - URL: https://www.emeraldcityspectrum.com/seattle-mariners-build-momentum-ahead-trade-deadeline-clinch-series-san-francisco-giants/ - Published: 2026-07-20T04:01:48.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-20T04:01:48.000Z - Author: James McKedy - Tags: Analysis, Game Day, Cal Raleigh, Andres Munoz, Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo, Dan Wilson, Logan Gilbert, Cole Young, Weston Wilson, Luke Raley, Mariners Putting an ugly loss in their first game coming out of the All-Star break behind them, the Seattle Mariners won their second straight game against the lowly San Francisco Giants on Sunday with a 6-3 series-clinching victory. Backed by six strong innings from starter Logan Gilbert, a shutdown bullpen, and timely hitting, the Mariners finally showed signs of life after a recent skid dropped them back below the .500 mark, suggesting they could be primed to go on a run to put their first-half struggles in the rearview mirror. With two weeks remaining until the trade deadline, Seattle needed to come out of the All-Star break with some urgency. After getting throttled in the first game of the series 7-0, it looked like the team had not used their time off to reset well. But after two satisfying victories, with the struggling Cincinnati Reds coming into town next, the Mariners are one more series win away from cementing themselves as a buyer in the wide-open American League. Dan Wilson pushed all the right buttons Sunday, a rare sentence for this Mariners club. His timely deployment of pinch-hitters and bullpen usage showcased what this ballclub can look like at its best. Yet there are still some things to work on as with any baseball team. Here are a few takeaways from Sunday’s triumph: ### **Balanced Lineup Keeps Pressure on Giants** Due to injuries and inconsistencies, Seattle has struggled to generate consistent offense throughout its lineup thus far this season. But the M’s were able to keep the pressure on their opponents on Sunday, putting runners on base in every inning and scoring in four of the eight innings they came to the plate. Seattle has survived on home runs and opportunistic hitting, which has been the main culprit of their below .500 start to the season. On Sunday, however, they racked up 11 hits and three walks spread throughout the lineup, as eight of their nine hitters reached base and contributed to the victory. With the game knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Weston Wilson was replaced by pinch hitter Luke Raley, who proceeded to hit a go-ahead solo home run out to right field for Seattle’s first lead of the ballgame. Not to be outdone, All-Star snub Cole Young launched a changeup over the fence for a two-run shot, effectively putting the game away considering how lockdown the M’s bullpen has been as of late. ### **Starter Survived, Bullpen Dealt** The backbone of baseball in the Emerald City remains the M’s pitching staff. Gilbert racked up 10 punchouts while allowing four hits, a walk, and three runs. Although he allowed three earned runs, each came with a measure of misfortune. One was a first-pitch ambush home run, another required a stolen base and a seeing-eye single, while the last took an accidental double down the left field line to plate a run. All runs, while earned, had their element of luck to them. Wilson has a bad habit of leaving starters in too long to try and steal an extra out or two. Yet after six solid innings, and 95 pitches, he pulled Gilbert in favor of the dependable Eduard Bazardo to start the seventh inning, a move that proved to be the right one. The veteran reliever was able to strike out three while only allowing one hit for his 19th hold of the season, tying him for fourth in the American League, a stat exemplifying his reliability to hold a lead in the middle innings. Lefty Gabe Speier came out to retire the Giants in the eighth, lowering his ERA to 2.05, fourth among American League southpaw relievers. Andrés Muñoz struck out two for a dominant ninth, his 17th save of the year. The bullpen is still waiting on setup man Matt Brash to return from the IL, but games like Sunday’s showcase how Seattle can weather the storm when their manager pulls the right strings. ### The Resurgence of the Closer Coming into the year, Andrés Muñoz was widely regarded as one of the top five closers in the sport. Yet with multiple implosions to start the year, his ERA peaked at 9.45 on April 15, as he looked anything like the shutdown specialist he had been in recent seasons. Since then, Muñoz has made his adjustments and as of late, he has been back to his normal, dominant self. Sunday's scoreless inning marked his 12th straight appearance without allowing a run. During that stretch, he has struck out 18 over 12 innings. This remarkable stretch has lowered Muñoz’s ERA to a much more respectable 3.96 and more importantly, has given his manager a lot more confidence in his ninth-inning shutdown artist coming in and slamming the door on opponents. ### **Cal Raleigh’s Struggles Continue** The best backstop in the game last year continues to be a hole in what could be a potent Mariners lineup. Over his last 15 games, Raleigh has slashed .154/.262/.250 for an OPS of .512\. Broadening the sample size shows almost the exact same numbers as over his last 30 games, where he has been slashing .165/.298/.252 for an OPS of .550. While OPS isn’t a perfect statistic, it is a quick way to capture how far the home run king has fallen from last year’s Herculean performance. Raleigh continues to be caught between pitches and is repeatedly very late on fastballs up in the zone. One encouraging sign is that he's still drawing walks, carrying a 12.5% walk rate that's not far off last season's 13.8%. His issues again arise from failing to do damage on pitches in the zone. Raleigh’s hard-hit rate is way down, dropping from 49.6% last year to just 32.1% this year. Across the board, his advanced metrics look poor. It will likely require a mechanical adjustment or change in approach, which can be difficult to make midseason. Hopefully some changes were made over the All-Star break, and Sunday’s hitless performance is not a sign of things to come for a player who should be at the forefront of MVP talks once again and instead has been mired in a historically bad slump. ### **On Deck** Following the Texas Rangers' 8-5 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, the Mariners moved to just a half-game back of their division foe in the AL West. Seattle welcomes the Cincinnati Reds into town on Monday for a three-game set. George Kirby will open the series for a Mariners team that hopes to be peaking at the right time. Seattle then heads on the road for a key four-game series against the AL West-leading Rangers.